They are proposing a bill that will make kindergarten mandatory for one year before a child could enter the first grade. They also mandate in the bill that a child must be 5 by Sept. 1 of the school year in order to attend Kindergarten.

So, NO early admittance and NO grade skipping.

Mind you, want of my best friend's taught Kindergarten in our state and even she stated that some kids just didn't need to be in her class - especially those that were already reading and many had attended pre-school and pre-K, so they knew how to "sit still and be quiet". However, she also had children in her class that didn't know the alphabet and were not yet potty trained.

So, instead of getting the "ready" kids into a first grade classroom, this bill will make it Mandatory for kids to suffer through a year of learning colors, numbers, and letters - even if they are already reading chapter books!

And there is NO provision for gifted students in this bill. I read the entire bill and it made my stomach turn. The bill also makes the mandate for Private schools as well, not just public school. They even mentioned homeschool, but not sure how they would enfore that one!

Ouch!
Are you in touch with your state gifted association?
Trin

Not yet. They had an annual meeting here a few weeks ago, but we were still getting over the "twins" news, so I didn't attend.
I may have to get ahold of the leadership of the group though. The bill had its second reading Feb. 15 - so I think it may end up coming up for a vote this session.

Sounds like an excellent idea.