“Thousands of children enter first grade every year having never set foot in a classroom because under current City and State law, children do not have to enroll in kindergarten. Today’s Assembly’s passage of legislation to allow New York City to make kindergarten mandatory is a major step towards ensuring a strong educational start for New York’s five year olds. We want to thank Speaker Silver and Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan, Chair of the Assembly’s Committee on Education for passing Assembly bill A.9861. We applaud every Member of the Assembly who voted in favor of this important issue and urge the Senate to pass this legislation.”

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