“With tonight’s passage of the mandatory Kindergarten legislation in the State Senate, we are now only one step away from guaranteeing this critical year of schooling for every New York City five-year-old. This bill will be life changing for the nearly 3,000 New York City kids that enter the first grade having never set foot in a classroom each year – kids who often need kindergarten the most. We thank Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and State Senate Majority Leader Dean G. Skelos for their leadership on ensuring these bills were passed, and State Senator John J. Flanagan and Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan for introducing and advocating for the passage of their respective bills in the Senate and Assembly.”

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