Assembly Bill 90: Seeks to Expand the Compulsory School Attendance Age

Author:
Assemblywoman Barbara M. Clark

Summary:
Assembly Bill 90 has been carried over from the 2007 legislative session. This bill that would lower the age a child is required to attend school from 6 to 5, increasing government control over your homeschooled child.

Assembly Bill 90 enables all school districts to require all children to attend school if they will turn 5 on or before December 1 of that school year.

While this bill has an “exception” provision for students who are enrolled in non-public or homeschool programs, it would still require all 5 year-olds to be “enrolled” in some educational program. As a result, a parent would be required to file a notice of intent, the Individualized Home Instruction Plan (IHIP), quarterly reports and annual assessment when their child reached 5 years of age. In essence A.B. 90 would require a homeschool parent to file a year earlier than they do now!

Status:

1/3/2007

Referred to the Assembly Education Committee

HSLDA's Position:
Oppose.

Action Requested:
Non at this time.

Background:
This is another bill that has come out of the commitment that the Board of Regents has made to push early education. If you remember from emails we sent out last legislative session the Board of Regents updated their policy statement entitled “Early Education for Student Achievement in a Global Community” in late 2005.

Even after hearing from several hundred concerned parents during the revision of that policy statement, the Board of Regents continues to press on towards their goal of lowering the compulsory attendance age to 5, and making school programs available for 4-year-olds.

Some of the problems with lowering the compulsory attendance are listed below.

• Lowering the compulsory attendance age from 6 to 5 would subject New York home educators to the requirements of the homeschool laws one year earlier. Homeschool parents would be required to submit a notice of intent, IHIP, and quarterly reports for their 5-year-old. (You do not need to share this reason with your legislators.)
• Many education experts have concluded that beginning a child’s formal education too early may actually result in burnout and poor scholastic performance later.
• Lowering the compulsory attendance age erodes the authority of parents who are in the best position to determine when their child’s formal education should begin.
• It would restrict parents’ freedom to decide if their children are ready for school. While this bill has an “exception” provision for students who are enrolled in non-public or homeschools, it would still require all 5-year-olds to be enrolled in a homeschool program. As a result, a parent would now be required to file the IHIP, quarterly reports and achievement tests when their child reached 5 years of age. Consequently this would require homeschool parents to file for their children a year earlier that they do now! This would not be genuine exception.
• Another significant impact of expanding the compulsory attendance age would be an inevitable tax increase to pay for more classroom space and teachers to accommodate the additional students compelled to attend public schools.

For more information on compulsory attendance, please see our memorandum, “Mandatory Kindergarten Is Unnecessary.”

Other Resources

Bill Text