Massachusetts snapshot: Full-day kindergarten enrollment, by city/town (Click on image to enlarge)

The Children’s Defense Fund (CDF) has taken a state-by-state look at the status of full-day kindergarten (FDK) across the country.  Only 10 states (Massachusetts not among them) and the District of Columbia have enacted statutes requiring school districts to provide publicly funded full-day kindergarten. In many states, including Massachusetts, children in some districts have access to FDK only if their parents pay tuition. In Massachusetts, kindergarten attendance is not mandatory and districts are required to provide half-day programs.

Research finds many benefits of full-day kindergarten, including 30% more time on reading and literacy instruction and 46% more time in mathematics instruction than in half-day programs. Kindergartners in full-day programs also exhibit more independent thinking, classroom involvement, productive work with peers, and reflectiveness.

Check out the Children’s Defense Fund’s interactive map and fact sheets for the 50 states and the District of Columbia (Massachusetts Fact Sheet). Here is a rundown of what CDF found:

• Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, the District of Columbia,  Louisiana,  Maryland, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Carolina, and West Virginia require districts to provide full-day, publicly funded kindergarten.
• Twenty-one states require “school districts to offer half-day kindergarten and cannot charge tuition.”
• Thirteen states, including Massachusetts, “allow school districts to charge families tuition for the ‘other portion of the kindergarten day.’” (Map: FDK tuition in Massachusetts communities)
• In six states, “no state statute requires any type of kindergarten program although many school districts offer half-day kindergarten at a minimum.”

The fiscal year 2013 budget recommendation that Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick released last month includes $25.95 million (up $3 million from FY12 funding) for grants to expand and enhance the quality of full-day kindergarten.

Post script. Check out our Maps & Charts page for information on other issues and trends affecting young children in Massachusetts.