New York, NY – Kindergarten could soon be mandatory in New York City, thanks to new legislation the state Assembly passed.
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The legislation would allow the city to require that all children who turn 5 by Dec. 1 attend kindergarten that year.
“As an outspoken advocate for early childhood education, I applaud the passage of this bill,” Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said. “This gives New York City the appropriate level of control over mandatory kindergarten education.”
Parents would still be able to home-school their children or send them to private school for kindergarten, Silver said.
Before mandatory kindergarten could go into effect, the bill would have to pass the GOP-led state Senate and be signed into law by the governor. Then New York City would have to enact its own change to its current policy.
City Council Speaker Christine Quinn has been a strong advocate for mandatory kindergarten, but Mayor Michael Bloomberg has raised concerns about its cost, which he estimated at $30 million a year, according to reports.
Department of Education officials, however, told reporters earlier this year that adding 3,000 kindergarteners to the system would not require any extra money, because they could be accommodated in existing space.
Quinn, Council Education Chairman Robert Jackson and Councilman Stephen Levin released a statement Monday praising the Assembly’s vote.
“Thousands of children enter first grade every year having never set foot in a classroom because under current city and state law, children do not have to enroll in kindergarten,” the politicians said in the statement.
“[The] Assembly’s passage of legislation to allow New York City to make kindergarten mandatory is a major step towards ensuring a strong educational start for New York’s 5-year-olds.”
Content is provided courtesy of the DNAinfo.com
Not sure what difference this legislation would make if parents are allowed to home school their children?
When you home school you must show that you maintain some sort of curriculum and schedule. Most people who keep home kindergarten age children don’t, so its likely they will just enroll them.
I have to laugh at myself on this one. I had assumed it was mandatory already.
Um, enrolling 3000 new students in the fall won’t cause anything? Big deal that they already have the space. What about teachers’ salaries, food costs (they provide lunches), supplies, renovating the space to accommodate the little people (bathrooms, sinks)…?
Someone is not telling the full truth. Either we have been overspending on schooling the last several years (so that there is extra money now) or this is going to cost a lot lot more…