Sen. Cleo Fields, D-Baton Rouge
The Senate Finance Committee advanced the proposal by Senate Education Chairman Cleo Fields without objection, but several senators raised concerns that suggested the bill could face difficulty winning passage from the full Senate.
Currently, Louisiana children are required to attend school from the ages of 7 to 18, unless they graduate early from high school. Fields proposal would mandate that children who turn 5 years old by Sept. 30 of each year to attend kindergarten, starting with the 2022-23 school year. People who homeschool their children also would be required to start with kindergarten.
âI just think we have a compelling interest to educate our kids,â Fields said.
Louisiana Senate to debate whether to mandate kindergarten
MELINDA DESLATTE, Associated Press
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BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) The Louisiana Senate will debate whether to require all 5-year-old children in Louisiana to receive a kindergarten education, after the measure cleared a financial review Monday for its multimillion-dollar price tag.
The Senate Finance Committee advanced the proposal by Senate Education Chairman Cleo Fields without objection, but several senators raised concerns that suggested the bill could face difficulty winning passage from the full Senate.
Currently, Louisiana children are required to attend school from the ages of 7 to 18, unless they graduate early from high school. Fields proposal would mandate that children who turn 5 years old by Sept. 30 of each year to attend kindergarten, starting with the 2022-23 school year. People who homeschool their children also would be required to start with kindergarten.
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A bill that would require Louisiana parents to send their children to kindergarten or provide a homeschool equivalent gained momentum Monday after a second Senate committee moved it forward.
Democratic Baton Rouge Sen. Cleo Fields Senate Bill 10 would make kindergarten mandatory for children who turn 5 before Sept. 30. Public schools are already required to offer kindergarten.
It advanced without objection, but not before a debate in which former Republican U.S. Senate candidate Woody Jenkins testified he believes data supports his position that kindergarten has no educational benefit and could create behavioral problems.
Fields bill was first moved favorably from the Senate Education Committee but required a hearing in the Senate Finance Committee Monday because it would increase costs for the state.
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