Bill to count Pre-K participants passes committee

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Senate Bill 224, authored by State Senator Jean Leising (R-Oldenburg) passed the Senate Committee on Education and Career Development yesterday.

If approved by the full legislature, the bill would require the Indiana Department of Education and the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration to conduct a survey to determine how many four-year-old Indiana students were enrolled in prekindergarten during the 2015-2016 school year.

The bill passed by a vote of 7 to 2.

Last September, the Early Learning Advisory Committee conducted a survey and found that approximately 84,333 four-year-old children live in Indiana.

However, the state does not know the exact number of four-year-olds served by all categories of pre-Kindergarten programs.

Senate Bill 224 will now be considered by the full Senate.