Click here to read the full series.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n HSLDA opposes both mandatory kindergarten\u00a0and full-day kindergarten. They argue that early childhood education is harmful to children\u2019s development, that beginning compulsory attendance at age five prevents parents from deciding when their children are ready to begin their education, and that full-day kindergarten programs both expand state control of education and cost taxpayers money. Let\u2019s take a look!<\/p>\n Massachusetts<\/a>:<\/p>\n Summary:<\/p>\n House Bill 349 requires that children attend a full-day educational program at kindergarten age.<\/p>\n HSLDA\u2019s Position:<\/strong><\/p>\n Oppose.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n Michigan<\/a>:<\/p>\n Summary:<\/b><\/p>\n Makes full-day kindergarten for 5-year-olds mandatory.<\/p>\n HSLDA\u2019s Position:<\/b><\/p>\n HSLDA is opposed to this bill<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Georgia<\/a>:<\/p>\n Summary:<\/b><\/p>\n This bill would lower the compulsory attendance age from 6 to 5 and make kindergarten mandatory for one year before a child could enter the first grade.<\/p>\n HSLDA\u2019s Position:<\/b><\/p>\n HSLDA opposed this legislation.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Hawaii<\/a>:<\/p>\n Summary:<\/p>\n Senate Bill 86 would require a child who turns 5 years old by August 1 to attend kindergarten beginning in the 2013\u20132014 school year.<\/p>\n HSLDA\u2019s Position:<\/strong><\/p>\n Oppose.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n Wyoming<\/a>:<\/p>\n SF 140 would establish mandatory kindergarten in Wyoming. Children would not be able to register in the first grade until the student completes a kindergarten program or receives permission from the school district.<\/p>\n HSLDA\u2019s Position:<\/strong><\/p>\n Oppose. Establishing mandatory kindergarten can be the first step in lowering the compulsory attendance age.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n What exactly is going on here? We can glean some information from the commentary HSLDA includes in some of its position statements. Here\u2019s an example:<\/p>\n Mississippi<\/a>:<\/p>\n Summary:<\/p>\n This bill would create a pilot program requiring local school boards in the 18 Delta counties to implement full-day kindergarten programs if the school district has a \u201cC\u201d or \u201cD\u201d or \u201cF\u201d rating for two consecutive years. HSLDA opposes any expansion of state control over education.<\/strong><\/p>\n HSLDA\u2019s Position:<\/strong><\/p>\n Oppose.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n Remember when I wrote a couple of weeks ago that HSLDA\u2019s end game is getting the government out of the education business entirely? Well, this is part of that. HSLDA sees any\u00a0expansion of kindergarten\u2014including both mandatory kindergarten and full-day kindergarten\u2014as an expansion of government involvement in education.<\/p>\n But there\u2019s more, too. In a post on a Texas kindergarten bill<\/a>, HSLDA adds this:<\/p>\n According to the 2005 NAEP test scores of children from states that have low compulsory attendance ages (5-6) did not score any higher than children from the other states, and in some subjects their average was actually lower.<\/p>\n Many education experts have concluded that beginning a child\u2019s formal education too early may actually result in burnout and poor scholastic performance later.<\/p>\n Lowering the compulsory attendance age erodes the authority of parents who are in the best position to determine when their child\u2019s formal education should begin.<\/p>\n A report published February 6, 2007 by the Goldwater Institute examines Stanford 9 test scores and finds Arizona kindergarten programs initially improve learning but have no measurable impact on reading, math, or language arts test scores by fifth grade.<\/p>\n The data show that students in schools with all-day kindergarten programs have statistically significant higher 3rd-grade test scores, but there is no impact on 5th-grade scores. This finding is consistent with previous research. Forcing children into school early delivers short-term benefits at best.<\/p>\n Another significant impact of expanding the compulsory attendance age would be an inevitable tax increase to pay for more classroom space and teachers to accommodate the additional students compelled to attend public schools.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Let\u2019s sort this out, shall we? I summarize HSLDA\u2019s points as follows:<\/p>\n 1. Full-day kindergarten either harms children, makes no difference, or offers only a short term benefit.<\/p>\n 2. Mandating school attendance at age 5 prevents parents from choosing for themselves when their children\u2019s formal education should begin.<\/p>\n 3. Making\u00a0full-day kindergarten mandatory would lead to \u201cinevitable\u201d tax increases.<\/p>\n Now first of all,\u00a0according to the National Education Association<\/a>:<\/p>\n NEA recognizes that full-day kindergarten programs close achievement gaps between young children from minority and low-income families and their peers. By providing a solid foundation of learning to children from all backgrounds, full-day kindergarten programs ensure all students\u2019 academic, social, and emotional success.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n I recognize that the debate over full-day kindergarten specifically and early childhood education in general is likely more complex than this summary allows for, and I am not an expert on early childhood education. But for\u00a0all that HSLDA claims that\u00a0this is open and shut, it\u2019s clearly not. It\u2019s worth noting that public education is about more than just academic skills. I can also say from personal experience that I have seen preschool and kindergarten benefit my own daughter both developmentally and academically.<\/p>\n I should note that I absolutely agree that discussion of what kindergarten should involve\u2014i.e. being play-based v. being heavy on worksheets\u2014is important. Not all kindergartens are the same, and kids should have access to things that are developmentally appropriate, including time to rest or nap. This is a conversation I think is incredibly worthwhile. But this is not the conversation that HSLDA is having. They\u2019re not concerned about what kindergartens should look like,<\/em> but rather about requiring\u00a0kindergarten at all.<\/p>\n Now let\u2019s\u00a0look at\u00a0this from a slightly different angle. As a working mother, I am incredibly thankful that my local school district offers full-day kindergarten. If they only offered half-day kindergarten, I would have to find a private full-day kindergarten to enroll my daughter in, and that would mean handing over a significant amount of money. This is not tenable for many parents.<\/p>\n But then, HSLDA is a Christian organization headed by men who believe mothers should stay at home with their children rather than working outside of the home.<\/p>\n It\u2019s worth noting that HSLDA opposes even voluntary full-day kindergarten, arguing that that\u2019s only the first step to making it mandatory. As I\u2019ve mentioned earlier, when parental decisions conflict with HSLDA\u2019s beliefs (such as their belief that early childhood education\u00a0is harmful<\/a>), HSLDA tends to oppose expanding parental options.<\/p>\n What about the issue of making kindergarten mandatory? Well, in many states compulsory attendance laws do not kick in until age 6 or 7. As a result, kindergarten is optional. HSLDA argues that this is a good thing\u2014that it allows parents decide when their children\u2019s formal education should begin\u2014but then, HSLDA would like to see an end to compulsory attendance laws in general.<\/p>\n There is nothing stopping parents who feel their children are not ready to attend school\u00a0at age five or six from homeschooling them instead. In other words, beginning compulsory attendance at age five only creates a problem for parents who think their five-year-old child should literally not be exposed to learning at all\u2014not their letters, not their\u00a0numbers, not art or music or science. In other words, if a parent is concerned that their child is not ready for kindergarten and would like to keep them home instead, there is nothing about compulsory attendance beginning at age five that would prevent them from doing so as homeschooling parents.<\/p>\n\n
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