NONRESIDENT KINDERGARTEN ELIGIBILITY                                                         S.B. 492:

                                                                                               COMMITTEE SUMMARY

Senate Bill 492 (as introduced 9-12-13)

Sponsor:  Senator Bruce Caswell

Committee:  Education

Date Completed:  10-1-13

CONTENT

The bill would amend the Revised School Code to apply kindergarten age enrollment requirements to children who are not residents of a school district, but are eligible to attend under the State School Aid Act.

Under the Code, a parent may enroll his or her child in kindergarten if the child is five years old by a certain date, depending on the school year.  Currently, the date is December 1.  For the 2014-2015 school year, the cutoff date will be October 1, 2014.  Beginning with the 2015-2016 school year, the cutoff date will be September 1 of the school year of enrollment.

The Code provides an exception to the age requirement if a child residing in the school district will be five years old by December 1 of a school year.  In that case, a parent may enroll his or her child if the parent gives written notice to the school district by June 1 before the beginning of the school year.  If a child becomes a resident of the school district after June 1, the deadline for the written notice is August 1 before the beginning of the school year. 

The bill would extend this exception to a child who was eligible to enroll in and be counted in membership in the school district under Section 105 or 105c of the State School Aid Act.  Those sections contain provisions for enrolling a child in a school district in which the child does not reside.  The provisions include various procedural requirements and other factors to determine eligibility, such as application and notice deadlines, school capacity, and a school district's right of refusal. 

(As discussed below, an amendment to the State School Aid Act will provide a similar exception.)

MCL 380.1147                                                           Legislative Analyst:  Glenn Steffens

FISCAL IMPACT

The bill would have no fiscal impact on State or local government because an amendment to the School Aid Act (in Enrolled House Bill 4229) will allow any child not meeting the age eligibility under this section of the School Code (Section 1147) to enroll in kindergarten if the child will turn five years old by December 1 and if the parents give notice to the enrolling school district.  Therefore, the amendment to the School Aid Act effectively will

provide for the enrollment of, and subsequent payment for, such students attending kindergarten. 

                                                                                 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.