Kindergarten: minimum schoolday.

Existing law requires a school district maintaining a kindergarten to admit a child who will have their 5th birthday on or before September 1 of the school year. Existing law authorizes, under certain circumstances, school districts offering kindergarten to maintain kindergarten classes at different schoolsites for different lengths of time. This bill would require, from the 2027–28 to the 2029–30 school year, inclusive, a school district or charter school that has an enrolled unduplicated pupil percentage of 50% or more and offers a kindergarten program, to provide, at each schoolsite that offers a kindergarten program, a minimum of one class that offers a minimum schoolday for the kindergarten day that is at least equivalent to the minimum schoolday provided for grades 1 to 3, inclusive. The bill would impose the same requirement on a school district or charter school, commencing with the 2030–31 school year, regardless of the enrolled unduplicated pupil percentage. The bill would provide that these provisions do not apply to transitional kindergarten. By imposing new duties on a school district or charter school the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.