The Michigan House has passed a bill that would force kids who are 5 years old on September 1 to go to kindergarten.
The measure’s supporters said that their goals are to raise academic standards and cut down on frequent absences.
The bill was approved by the state Senate by a vote of 21 to 15. Republicans were mostly against it.
One of the people who were against the bill was Senator Jonathan Lindsey (R-Allen).
“I seriously believe that no one proved that this was a good measure.” “When you look at absenteeism in grades where attendance is required, we have the same problem or sometimes an even bigger problem, depending on the data you look at,” he said. “It doesn’t really make sense to say that we’re going to give kindergarteners the same rules we have for first graders to solve that problem.”
The bill’s sponsor, Dayna Polehanki (D-Livonia), said that there was a change from the original plan. “The only thing that was different from the original bill is that we added a way for parents who don’t think their child is ready to opt out.” So you can choose not to. That’s the newest change to the law that says everyone has to go to school. “I don’t think things will change any further,” she said.
It will now be looked at by the Michigan House. If the bill gets through the house, it will start to apply to the 2025–2026 school year.
