Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/58727
Transitional Story by Sherry Posnick-Goodwin Photos by Scott Buschman DISAPPOINTED THAT THE STATE is reneging on plans to move forward with statewide transitional kinder- garten, CTA will "push back" against the governor's pro- posal to make it voluntary instead of mandatory, says CTA President Dean Vogel. In 2010, the Legislature passed a law, SB 1381 by state Sen. Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto), that raises the kindergar- ten entry age. Until now, children have been required to reach their fifth birthday by Dec. 2 of the current school year. The bill shifts the cutoff date to Sept. 1 in stages over a three-year period beginning this fall. The bill also creates a "transitional kindergarten" (TK) program for children who will no longer be eligible for kindergarten under the change, to be followed by a year of regular kindergarten. Under the budget proposed by Gov. Brown, the mandate for TK will be eliminated, and the funding will be withheld as a cost savings of $223 million. There have been indica- tions that some funding may be available for districts that proceed with TK. Not until the budget is approved some- time later this year will the precise status of TK funding for the 2012-13 school year be clear. Presently, the state provides ADA funding for most districts with existing TK programs for 4-year-olds. Under Brown's proposal, districts could enroll children who are still age 4 in November in regular kindergarten if they are granted a "waiver" establishing school readi- ness, but thousands would still be denied access to public schools if they are not granted a waiver or if their school district chooses not to offer transitional kindergarten. Studies show TK may be beneficial to closing the achievement gap, notes EdSource, since children who start school later demonstrate better math and reading skills by first grade. A RAND Corp. research report concludes that delaying kindergarten has a positive effect on test score gains in early years. March 2012 / www.cta.org 11