Jennifer Nitson, January 16, 2008
State legislators have vowed to introduce a bill in their February special session that would let school districts continue charging tuition for all-day kindergarten.
The state funds only half-day kindergarten, but the Corvallis School District and many other districts around the state offer a full-day option and charge tuition for the extended program. Last month, the Attorney General's office and the state's legislative counsel issued opinions that the practice of charging tuition for full-day programs is illegal. The ruling put those school districts charging for full-day kindergarten in a quandary over how to proceed.
But the Senate Education Committee has drafted a measure that would allow districts to keep charging tuition until the Legislature has a chance to address the matter during its next regular session in 2009.
State Rep. Sara Gelser, D-Corvallis, helped to draft the bill, but because it is a Senate bill she will not introduce it.
This temporary fix is being proposed, Gelser said, because the issues surrounding the funding and implementation of full-day kindergarten in the state are too complex to tackle during the one-month special session this year.