04/09/2024
UPDATE/ EDITED TO ADD: This morning, Wednesday, April 10th in the Senate, Senator Polehanki offered a floor substitute for a 3rd version of the bill with no discussion. The substitute was adopted and advanced to a third reading... meaning IT WAS NOT YET VOTED UPON, BUT THE NEXT TIME IT IS BROUGHT UP WILL BE FOR A VOTE. The Senate has adjourned for today & the rest of this week, but will meet again next Tuesday morning, 4/16-- at which time they could likely bring it up for a vote.
The new version added an option for parents to delay starting a 5 year old only for that school year, if they notify their public school district.
NOTE: There remains an exemption from compulsory attendance for homeschoolers:
"(3) A child is not required to attend public school in any of the following cases: …" BUT because they deleted exemption B (about not having to attend school if you don’t live within 2.5 miles of a public school with no transportation furnished by the school district), all the following exemptions move “up” a letter, meaning most homeschoolers would now need to claim exemption E instead of F… which still reads: "(e) The child is being educated at the child’s home by the child’s parent or legal guardian in an organized educational program in the subject areas of reading, spelling, mathematics, science, history, civics, literature, writing, and English grammar.”
Here is the current version of SB 285, so you can read what is being proposed for yourself:https://legislature.mi.gov/documents/2023-2024/billcurrentversion/Senate/PDF/2023-SCVBS-0285-00D47.PDF
ALERT: S.B. 285 (Mandatory Kindergarten bill) is on the floor of the Michigan Senate and is on the agenda to be discussed (today!) Wednesday, April 10, 2024!
Please contact your state senator NOW and ask them oppose this bill! Parents, not government bureaucrats, know when their children need to start formal academics. The state estimates this will increase Michigan's tax burden by $43.3 million per year, making things even more difficult financially for families who are already struggling to get by. Public kindergarten is already an option for any Michigan family who wants it, but this should NOT be forced on young children without their parents' consent.
For homeschoolers, this will require you, by law, to teach reading, spelling, literature, writing, English grammar, mathematics, science, history and civics, in an organized educational program...to your 5-yr-old! Many young children are not ready for that kind of academic focus. Please respond now before the state senate votes on this bill!
https://senate.michigan.gov/FindYourSenator/