Legislation Seeking Compulsory Kindergarten Faces Budget Obstacle

Kindergarten is no longer child’s play.

By the end of their kindergarten year, California pupils are now expected to be able to locate a book’s title, table of contents, author and illustrator. They are expected to be able to write about experiences and people, recognize when an estimate is reasonable and use information to make a graph.

Yet, despite having established these and many other standards for kindergartners in the late 1990s, the state does not actually require pupils to attend kindergarten.

That sends a mixed message, says Delaine Eastin, state schools superintendent, who is attempting to push through the Legislature a measure that would make kindergarten compulsory for all eligible California youngsters.

The measure, AB 634 by Assemblyman Herb Wesson (D-Culver City), has cleared the Assembly and will be heard in the Senate Education Committee today. It has support from the California Teachers Assn. and other education groups but is opposed by a small home-schooling network and some conservative groups that say it restricts parents’ choices.

Because of the state’s costly energy crunch, the bill also faces a harsh reality that could doom it: a lack of funds. The state Department of Finance estimates that making kindergarten compulsory could cost $326 million a year.

The bill’s sponsors counter that the actual cost would be well below that because many parents would seek waivers. They also maintain that the bill could end up saving the state millions of dollars because mandatory kindergarten would cut down on the number of children forced to repeat first, second and third grades.

Wesson’s measure would require a child to be enrolled in kindergarten during the first month of a school year if the child turns 5 on or before Dec. 2 of that year. Thirteen states require children to attend kindergarten.

The push reflects a sea change in educational philosophy.

“When I was a kid in kindergarten, you played in the sandbox, you bounced a ball, you learned to tie your shoes,” Wesson said. “We have evolved. In fairness to all the children, we should make sure they go through the training ground.”

According to California Department of Education estimates, 91% to 95% of eligible children in California go to kindergarten each year. That means that as many as 50,000 children, out of about 570,000 eligible 5-year-olds, skip it annually. With schools unable to enforce attendance rules, many children attend kindergarten only sporadically, putting a burden on teachers who must try to get them up to speed.

Eighteen wide-eyed youngsters are getting their first taste of the rigors of kindergarten this week in Room 43 of Logan Street Elementary School in Echo Park. Logan is a year-round school where 86% of the children are Latino and almost all come from low-income homes.

Room 43’s children, all of whom are learning English, sat squirming on a rug as the teacher pointed out the table of contents and chapter headings in an oversized book.

They had just spent 20 minutes going over the starting sounds of colors: green, gray, black, yellow and pink. Yet to come were discussions about circles and squares and how to print their names.

Many of them arrived not knowing how to stand in line or hold a pencil. Few attended preschool.

Even with kindergarten, they will be at a disadvantage for years, teacher Miriam Hagerman said.

By day 3, she said she was already behind in her reading program because “it is too advanced and heavy for these children.”

Most parents in the area around Logan believe that kindergarten is required, said Alan Lewis, an assistant principal at the school.

In fact, Lewis, who favors the Wesson legislation, would like to see full-day kindergarten become a requirement.

“If kids are coming in 18 months behind, as many of them are, you need that time,” he said.

Among the opponents of Wesson’s measure are the two conservative groups--the Capitol Resource Institute and the Campaign for California Families--and the California Homeschool Network. They say that young children should not be wrested prematurely from nurturing homes and that parents should be able to choose when their child is ready for school.

To allay their concerns, Wesson agreed to allow parents to seek a waiver from their local school board if they think a child is not ready.

Under the bill, parents who choose to hold a child out of kindergarten until age 6 to give him or her more time to mature--a practice known as “redshirting”--also would have to seek a one-year waiver.

Not all children are ready for the new academic pressures of kindergarten, said Kathleen Malaske-Samu, child care coordinator for Los Angeles County. For working parents, she said, a half-day program, as is called for in Wesson’s bill, would be a logistical nightmare.

Wesson’s measure is getting no support from Gov. Gray Davis, who amid the energy crisis is trying to avoid slashing programs that he views as key to school reform.

“We’re beating the drum for teaching and principal training, money for low-performing schools and after-school programs,” said Kerry Mazzoni, Davis’ education secretary.

The administration has already had to give up on its highly touted plan to extend the middle-school year. As for the kindergarten bill, Mazzoni said education officials should gather more information about the children who are not attending kindergarten before embarking on a costly program. Are they being home-schooled? Are they attending private kindergartens? Are they watching TV all day?

Given all those factors, Mazzoni said, “I would doubt the [Wesson] bill could be successful this year.”