Senate Bill to set minimum school age at 5
Wed, 09 May 2012 12:11:18 GMT —
Senate Bill 0315 seeks to require students to be at least five-years-old before entering kindergarten.
Currently, children can enter kindergarten at the age of four so long as they turn five by December.
State Senator Darwin Booher, R-35th District, said the bill he introduced would change that.
"For the 2012-2013 school year, kids would have to turn five by November. The following school year they would have to turn five by October. Then finally, the 2014-2015 school year, they would have to turn five by September first," Booher said.
Several local teachers support the initiative, saying the current age system creates too wide of an age-gap in the classroom. However, parents have voiced a different opinion. Parents said they should have the right to choose when they enter their kids in kindergarten.
Senate Bill 0315 passed 38-0 in the State Senate on Thursday, May 3.
The bill now sits in the Michigan State House. Do you agree with this proposal? Tell us "Your Point of View" by voting in the poll below and leaving your comments.