Senate bill · S4037 (2025-26)

Relates to the compulsory age for full time instruction from six to five years of age and certain exceptions for minor children

Latest action Jun 4, 2026

New York State Senate

Same as A323, the matching bill in the Assembly.

Sponsor

State Senator, District 42 · Democratic

Summary

Relates to the compulsory age for full time instruction from six to five years of age and certain exceptions for minor children; requires kindergarten in certain school districts.

Summary from NY Open Legislation. How we handle summaries

Amends the Education Law.

From NY Open Legislation, the NY Senate and Assembly, and official rosters. This record was last updated Oct 29, 2026. About our data

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Purpose, from the sponsor's memo

The bill lowers the compulsory age of full-time school attendance to five years of age, from the current age of six. It requires that all children between the ages of five to sixteen years of age attend school full-time. It further requires that the board of education for a school district maintains a kindergarten for residents between the ages of four and six at no cost to the attendee.

Filed with the bill. Read it on nysenate.gov (opens in a new tab)

Where it stands

Passed one of the two chambers; it still needs the other.

Introduced
In committee
Up for a vote
Passed one chamber
Passed
Enacted

Committee

Codes · New York State Assembly

Also referred to Codes · New York State Senate, Education · New York State Assembly, Education · New York State Senate.

Cosponsors

David McDonough, Patricia Fahy and 2 more on Agora

Showing the cosponsors who are on Agora, A to Z. The official record may list more.

Read on NY Senate

Democratic3
Republican1

This bill has cosponsors from more than one party.

Shown in neutral colors by design; Agora is non-partisan.

The sponsor's argument

Why James Skoufis says this is needed

Experts agree that early childhood education plays a critical role in later school success and the crucial developmental period of brain growth. Kindergarten, in particular, helps to lay the foundation for all that is to come by promoting everything from basic academic skills like reading-readiness and early math to honing crucial social talents such as patience, perseverance, determination, and manners. Some research revealed longitudinal benefits by showing that children who learned more in kindergarten were less likely to be single parents, went to college in higher numbers, and earned higher incomes. While New York has worked to offer every-four year old a seat in the Universal Pre-K program, kindergarten in New York is not mandatory, largely partly due to the current education law, which sets the compul- sory age for full-time school attendance at six. As a result, many school districts complain of chronic absenteeism, where more than 10% of school days are missed among their five-year-old students. Some parents perceive early education, particularly in kindergarten, as unimportant. At the same time, contrary research has shown that chronic absence in kindergarten is associated with lower academic performance in the first grade. By lowering the mandatory attendance age to five years, we give children the early tools they need to succeed.

This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.

Recorded votes

Vote: Floor vote
NY SenateJun 4, 2026Result: passed
(44) (16) (0) (3)
Vote: Committee vote · Education
Senate EducationFeb 24, 2026Result: passed
(13) (0) (0) (2)
Vote: Committee vote · Education
Senate EducationMay 6, 2025Result: passed
(13) (1) (0) (0)

Full history

Jun 4, 2026
Sent to the executive
DELIVERED TO ASSEMBLY
NY Senate
Jun 4, 2026
Passed a chamber
PASSED SENATE
NY Senate
Jun 4, 2026
Referred to committee
REFERRED TO CODES
NY Assembly
May 27, 2026
Reported out of committee
REPORTED REFERRED TO CODES
NY Assembly
May 26, 2026
Amended
AMENDED ON THIRD READING (T) 4037C
NY Senate

Show full history (17 earlier events)

May 21, 2026
Amend (t) and Recommit to Education
AMEND (T) AND RECOMMIT TO EDUCATION
NY Assembly
May 13, 2026
Amend and Recommit to Education
AMEND AND RECOMMIT TO EDUCATION
NY Assembly
May 7, 2026
Amend and Recommit to Education
AMEND AND RECOMMIT TO EDUCATION
NY Assembly
May 7, 2026
Amended
AMENDED ON THIRD READING 4037B
NY Senate
Mar 5, 2026
Advanced to Third Reading
ADVANCED TO THIRD READING
NY Senate
Mar 4, 2026
2ND Report CAL.
2ND REPORT CAL.
NY Senate
Feb 26, 2026
1ST Report CAL.435
1ST REPORT CAL.435
NY Senate
Jan 7, 2026
Referred to committee
REFERRED TO EDUCATION
NY Senate
Jan 7, 2026
Referred to committee
REFERRED TO EDUCATION
NY Assembly
Jun 13, 2025
In committee
COMMITTED TO RULES
NY Senate
May 8, 2025
Advanced to Third Reading
ADVANCED TO THIRD READING
NY Senate
May 7, 2025
2ND Report CAL.
2ND REPORT CAL.
NY Senate
May 6, 2025
1ST Report CAL.939
1ST REPORT CAL.939
NY Senate
May 5, 2025
Amend and Recommit to Education
AMEND AND RECOMMIT TO EDUCATION
NY Assembly
Apr 30, 2025
Amend and Recommit to Education
AMEND AND RECOMMIT TO EDUCATION
NY Senate
Jan 31, 2025
Referred to committee
REFERRED TO EDUCATION
NY Senate
Jan 8, 2025
Referred to committee
REFERRED TO EDUCATION
NY Assembly