ELIMINATE SEMIANNUAL OPTION FOR KINDERGARTEN; PERSONALITY TEST RULES

House Bill 5627

Sponsor:  Rep. Tom McMillin

Committee:  Education

Complete to 6-6-12

A SUMMARY OF HOUSE BILL 5627 AS INTRODUCED 5-12-12

House Bill 5627 would amend the Revised School Code (MCL 380.1147) to eliminate (1) the semiannual option for kindergarten enrollment and (2) the provision that concerns rules for the administering of personality tests to students.

Now under the law, a student who is at least five years of age before December 1 of the school year of enrollment can enroll in kindergarten.  House Bill 5627 would retain this provision. Further, the law specifies that in a school district that has semi-annual promotions, a child who is a district resident and is entitled to enroll in kindergarten for the second semester, may do so if the child is at least five years of age on March 1 of the year of enrollment.  House Bill 5627 would eliminate this provision.

Further, House Bill 5627 would repeal Section 380.1172 of the Revised School Code.  That section of the code concerns the promulgation of administrative rules by the State Board of Education to administer personality tests.  The section reads as follows:

Sec. 1172.

(1) The state board shall promulgate rules concerning personality tests, both projective and nonprojective types, administered to pupils in school districts of the state as school projects or as parts of the school programs.

(2) The rules shall include:

(a) Circumstances under which the tests may be administered.

(b) Responsibility for selection of the tests.

(c) Qualifications of persons administering and interpreting the test results.

(d) Methods of maintaining the confidentiality of test results.

FISCAL IMPACT:

The bill would have no state or local fiscal impact.

                                                                                           Legislative Analyst:   J. Hunault

                                                                                                  Fiscal Analyst:   Bethany Wicksall

                                                                                                                           Mark Wolf

■ This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan House staff for use by House members in their deliberations, and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.