Looking into it more, I found this:
http://articles.sfgate.com/2010-09-30/news/24106416_1_governor-signs-bill-kindergarten-cutoff-dateThousands of 4-year-olds will be held back from entering California's kindergartens under a bill approved by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The law he signed Thursday moves up the cutoff date by one month each year for three years, from the current Dec. 2 deadline to Sept. 1. California has one of the latest start dates in the nation.
The Legislative Analyst's Office estimates the state could save $700 million per year by reducing enrollment. Under the law, half the savings will help plug the state's deficit.
Seems like a false economy to me. They might save $700M in year one, but it's not like those kids with Sept-Nov birthdates will never go to school. They'll just go next year, and the savings will eventually disappear. And half of those "savings" will go to pre-K programs which we won't be able to fund as a result.
As for the discrimination question, I have a cynical view: our education system (especially the public system) treats education like an industrial commodity. The students are the widgets, and the test scores are QA. If a widget passes, it passes, and no further attention is required. Anything that doesn't fit in the molding machine isn't really wanted.
Val
