Under existing law, a child who is six years of age on or before December 31 is entitled to admission to the first grade in the public elementary schools, and a child who is five years of age on or before September 1 is entitled to admission to the local public school kindergartens.
This bill would require a child to attend kindergarten before entering the first grade.
This bill would require a child who is five years of age on or before September 1 to enroll in kindergarten and would provide for circumstances under which a child who is under five years of age on September 1 may be admitted to public kindergarten.
Amendment 621 of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, now appearing as Section 111.05 of the Official Recompilation of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, as amended, prohibits a general law whose purpose or effect would be to require a new or increased expenditure of local funds from becoming effective with regard to a local governmental entity without enactment by a 2/3 vote unless: it comes within one of a number of specified exceptions; it is approved by the affected entity; or the Legislature appropriates funds, or provides a local source of revenue, to the entity for the purpose.
The purpose or effect of this bill would be to require a new or increased expenditure of local funds within the meaning of the amendment. However, the bill does not require approval of a local governmental entity or enactment by a 2/3 vote to become effective because it comes within one of the specified exceptions contained in the amendment.
Source: Alabama Legislature