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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- A bill to allow some schools to provide full-day kindergarten has advanced to the House floor.
The House Education Standing Committee voted 7-5 Monday to advance the bill, which would provide $7 million to allow school districts and charter schools to create voluntary full-day kindergarten in schools having many disadvantaged students.
HB107, sponsored by Rep. Kory Holdaway, R-Taylorsville, has widespread support from educators, and all-day kindergarten is part of Gov. Jon Huntsman's education plan.
However, Rep. Margaret Dayton, R-Orem and chairwoman of the committee, said the concept of all-day kindergarten "saddens" her.
She and other committee members suggested the measure might be abused to provide state-funded day care, might draw funding from other needed programs and might someday become mandatory.
Children profit most from instruction at home by their parents, Dayton said. "Why turn children over to government-run schools as soon as we can?" she asked.
"In an ideal setting, I couldn't agree more," Holdaway said. "But we don't live in an ideal world anymore, and some families can't provide that."
At least 85 percent of students enrolled in the kindergarten programs would have to be those identified through pre-kindergarten readiness testing as needing early intervention.
Christine Kearl, Huntsman's education deputy, said some children enter kindergarten with academic levels expected of 2-year-olds, while others are at a fourth-grade level.
Full-day kindergarten targets underprivileged, underserved, at-risk children and maximizes the probability that they will catch up with their peers and read on grade level, she said.
Patti Harrington, state superintendent of public instruction, said national research shows full-day kindergarten has long-term benefits, such as reducing remediation costs and the need for children to repeat grades later.
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
