Bill Would Mandate Kindergarten For 5-Year-Olds

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Right now, kids are not required to attend school in Michigan until they turn six. State Representative Bill Sowerby says that should change. He has proposed legislation which would require 5-year-olds to go to Kindergarten as long as their birthday is before September 1st. He’s confident he’ll get the support he needs in Lansing this time.

“Even though I wanted this along with the Democrats and many educators and administrators wanted this, they (majority Republicans in 2017) failed to bring it to committee,” Sowerby explains. “I’m hoping that this current Republican leadership will see the importance of this, especially as they continue to read the failures of public education in this state.”

Those failures to which the Clinton Township Democrat is referring come from a Michigan State University study released this week showing state education funding has not kept pace with the rest of the country since 1995.

If enacted, his bill would make Michigan the 18th state to require kindergarten for all students.