Committee today blocked introduction of a proposal I drafted to allow school districts to offer optional all day
Kindergarten in Idaho public schools.
Currently
there are 21,778 Kindergarten students enrolled in Idaho Public Schools. The
vast majority of these attend half day Kindergarten classes either in the
morning or afternoon part of the day. Typically, a single teacher instructs both
the morning and afternoon class.
According to the education Commission of the States, full day
Kindergarten produces higher math and reading scores.
Offering parents access to more extensive educational programs which improve
reading readiness, and advance social, emotional and cognitive development,
reduces the need for remediation and speeds the development of important
skills which help students excel in elementary and secondary
programs.
Currently, for the portion of the day when children are not in public
Kindergarten classes, parents are paying for childcare in a variety of types of
day care programs. In Idaho none of these programs is licensed and required by
law to meet state health, safety and educational standards, though in a few
areas, some are required to meet certain local standards imposed by city
ordinances.
Ten states offer full funding for all day Kindergarten programs. These
programs save tax payer dollars by reducing the cost of daycare, providing more
solid educational content and by ensuring more children enter elementary classes
ready to learn.
Idaho ranks 46th in the nation in
per pupil spending for education. Our lack of funding for all day Kindergarten contributes to
the low ranking. This legislation was intended to begin the discussion over how
to more effectively spend Idaho tax dollars to create a strong education
system which focuses on readiness and skills rather than expending large sums of
tax payer dollars in efforts to correct early failures in our system. All day kindergarten is one way we can use preventive means to fill the need for
remedial programs, to lower drop out rates and address the corresponding issues which
relate to juvenile crime and the cost of Idaho’s over burdened corrections
system.
In my mind, together with lowering class sizes for students of all ages and extending the school day for some students, improving early childhood education is one of the most powerful and effective changes we could make to strengthen education and help Idaho’s young people reach their full potential.