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​Superintendent Woods Releases Statement on Age of Eligibility Legislation

MEDIA CONTACT: Matt Cardoza, GaDOE Communications Office, (404) 651-7358, mcardoza@gadoe.org or Meghan Frick, GaDOE Communications Office, (404) 656-5594, mfrick@doe.k12.ga.us

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January 28, 2015
– State School Superintendent Richard Woods’ statement regarding House Bill 100

“I wholeheartedly support House Bill 100,” said Superintendent Woods. “Since most schools now start before September 1, we have many students starting kindergarten far too young. Some younger students, especially four-year-olds, are not developmentally ready for kindergarten. Oftentimes their presence in a classroom requires teachers to provide pre-kindergarten services to the disadvantage of the older students who are ready to learn at the kindergarten level and achieve the high academic standards we have in Georgia.”

State Board of Education Chair Helen Rice added, “I believe moving the age of eligibility for kindergarten back will have a positive impact on student achievement. The lack of kindergarten readiness of late four-year-olds and early five-year-olds is exacerbated by the fact that many of these children have had no prior school experience. The more time they have to mature before starting kindergarten the better."

Superintendent Woods first proposed this issue during his campaign. He reiterated his commitment to the idea of advancing the cutoff date for kindergarten registration when he spoke to the Georgia School Boards Association in early December.​ 

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