Kendall County Times

Full-day kindergarten has been a priority of sorts for Illinois Democrats, and on Aug. 3, Sen. Meg Loughran Cappel shared the news that Gov. J.B. Pritzker had signed a new bill into law that focused on that priority. Starting in the 2027-28 school year, school boards must establish kindergarten with full-day attendance, according to House Bill 2396.

"Full-day kindergarten will give parents peace of mind knowing their child is in a stable learning environment preparing them for early elementary school," Loughran Cappel wrote in a Facebook post. "I was proud to support expanding access to full-day kindergarten for families across the state, giving students every opportunity they deserve!"

In her Facebook post, Loughran Cappel shared a link to a press release about the new law.

“Research shows the positive impact of getting kids in the classroom at an early age,” Loughran Cappel said in a press release. “Creating access to education at every level is significant to set students up to be lifelong learners.”

The news release also noted that full-day kindergarten was optional in the state before Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed House Bill 2396 into law on Aug. 2.

The bill states that “beginning with the 2027-2028 school year (instead of the 2023-2024 school year), each school board must establish a kindergarten with full-day attendance.” It also states that “the full-day kindergarten should be developmentally appropriate and provide opportunities for play-based learning; an elementary or unit school district that does not offer full-day kindergarten as of Oct. 1, 2022, may, by action of the State Board of Education, apply for an extension of the 2027-2028 school year implementation deadline for two additional years if one of the specified criteria are met.” The law also creates a task force to “conduct a statewide audit to inform the planning and implementation of full-day kindergarten in the state and shall, at a minimum, collect, analyze and report specified criteria.”

Full-day kindergarten has been on Pritzker’s radar for some time. It was a prominent feature of his February budget address.

"Full-day kindergarten is an essential step toward getting young Illinoisans off to the best possible start in their education, which has long-lasting positive effects on reading, math and social skill. From Smart Start to school funding to early childhood, we're investing heavily in our state's youngest residents because we know that every investment we make now is paid back multiple times over by engaged and educated citizens,” Pritzker said.