SCHOOL OFFICIALS QUESTION AGE BILL : MEASURE WOULD MOVE UP KINDERGARTEN CUTOFF.

Byline: Mary Schubert Daily News Staff Writer

School superintendents in the Santa Clarita Valley said a state legislator's proposal to change the minimum age for kindergarten enrollment might benefit youngsters born late in the year but wouldn't be a magic cure.

Assemblyman George Runner, R-Lancaster, this week introduced Assembly Bill 85, which would change California's birthday cutoff date from Dec. 2 to Sept. 1.

If the bill became law, youngsters would have to be 5 years old to enter kindergarten at a traditional September-to-June public school. The proposed Sept. 1 birthday cutoff also would apply to districts that use a year-round calendar, in which school years typically begin in July, Runner said.

Across the country, there are three dozen states where the minimum age for kindergartners is older than that required under current California law. Most of the states have set birthday cutoff dates in September and October, with a handful in August and, in the case of Missouri, on July 1.

Many other states leave the decision up to local school districts, but several others have birthday cutoff dates closer to that in California. In Michigan and New York state, for instance, kindergartners must be 5 by Dec. 1; in Hawaii, Maryland and the District of Columbia the deadline is Dec. 31; and Connecticut and Delaware have a Jan. 1 cutoff, according to the Education Commission of the States, a Denver-based national clearinghouse of school data.

``Kids mature at different levels and different times, so it's difficult to determine when a child is ready for school,'' said Alan Nishino, superintendent of the Castaic Union School District.

School administrators might like a September cutoff date because all kindergartners would be at least 5 years old, Nishino said. ``Whether it's good for all kids, I'm not sure,'' he said.

J. Michael McGrath, superintendent of the Newhall School District, also seemed neutral on the proposed change. If the December cutoff is moved up to September, he said, all California public school districts should be required to abide by the rule. Principals, superintendents and school boards shouldn't be allowed to grant any exceptions or waivers of the rule.

``I really have no strong opinion about what the day should be, but I believe it should be a uniform date,'' McGrath said.

``I'm not sure three months makes a big difference,'' McGrath said. ``I think probably for some kids it would be beneficial. But for other kids (with autumn birthdays), they're ready for school and they would have to wait another year,'' he said.

``You would be really surprised at how many parents call up really ticked off (about the Dec. 2 cutoff) because their child is born on Dec. 10,'' the Newhall superintendent said.

For two years, some Newhall district schools switched to a year-round calendar to ease overcrowding. Because classes began in the summer, kindergartners with autumn birthdays were entering school considerably younger, he said.

``Theoretically, the older the child, the better they should do (in school). It really is kind of an individual thing. Some children are ready for kindergarten at age 4,'' McGrath added.

``There have always been a certain percentage of parents who hold their child out (of kindergarten) a year. They don't think (the child) is ready,'' said McGrath, who has been the Newhall superintendent for 25 years. Parents want their youngster's academic, social and developmental skills to be comparable to that of his or her peers.

``Some (parents) actually think if they hold (the child) out a year, they'll be smarter or bigger, but that usually doesn't pan out,'' McGrath said.

Joseph Fazio, superintendent of the Saugus Union School District, said he has ``mixed feelings'' about the proposal to move up the cutoff date.

Parents of boys born in October and November are the group who most often delay their child's entrance to kindergarten to give the youngster an extra year of preparation, but the parents of girls often do not, he said. ``We find many girls entering school are typically six months (older than) their male counterparts,'' Fazio said.

He said he would rather see public school education begin at age 4. ``Rather than delaying students a year in school, I would hope the state would consider starting them a year earlier,'' Fazio said.

``That's on my wish list,'' he said. ``I believe some day it will become a reality.''

In the meantime, Fazio said, schools should adapt their teaching methods to reach kindergartners born in January, December and all the months in between because all students start their formal education at varying abilities and with different learning aptitudes.

Changing the birthday cutoff date won't alter the fact that youngsters begin kindergarten with different levels of knowledge, concentration and skills, Fazio said. Rather than a one-size-fits-all approach, some children may need an introductory curriculum, while others are ready for more advanced work, he said.

``A child's failure in school may often be due to the way we deliver instruction,'' he said.

``Holding children back does not necessarily solve their problems,'' Fazio added. ``To keep them out of public education for a year, I think is a disservice to those children.''