2022 Mandatory Kindergarten Bill Veto : What It Means For Homeschoolers
- Jamie Heston
- Jan 1, 2023
- 2 min read
For years, the Homeschool Association of California has been advising parents not to include their five-year-old children on the private school affidavit when independently homeschooling via a private school. The main reason they and I recommend this is because the compulsory education law states that only children ages 6 through 18 need to be enrolled in a full-time school (1).
Because five-year-olds do not need to be enrolled in a full-time school, this leaves the choice of whether to enroll or not up to the parents. Some children are ready to enter kindergarten and some are not, depending upon their age and many other factors and circumstances. The pandemic added additional layers of concern for parents to consider. Also, the majority of parents in California already enroll their 5 years olds in kindergarten each year, although that number did suffer during the pandemic. “In 2019-20, kindergarten enrollment statewide was 523,009 and it dropped 11.6% in 2020-21 to 462,172.” (2)
Parents who are home educating can certainly plan to actively educate their five year old children for a kindergarten year, but they don’t need to have any legal structure to do so. By including a large number of five-year-olds on the private school affidavit, a message could possibly be sent to the California state legislature that since parents are including five year olds as a matter of course, it’s not a big deal if they decide to make it a mandatory requirement. However, parents are in the best position to decide if their five year olds should be in kindergarten or not.
In 2022, the state legislature passed AB 70, which would have made enrollment in kindergarten a prerequisite and requirement for entrance into any public school first grade class. The government estimated that an additional 30,000 students, representing a 6% increase, would have been added to public school rolls at a cost of over $200 million per year. Thankfully, governor Newsom vetoed the bill as being too costly in an uncertain economic environment. He supports early education, but wasn’t willing to take on the ongoing costs of the additional students at this time.
For parents who want to take advantage of optional free public transitional kindergarten (implemented by the state recently) or free public optional kindergarten via charters or brick and mortar schools, the choice to do so continues to be available to them.
This is positive news for parents all over California who want to have flexibility and retain the choice of whether or not to send their children to school at five years of age, and for home educators, we can continue as we have, and only include students who are ages 6-18 on our affidavits.
The veto of the 2022 Mandatory Kindergarten Bill makes me very happy! This gives me comfort as a homeschooling parent because I know I can still make the best decisions for my child's early education. Thankfully, Thesis Writing Service has been a tremendous assistance to me as I manage my personal obligations and teaching duties. They have helped me better manage my time, particularly when I need academic support that has been thoroughly researched.
While researching education policy for my graduate thesis, I came across similar debates around early childhood education laws. Understanding how legislation like AB 70 affects homeschooling choices in California was crucial to my analysis. Since balancing research with writing can be challenging, I relied on thesis writing help to organize my findings and ensure my arguments remained clear and well-supported.
Thanks for sharing this update. The 2022 Mandatory Kindergarten Bill veto is good news for many homeschoolers who want more freedom in early education. Parents can now choose what’s best for their kids without strict rules. Just like how people in Japan choose reliable cars, such as Japan motors used cars in Okayama, families also want trusted and flexible options for their children’s learning journey.
This is a helpful post for parents who homeschool their kids. It’s good to see how the 2022 Mandatory Kindergarten Bill veto gives families more freedom in choosing how to educate their children. Homeschooling gives parents more control, just like students sometimes need PMP exam help to prepare better on their own terms. This update means homeschoolers can continue their learning path without extra rules for kindergarten. Thanks for sharing this important information in such a clear way.
That was such an insightful breakdown of the implications behind the kindergarten bill veto—thank you for shedding light on how it affects homeschooling families in California. It’s empowering to see parents retain the flexibility to choose what’s best for their children’s early education. On a different note, I’ve been exploring how TikTok Shop automation is helping small business owners streamline their online sales while focusing more on what matters—just like how thoughtful policy can free up families to focus on personalized learning.