After several failed attempts, California lawmakers are once again pushing to force children to attend kindergarten, with the state Assembly passing a bill Tuesday to make it mandatory.
The bill now goes to the Senate for consideration and, if passed, heads to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk.
Newsom vetoed a similar bill in 2022, calling the effort “laudable” but saying the costs were not accounted for in the state budget. Then-Gov. Jerry Brown also vetoed a mandatory kindergarten proposal in 2014, arguing that because most children already attend kindergarten and those who do not are often enrolled in other appropriate programs, parents should be able to determine what is best for their offspring.
If AB 2226 is approved by the Senate and signed into law by Newsom, it would require California children to complete a year of kindergarten before enrolling in first grade in a public school, starting in the 2026-2027 school year.
School is compulsory for 6-year-olds, but California – like most other states – does not mandate kindergarten.
Children are eligible for kindergarten at age 5, but are not required to attend. Yet most do. Data suggests that about 3.5% of California students who attended public first grade in the 2022-2023 year did not attend kindergarten the previous year, according to an analysis by the State Appropriations Committee. ‘Assembly.
The legislation would result in costs “potentially on the order of $100 million per year” to increase per-student funding to attend kindergarten, according to the committee’s analysis.
Newsom and state lawmakers are already grappling with a $44.9 billion budget deficit. Amid these gloomy forecasts, the governor earlier this month outlined a spending plan that would shrink the size of state government and slow his progressive policy agenda.
A spokesperson for Newsom declined to comment on the pending legislation.
The bill was introduced by Rep. Al Muratsuchi (D-Rolling Hills Estates), while Sen. Susan Rubio (D-Baldwin Park) introduced a similar measure in the Senate. Rubio also introduced the bill that Newsom vetoed in 2022.
The Los Angeles Unified School District, which co-sponsored House Bill 2024, argued that kindergarten “is essential to closing the opportunity gap and promoting equity,” citing research that shows that children who attended kindergarteners are more likely to attend college and earn money. more numerous and are less likely to experience poverty as adults.
Times staff writer Mackenzie Mays contributed to this report.
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