Senate Bill 1316 Summary

• Establishes full-time kindergarten programs requiring 810 instructional hours annually, with half-time kindergarten remaining at 450 hours, and makes full-time kindergarten optional for students.

• Requires full-time kindergarten programs to include evidence-based best practices with a parent engagement component covering home learning activities and parental support strategies.

• Revises kindergarten support unit calculations in the educational support funding formula, changing the computation table for kindergarten attendance divisors and minimum units.

• Prohibits school districts receiving full-time kindergarten funding from including those instructional costs in local maintenance and operation property tax levies, as they are covered by state general funds.

• Establishes new reporting requirements to the state board of education and allows kindergarten teacher home visits during the first week of school as part of staff allowance for parent engagement.