Kindergarten bill offering full-day option advances

A bill that would allow Utah schools to offer full-day kindergarten for lower-performing and economically disadvantaged children passed out of committee Monday.

But before the 7-4 vote, some lawmakers said what's taught in kindergarten could just as easily be taught in the home and cautioned that full-day kindergarten could eventually become the norm for all children.

HB107, sponsored by Rep. Kory Holdaway, R-Taylorsville, would establish a voluntary full-day kindergarten program that would allow school districts and charter schools to offer a full day of instruction to kindergartners who are academically lagging or from low-income homes and under-served groups.

"This is an increase in literacy and numeracy instruction to maximize the probability of these students reading at grade level," said Christine Kearl, the governor's education deputy. "It's not baby-sitting, it's not day care, it's not more of the same. It's additional time of kindergarten-age appropriate instruction."

Utah's compulsory education law doesn't require that children attend kindergarten, and most schools offer half-day programs.

But the bill would appropriate $7 million in ongoing money to help schools provide teachers for the additional hours in the classroom.

Patti Harrington, state superintendent for public instruction, said national research shows full-day kindergarten contributes to increased school readiness, supports literacy and language development, improves school attendance and results in a decreased cost of retention and remediation later on.

The bill says that 85 percent of a class' enrollment would be students who show the greatest need — based on the Kindergarten Readiness Assessment. And it would be up to principals to sift through applications to determine which students have the greatest need.

"There is a gap between those who have had a rich (educational) experience before coming into school," Holdaway said. "Those from lower economic homes may not have had the same opportunities as those with more of a disposable income — this would work toward closing that gap."

But opponents worry that even though full-day kindergarten would not be mandatory it would inch toward becoming a new standard, taking children out of the home even earlier.

"This bill makes me very sad. I cry when school starts," said Rep. Margaret Dayton, R-Orem. "What about childhood? At what point are we going to say that childhood matters and time at home matters and we shouldn't get society in the mind-set that we should turn our kids over to school as early as we can."

Holdaway said he agreed — if it were a perfect world.