"I think most pre-school children in Utah are by far much better off at home with one of their parents," institute president Paul Mero said, saying research from the Goldwater Institute and an early childhood expert and author backs the stand.

While Mero acknowledges high-poverty children might benefit from full-day kindergarten, he said the state shouldn't make districts implement it.

In a statewide survey of school districts, superintendents supported receiving state money for full-day kindergarten but also would want to choose whether to take advantage of it, the State Office of Education reported.

Burningham indicates a mandate is not in the offing.

Salt Lake City and Box Elder districts still maintain half-day options, for example. In Salt Lake City, however, demand is growing for more full-day programs, Associate Superintendent Charles Hausman said.

"We don't even serve half the families who want access to full-day kindergarten programs," Hausman said. "We're not concerned about what their rationale is; we're concerned about kids' needs and meeting kids' needs while they're in school."

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