Post by Logan on Feb 5, 2016 19:44:08 GMT -6
Colorado parents who want to send their kindergartners to school all day instead of just three hours often have to pay tuition — up to $400 per month — because the state does not fund full-day kindergarten.
Legislation to change that is up for debate this year at the state Capitol, though it's expectedly short-lived as the measure was sent by the Republican-controlled Senate not to the education committee but to the so-called "kill committee" where bills regularly go to die.
Eleven states and Washington, D.C., require school districts to provide publicly funded full-day kindergarten, according to the Children's Defense Fund. Colorado is one of 19 states that fund kindergarten-age children at about half the rate of students in first-grade through 12th grade, meaning the state "disincentivizes" districts from providing full-day kindergarten, according to a report from the Education Commission of the States.
In Colorado, it's up to districts to decide whether to use funds to provide full-day kindergarten and how much to charge for tuition. Many districts charge from $200 to $400 per month. The state Department of Education does not track district tuition costs.
Read more: www.denverpost.com/news/ci_29482255/full-day-kindergarten-colorado-debated-at-capitol
Legislation to change that is up for debate this year at the state Capitol, though it's expectedly short-lived as the measure was sent by the Republican-controlled Senate not to the education committee but to the so-called "kill committee" where bills regularly go to die.
Eleven states and Washington, D.C., require school districts to provide publicly funded full-day kindergarten, according to the Children's Defense Fund. Colorado is one of 19 states that fund kindergarten-age children at about half the rate of students in first-grade through 12th grade, meaning the state "disincentivizes" districts from providing full-day kindergarten, according to a report from the Education Commission of the States.
In Colorado, it's up to districts to decide whether to use funds to provide full-day kindergarten and how much to charge for tuition. Many districts charge from $200 to $400 per month. The state Department of Education does not track district tuition costs.
Read more: www.denverpost.com/news/ci_29482255/full-day-kindergarten-colorado-debated-at-capitol