Considerations for Policymakers

Only eight states and the District of the Columbia currently require schools to provide full-day kindergarten, although many more have considered legislation in recent years that would either fund or mandate schools to provide it (Viadero, 2002). In both Oregon and Montana, for example, bills related to full-day kindergarten have been proposed in the legislature, but have generated too little support to make it out of committee.

Across the United States, states that have successfully adopted legislation related to full-day kindergarten have done one or more of the following:

• Voted to provide funding for full-day kindergarten but not require that districts offer it (NASBE, 1999)
• Offered grant funding for improving and/or expanding existing full-day kindergarten programs (Indiana)
• Targeted funding for full-day kindergarten programs that serve educationally disadvantaged students (Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children, 2000; NASBE, 1999)
• Mandated all districts to offer full-day kindergarten as an option, but not require that students attend (NASBE, 1999)
• Mandated that all schools offer and all eligible students enroll in full-day kindergarten (NASBE, 1999)

As the National Association of State Boards of Education (1999) notes, policymakers would do well to talk with parents, teachers, administrators, and other key stakeholders to determine which policy initiatives would best meet the needs of kindergartners in their area. Depending on funding, they may also "wish to weigh the benefits of full-day kindergarten against those of other initiatives—such as pre-kindergarten programs, smaller class sizes for grades K–3, and modified curriculum for half-day programs—based upon the needs of the state’s population and the quality of their curriculum and implementation" (p. 1).

More information on current legislation related to kindergarten can be found on the Education Commission of the States’ Web site at www.ecs.org/html/IssueSection.asp?issueid=77&s=What+States+Are+Doing