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A bill that would require Louisiana parents to send their children to kindergarten or provide a homeschool equivalent gained momentum Monday after a second Senate committee moved it forward.
Democratic Baton Rouge Sen. Cleo Fields Senate Bill 10 would make kindergarten mandatory for children who turn 5 before Sept. 30. Public schools are already required to offer kindergarten.
It advanced without objection, but not before a debate in which former Republican U.S. Senate candidate Woody Jenkins testified he believes data supports his position that kindergarten has no educational benefit and could create behavioral problems.
Fields bill was first moved favorably from the Senate Education Committee but required a hearing in the Senate Finance Committee Monday because it would increase costs for the state.