PUPIL MEMBERSHIP AGE & DATE S.B. 1234:
FLOOR SUMMARY
Senate Bill 1234 (as reported without amendment) (as passed by the Senate)
Sponsor: Senator Darwin L. Booher
CONTENT
The bill would amend the State School Aid Act to replace the condition that a child be at least five years of age by December 1 of the school year in order to be counted toward pupil membership, with the condition that a child meet the minimum age requirement to be eligible to attend school under Section 1147 of the Revised School Code, or be enrolled under subsection (3) of that section.
The Act prescribes a number of conditions that apply in the calculation of membership for the purposes of determining the foundation allowance for a pupil. These include a requirement that a pupil be at least five years of age on December 1 of the school year. The bill would replace that condition with a requirement that a pupil meet the minimum age requirement to be eligible to attend school under Section 1147 of the Revised School Code, or be enrolled under subsection (3) of that section.
Section 1147 of the Revised School Code establishes the minimum age for a child to enroll in kindergarten. Currently, a child must be at least five years old on December 1 of the school year in order to enroll. Public Act 198 of 2012 amended Section 1147 to phase in a requirement that a child be at least five on September 1 of the school year. That requirement will take effect beginning in the 2015-2016 school year. Before then, a child must be at least five on November 1 beginning in the 2013-2014 school year, and at least five on October 1 beginning in the 2014-2015 school year.
Subsection (3) of Section 1147 allows a parent or legal guardian to enroll a child in kindergarten even if he or she does not meet the revised minimum age requirement, as long as the child is at least five on December 1 of the school year.
MCL 388.1606 Legislative Analyst: Cameron S. Mock
FISCAL IMPACT
The proposed change actually was enacted under Public Act 199 of 2012, but subsequently (inadvertently) overwritten with the signing of Public Act 201 of 2012. Therefore, this bill is a technical clean-up to fix the signing order issue that occurred in June 2012. To review the fiscal impact of Public Acts 198 and 199, please see:
http://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2011-2012/billanalysis/Senate/pdf/2011-SFA-0315-U.pdf
Date Completed: 9-19-12 Fiscal Analyst: Kathryn Summers
This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.