Elementary education: kindergarten.

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide specific details on additional duties beyond enforcing the new requirement or handling exceptions.

Kindergarten Requirement Before First Grade

This bill requires children entering first grade in California public schools and charter schools, starting from the 2028-29 school year, to have completed one year of kindergarten.

What This Bill Does

• Requires a child who will turn six years old between July 1 and September 1, 2028, to complete one year of kindergarten before entering first grade in public schools or charter schools.
• Extends the requirement for children turning six years old between May 1 and September 1, 2029, and subsequent school years until all children must have completed a full year of kindergarten before starting first grade.
• Allows exceptions for children who are judged by their school district to be ready for first-grade work despite not completing one year of kindergarten.
• Imposes additional duties on local educational agencies to enforce the new requirement.
• Requires state reimbursement for costs related to this mandate if determined by the Commission on State Mandates.

Who It Names or Affects

• Children entering public schools or charter schools in California starting from the 2028-29 school year.
• Local educational agencies, including public and charter schools, that must enforce the new kindergarten requirement.

Terms To Know

State-mandated local program

A program where the state requires local agencies or school districts to carry out certain duties or services.

Commission on State Mandates

An organization that determines if a bill contains costs mandated by the state and decides how those costs should be reimbursed.

Limits and Unknowns

• The exact date when all children must have completed one year of kindergarten before entering first grade is not specified.
• It's unclear what specific additional duties local educational agencies will face beyond enforcing the new requirement.

Official Summary Text

AB 1631, as amended, Muratsuchi.
Elementary education: kindergarten.
Under existing law, a person between 6 and 18 years of age who is not exempted by law is subject to compulsory full-time education. Existing law excludes a child under 6 years of age from the public schools, subject to specified exceptions.
Existing law requires a school district maintaining a kindergarten to admit a child who will have their 5th birthday on or before September 1 of the school year. Existing law also requires a child who will have their 6th birthday on or before September 1 of the school year to be admitted to the first grade of an elementary school. Existing law authorizes a child who has been lawfully admitted to a public school kindergarten or a private school kindergarten in California and who is judged by the administration of the school district to be ready for first-grade work to be admitted to the first grade, as
specified.
This
bill, beginning with the 2028–29 school year,
bill
would require a
child to have
public elementary school, including a charter school, to ensure that a child is not admitted to the first grade unless the child has
completed one year of kindergarten
before that child may be admitted to the first grade at a public elementary school,
if the child will have their 6th birthday (1) between July 1, 2028, and
September 1, 2028, inclusive, for the 2028–29 school year, (2) between May 1, 2029, and September 1, 2029, inclusive, for the 2029–30 school year, (3) between March 1, 2030, and September 1, 2030, inclusive, for the 2030–31 school year, and (4) on or before September 1 for the 2031–32 school year and each school year thereafter,
except for a child who has been lawfully admitted to a public school kindergarten or a private school kindergarten in California, but has not yet completed one school year, and is judged to be ready for first-grade work, as
specified, thereby imposing
specified. By imposing additional duties on local educational agencies, the bill would impose
a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires
the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Current Bill Text

Download Bill PDF