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The following opinion is presented on-line for informational use only and does not replace the official version. (Mich Dept of Attorney General Web Site - www.ag.state.mi.us) STATE OF MICHIGAN FRANK J. KELLEY, ATTORNEY GENERAL Opinion No. 6467 September 16, 1987 SCHOOLS AND SCHOOL DISTRICTS: Right of child to attend kindergarten The Legislature has provided that a school district must admit into its kindergarten a child qualified by age and residence upon enrollment by the parent or legal guardian, despite any recommendation of school district personnel that the child attend an alternative "Early 5" or "Developmental Kindergarten" program. Honorable Lewis N. Dodak State Representative The Capitol Lansing, Michigan You have requested my opinion on a question which may be phrased as follows: Where a child is qualified by residence and age to attend kindergarten, does 1976 PA 451, Sec. 1147(2), entitle a parent or legal guardian to enroll a child in kindergarten, and oblige the school district to accept the child's enrollment, despite the recommendation of school district personnel that the child attend an alternative "Early 5" or "Developmental Kindergarten" program? You note in your letter of request that in recent years, a number of school districts have developed programs commonly referred to as "Early 5" or "Developmental Kindergarten." Resident children in these districts who are qualified by age to enter kindergarten are frequently placed in such a program when, in the opinion of school district personnel, they are less than fully ready for kindergarten. In 1976 PA 451, Sec. 1147(2), MCL 380.1147(2); MSA 15.41147(2), the Legislature has provided: "In a school district where provision is made for kindergarten work, a child, resident of the district, is entitled to enroll in the kindergarten if the child is at least 5 years of age on December 1 of the school year of enrollment. In a school district which has semiannual promotions, a child, resident of the district, is entitled to enroll in kindergarten for the second semester if the child is at least 5 years of age on March 1 of the year of enrollment." (Emphasis added.) Act 451, Sec. 1147(2), plainly commands that a resident child who is five years of age by December 1 of the school year of enrollment "is entitled to enroll in the kindergarten." It is a settled rule of statutory construction that the Legislature is presumed to have intended the meaning that is clearly expressed. Thus, an unambiguous statute does not require interpretation and must be enforced as it is written. Soap & Detergent Ass'n v Natural Resources Comm, 415 Mich 728, 738; 330 NW2d 346 (1982). This plain meaning has been confirmed by the Michigan Supreme Court in Snyder v Charlotte Public School Dist, 421 Mich 517, 526-535, 555-556; 365 NW2d 151 (1984), reh den 422 Mich 1201 (1985). It is my opinion, therefore, that where a child is qualified by residence and age to attend kindergarten, Act 451, Sec. 1147(2), entitled a parent or legal guardian to enroll the child in kindergarten and obligates the school district to accept the child's enrollment in kindergarten, despite any recommendation of school district personnel that the child attend an alternative "Early 5" or "Developmental Kindergarten" program. Frank J. Kelley Attorney General
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