Senate Bill 52: Lowers Compulsory Attendance Age from 6 to 5

Author:
Senator Judith Zaffirini

Summary:
This bill lowers the age of compulsory attendance from six years to five years of age.

Status:

11/13/2006		Filed
1/23/2007		(Senate) Referred to Education
5/28/2007		Legislature closed, bill died

HSLDA's Position:
HSLDA is opposed to this bill.

Action Requested:
None requested at this time.

Background:

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.

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. When California raised the upper age limit age 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 issues analysis page: Compulsory Attendance Age Legislation.

Other Resources

January-29-2007—Texas—Call to Stop the Expansion of State Control of Your Children

Bill Text