LEGISLATIVE SERVICES AGENCY
OFFICE OF FISCAL AND MANAGEMENT ANALYSIS
200 W. Washington St., Suite 301
Indianapolis, IN 46204
(317) 233-0696
iga.in.gov
FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
LS 6736 NOTE PREPARED: Dec 27, 2023
BILL NUMBER: SB 195 BILL AMENDED:
SUBJECT: Age for Compulsory School Attendance.
FIRST AUTHOR: Sen. Taylor G BILL STATUS: As Introduced
FIRST SPONSOR:
FUNDS AFFECTED:XGENERAL IMPACT: State & Local
DEDICATED
FEDERAL
Summary of Legislation: This bill provides that a student is bound by compulsory school attendance
requirements from the beginning of the fall school term for the school year in which the student is five years
of age on August 1 of that school year. (Current law provides that a student is bound by compulsory school
attendance requirements from the beginning of the fall school term for the school year in which the student
becomes seven years of age.) It also makes conforming amendments.
Effective Date: July 1, 2024.
Explanation of State Expenditures: Summary- The bill would require children to enroll in kindergarten
at age 5. This will accelerate state tuition support expenditures from the General Fund for students who
would be required to enroll earlier than they would otherwise. Assuming the affected children attend full-day
kindergarten, there may be an estimated increase of $236 M in FY 2025. This increase will be offset over
time by a decrease in the size of future kindergarten cohorts. The FY 2025 cohort of kindergartners will
contain students aged 5 to 7, with some 4 year old children as well. Since parents will no longer have the
option of starting their child's education at ages 6 or 7, all future cohorts will contain only 5 year olds and
some 4 year olds.
Additional Information- The amount of the initial increase is sensitive to the estimated number of children
ages 5 to 7 who are not currently enrolled in school. Using microdata from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2021
5-Year American Community Survey, it is possible to estimate how many children may be impacted by this
bill.
The data show there could be about 59,500 students aged 5 to 7 not currently enrolled in K-12 education.
SB 195 1 Some of these students are enrolled in preschool at ages 5 and 6, but would have to enroll in kindergarten
under the bill. However, no state achieves perfect enrollment. This estimate assumes that the maximum
percentage of students within a given age cohort enrolled in school is about 97.4%, which is the average for
ages 8 to 14 in Indiana. After adjusting for imperfect enrollment, the number of children who will turn age
5 by August 1, 2025, and the likelihood of attending a public school or receive a Choice Scholarship, the bill
could induce 29,405 students to enroll earlier than they would otherwise.
In FY 2025, public schools will receive $6,681 for each full-day kindergarten student and an additional
$4,024 for each student receiving SNAP, TANF, or who is in foster care. The estimates also assume the
newly added students would receive special education services at the same rate as the current student
population. On average, public schools (excluding virtual charter schools) are estimated to receive about
$783 in special education grants per student in FY 2025. The estimate also uses a projected average Choice
Scholarship of $6,365.
Additionally, the bill requires students to be at least 5 years old by August 1 instead of October 1 to receive
a Choice Scholarship. This could slightly decrease the enrollment in the program, but any decrease would
be small and the bill would ultimately result in more students receiving a Choice Scholarship.
Explanation of State Revenues:
Explanation of Local Expenditures: Public schools would experience an increase in expenditures as more
students enrolled in school. This would be offset by an increase in state tuition support.
Explanation of Local Revenues: Public schools would receive an estimated $221.2 M increase in state
tuition support revenue under the bill.
State Agencies Affected: Department of Education.
Local Agencies Affected: Public schools.
Information Sources: United States Census Bureau; National Center for Education Statistics;
LSA education database; https://www.in.gov/health/reports/natality/2017/tbl4.htm;
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/provisional-tables.htm.
Fiscal Analyst: Austin Spears, 317-234-9454.
SB 195 2