The governor and his pen

In case you missed it, last week the guv signed to pieces of legislation that I'd covered in two separate stories published a few weeks ago. The first one is the Kindergarten Readiness Act, which will move up California's kindergarten entry date from Dec. 2 to Sept. 1 so children start school at age 5. Before, thousands of children would start school at age 4, often without the maturity and social skills needed to meet the ever-increasing challenges of our test-driven schools. Now the kids will be ready to fill in bubble tests in no time...

The second piece of legislation I was following was AB12, the California Fostering Connections to Success Act. Also signed into law Thursday, the bill will allow foster youth to stay in the system until they are 21. Previously when foster youth turned 18, they were basically on their own -- no home, no money, and basically a bleak future. This lack of stability makes foster youths much more likely to be homelessness, incarcerated, pregnant or addicted to drugs than the average teen.

Under AB12 foster youth who continue their education or job training and who work at least a part-time job would be eligible for extended benefits until they are 21. The costs for these extra years of benefits be covered partially by federal matching funds.