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Bill Would Lower School Age Requirement

By Alabama Public Radio

Montgomery, AL – The state Legislature is considering a bill that would lower the mandatory school starting age from seven to five. A House committee has already approved it, and now it's awaiting consideration by the full House. Its sponsor, Representative Priscilla Dunn, is a retired elementary school teacher. She says some poor families let their children skip kindergarten. She says that's a disadvantage for those children. But the idea doesn't have unanimous support. Representative Jeremy Oden says some children aren't ready to start school at the age of five.

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