March 24, 2008
Senate Bill 399: Compulsory School Attendance for 6-year-olds
Authors:
Legislative Educational Planning Committee
Summary:
This bill would lower the compulsory school attendance age from 7 to 6.
Note: This bill does not contain an actual exemption from compulsory attendance based on parental objection. Instead, this bill would allow a parent to exempt their child from the grade level of kindergarten, while still requiring attendance at school.
Status:
| 1/3/2008 |  | (Senate) Prefiled for introduction |
| 1/14/2008 |  | (Senate) Introduced, Referred to Education |
| 2/26/2008 |  | (Senate) CR: Be passed as am. by Education |
| 2/28/2008 |  | (Senate) COW: CR be adptd; be further am.; be passed as am. -SJ 1376; EFA: Passed as am.; Yeas 36 Nays 3 -SJ 1377 |
| 2/29/2008 |  | (Senate) Engrossed -SJ 1386 |
| 2/29/2008 |  | (House) Received and introduced -HJ 1492 |
| 3/4/2008 |  | (House) Referred to Education -HJ 1511 |
| 3/6/2008 |  | (House) Hearing: Wednesday, 3/12/08, 9 a.m., Room 313-S |
HSLDA's Position:
Oppose!
Action Requested:
Please call members of the House Education Committee and ask them to
reject this harmful bill.
1. Call your own representative if he or she is listed below and give
the message below (in your own words). Use our Legislative Toolbox to find the name of your representative.
2. In addition to calling your own representative, call several
others. If your last name begins with A-G, call those in group 1; if
your last name begins with H-M, call group 2; N-R, call group 3; S-Z,
call group 4.
Your message can be as simple as: “Please vote no on S.B. 399. It
will hurt children because many 6-year-olds are not developmentally
ready for school. Parents know their children best. Parents, not the
government, should decide whether they start school at 6 or 7.”
Since this bill undermines the authority of all parents, not just
homeschoolers, it is not necessary to state that you are a
homeschooler.
House Education Committee Members:
|
Group 1
Clay Aurand, Chairperson
785-296-7672
Deena Horst, Vice-chairperson
785-296-7501
Pat Colloton
785-296-7631
Barbara Craft
785-296-1754
Owen Donohoe
785-296-7682
John Faber
785-296-7500
Group 2
Don Hill
785-296-7641
Benjamin Hodge
785-296-7642
Steve Huebert
785-296-1754
Bill Otto
785-296-7636
Ted Powers
785-296-6014
Marc Rhoades
785-296-7696
|
Group 3
Sheryl Spalding
785-296-7680
Bill Wolf
785-296-7678
Sue Storm, Ranking Minority Member
785-296-7650
Marti Crow
785-296-7643
Geraldine Flaharty
785-296-7651
Judith Loganbill
785-296-7669
Group 4
Ann Mah
785-296-7668
Shirley Palmer
785-296-7698
Eber Phelps
785-296-7691
Ed Trimmer
785-296-7122
Valdenia Winn
785-296-6838
|
Background:
According to the 2005 NAEP, test scores of children from states
which have low compulsory school attendance ages (5-6) did not score
any higher than children from the other states, and in some subjects
their average was actually lower.
Many education experts have concluded that beginning a child’s
formal education too early may actually result in burnout and poor
scholastic performance later.
A report published February 6, 2007 by the Goldwater Institute
examines Stanford 9 test scores and finds Arizona kindergarten
programs initially improve learning but have no measurable impact on
reading, math, or language arts test scores by fifth grade.
The data show that students in schools with all-day kindergarten
programs have statistically significant higher 3rd-grade test scores,
but there is no impact on 5th-grade scores. This finding is consistent
with previous research. Forcing children into school early delivers
short-term benefits at best.
Another significant impact of expanding the mandatory schooling is
the inevitable tax increase to pay for more classroom space and
teachers to accommodate the additional students compelledto attend
public schools. When California raised the upper age limit of
compulsory attendance, unwilling students were so disruptive that new
schools had to be built just to handle them and their behavior
problems, all at the expense of the taxpayer.
For more information on compulsory attendance, please see our
memorandum, “Mandatory Kindergarten Is Unnecessary.”
Other Resources
|
E-lert—February 28, 2008— Kansas: Action Needed to Stop Expansion of State Control Over Children!
E-lert—February 29, 2008— Kansas: Battle Moves to House to Stop
Greater State Control Over 6-Year-Olds
E-lert—March 7, 2008— Kansas: Action Needed to Stop Expansion of State Control Over Children!
E-lert—March 19, 2008— Kansas: Action Still Needed to Stop Expansion of State Control Over Children!
Bill Text (PDF) (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)
Bill History