Following a statewide decline in kindergarten enrollment, a California senator proposed a bill to make kindergarten mandatory for all students.
Senate Bill 70 was passed in the Senate and now waits for approval from Governor Gavin Newsom.
That decline really became prominent during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic when schools were already facing so many challenges. This bill points out the heightened learning gaps that come with missing kindergarten and hopes it can close those gaps.
Missing just 10% of kindergarten school days lowers a student’s academic performance when they hit 1st grade, according to the National Education Association.
