Kindergarten class

A House subcommittee on education has taken the first step toward giving parents more time to enroll their 5-year-olds in kindergarten.

The staff attorney for the Professional Association of Georgia Educators, Margaret Ciccarelli, said Monday that many parents and teachers have been upset by the original version of House Bill 100.

The panel changed the enrollment deadlines, giving some parents more time before their children must enroll in kindergarten. Children now must turn 5 before Aug. 1 to enroll for the 2017-2018 school year. That deadline moves up to July 1 the following year.

Child psychologist Erica F. Sitkoff of the Voices for Georgia's Children advocacy group says parents need much more time for planning and the delay was necessary.

Tags: House Bill 100, kindergarten start age, house bill on kindergarten, Professional Association of Georgia Educators