State K-3 Policies - 50-State Comparison

 

Full report

Following a high-quality early care and pre-K experience, the kindergarten-through-third-grade years set the foundation upon which future learning builds; and strengthening this continuum creates opportunities for later success. Key components of a quality experience in K-3 include school readiness and transitions, kindergarten requirements, educator quality, prevention, intervention and assessments, and social and emotional learning and mental health.

Education Commission of the States researched the policies and regulations that guide these key components in all 50 states to provide this comprehensive resource. 

Key Takeaways

• Nineteen states and the District of Columbia require that children attend kindergarten.
• Seventeen states and the District of Columbia require full-day kindergarten, and 39 states plus the District of Columbia require districts to offer kindergarten either full or half day.
• Twenty-three states and the District of Columbia have policies in place to guide the transition process from pre-K to kindergarten, with 17 states requiring family engagement in this process.
• Thirty-seven states and the District of Columbia require assessments outside of the federally required third-grade assessments, including screeners, diagnostic, summative and formative assessments.
• Twenty states have literacy instruction requirements for teacher training and professional development, ranging from passing an assessment to receiving job-embedded training.
• Seventeen states and the District of Columbia require grade retention for nonproficient third graders, with good cause exemptions, and an additional 10 states allow for grade retention.
• Seventeen states have a provision in statute or regulation limiting the suspension or expulsion of students in pre-K through third grade.
• Thirty-two states and the District of Columbia define social and emotional learning in statute or regulation, and 28 states have pre-service or in-service standards that require knowledge of the social and emotional learning of students.
• Twenty-seven states and the District of Columbia require or encourage teacher training and professional development in student mental health and trauma-informed practices.