HB 14 Summary

• Lowers mandatory school attendance age from six years old to five years old, requiring children who are at least five years old on or before July 31 of the school year to attend kindergarten.

• Repeals Section 302A-411 which established non-mandatory kindergarten attendance and charter school exclusions from kindergarten programs.

• Requires the Department of Education, in collaboration with the Executive Office on Early Learning, to develop a statewide individualized kindergarten readiness assessment system beginning in the 2015-2016 school year for all public and charter schools.

• Mandates the assessment system measure child development across language, literacy, mathematics, and cognitive, physical, and social-emotional domains, with parent opt-out available.

• Appropriates general revenues for fiscal year 2014-2015 to fund the assessment system, training, technology support, and four full-time equivalent positions for teacher professional development.