Bill for minimum kindergarten age passes senate, heads to governor

Amazing, the state assembly finally found and issue they could handle and have bipatican agreement. Not that I want to be overly sarcatic, but I wonder how long it took them to hash this all out? Oh well, that's why they are paid the big bucks, to handle these tough decisions, what would we ever do without them?

Just one more intrusion into our lives from the government. My oldest boy started at 5 going on 6 at the end of October. The teacher actually asked me if he had previously been to Kindergarten. He was "too smart" to be a first time entrance. My son could read, write and spell before going into Kindergarten.Reading at age 2 1/2. He never went to preschool either.Nor was I a stay at home mom to work with him all day. It just goes to show, if you spend a little time working with the kids several days a week they can be more than ready. I was annoyed the prior year because it was suggested to me that I hold him back until he was 5 going on 6. Thats what I did and he should have been started earlier. Live and learn. It should be the parents choice whether to send them in at 4-5 or 5-6. Each child is ready at different times.

I have had four kids whose birthdays were in October through late November. There was some struggle emotionally, but educationally they needed the stimulus of formal education. Holding them back would have stunted their growth. Three of them have graduated within the upper percentage of their classes, one is still in school, one has completed her BS in biology, another is almost finished with her degree in IT. Why should we punish those that are capable because some are not ready. There should be an entrance test not another absolute law. We are still individuals.

There will always be older and younger students in any grade level. With standards set so high for kindergarten, it makes sense to have a pre-kindergarten class. A child may be bright and appear ready for kindergarten, but there is a social aspect to kindergarten. Some very bright and precocious children are not prepared for the social life of the classroom that is imposed upon them. Kindergarten is not a child care center, and all children need to have the appropriate skills to succeed in their early school years. These early years set the tone for a child's future success in school.

It might be a good idea, especially for the boys to wait a little longer but I am extremely disappointed. My daughter is ready for kindergarten now and she already has to wait another year before she will turn 5 and now she might have to wait 2 years just because her birthday is at the end of September. There should be an acceptance test or something so that if they have a birthday between Sept 1st - Dec 1st, and they are ready, they don't get held back. The economy is tough already, what about all the people who would have to pay for another year of daycare?

I think it's a great idea. My daughter started later because her bithday is in January, and she seemed to understand more.

What does this accomplish? A kid born on Aug 31st gets in at 4 yrs old, a kid born on Sept 1 can not enter schol untill the next year. By adding some kids will spend two years in kindergarten, Who determines which ones will spend two years and which ones will be passed on to first grade? Where's the extra money coming from to have the extra kindergarten classes while the state is now cutting education finds?

That is great news. I really like the idea of a transitional period for the kids. In my son's school 75% of his class did not speak a word of English and they definitely need the extra year to learn a new language. I hope that no one cries foul if their child is asked to repeat kindergarten.

What difference does 3 months make? More polititians wasting time & money, but then again what's new.

Good job! This should have been done a long time ago.