社区黑料

Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for 社区黑料 Newsletter

The Alabama House Education Policy Committee Wednesday approved a bill that would require students to attend kindergarten or show the ability to do the work to advance to first grade.

, sponsored by Rep. Pebblin Warren, D-Tuskegee, passed the committee after members adopted a substitute written by Rep. Terri Collins, R-Decatur, the chair of the committee.

鈥淎ll this is is a first grade readiness bill to make sure when a student gets to the first grade, they have the competencies that can make them successful to move on in the education system,鈥� she said.

Warren has brought the bill numerous times, but .

Gov. Kay Ivey called for a version of the legislation in her State of the State speech last month.

The committee approved a substitute of the bill, which the committee鈥檚 chair, Rep. Terri Collins, R-Decatur, said was 鈥渂etter written鈥� and less 鈥減iecemeal.鈥� The substitute rewrote sections of the code rather than replacing small sections repeatedly.

Collins said that the bill is a 鈥渇irst grade readiness鈥� bill and not 鈥渕andatory kindergarten鈥� legislation.

鈥淚 wanted to make sure everybody knew it鈥檚 not a 鈥榤andatory kindergarten,鈥� 鈥� Collins said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a 鈥榖eing ready for first grade as a child.鈥欌��

As of 2020, 19 states and the District of Columbia require kindergarten, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

A portion of the bill would allow local school districts to allow four-year-olds who turn five by the end of December to attend school and five-year-olds who turn six by the end of the calendar year to attend first grade. Underaged children would also be able to join the class if they moved from a public school from another state where they were in that grade. Otherwise, the bill provides kindergarten for those who are five at the beginning of the school year.

Rep. Frances Holk-Jones, R-Foley, raised concerns about it. Holk-Jones said 鈥渟ummer children鈥� have more 鈥渕ental health issues鈥� and are more likely to commit suicide as teenagers.

鈥淭he statistical data of teen suicides between age 15 and 19, the highest percentage come from summer children, which are your June July and August,鈥� she said. 鈥淲hat you are also proposing is to open that up to September through December.鈥�

When asked for the source of the data after the meeting, Holk-Jones said she did not have it with her.

Rep. Mark Gidley, R-Hokes Bluff, had similar concerns and cited his own experience as someone with a summer birthday.

鈥淚 was always the youngest in the class, and I鈥檝e suffered as a result of that,鈥� he said.

Gidley said he had no problems with the rest of the bill.

Holk-Jones asked Warren if she would consider removing that portion of the bill during discussion. Warren said she would further down the line, but she wanted to keep it as it is for the moment.

鈥淚 will be amenable if we pass this bill and later on, we start seeing that there was an issue,鈥� Warren said.

HB 164, sponsored by Rep. Andy Whitt, R-Harvest, also passed committee. The bill would require students to learn financial skills before graduation.

Both bills move to the Alabama House of Representatives for consideration.

HB 218, sponsored by Rep. A.J. McCampbell, D-Linden, has been moved for next week. The bill would change the 鈥渇ailing鈥� moniker of the bottom 6% of schools by test score to another term. The committee was not in agreement that changing it to 鈥渇ully supported school,鈥� as the bill suggests, would be the best option.

is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Alabama Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Brian Lyman for questions: [email protected]. Follow Alabama Reflector on and .

Did you use this article in your work?

We鈥檇 love to hear how 社区黑料鈥檚 reporting is helping educators, researchers, and policymakers.