(In New Hampshire, the Long Wait for Kindergarten Continues)

At a time when some states are pushing for publicly funded pre-kindergarten and promoting its value, New Hampshire is struggling to get a new requirement of public kindergarten for all off the ground. The state has been locked in an interesting battle over who should pay for kindergarten, which the state legislature included as a requirement for all schools in their definition of an adequate education that was adopted last year.

An Associated Press piece this week noted that that Gov. John Lynch extended the deadline for starting programs and agreed to provide financial help to the towns trying to start such programs.

There are fascinating stories to be told behind this kindergarten battle in New Hampshire, the only state in the U.S. that does not offer public kindergarten in all of its school districts. The state whose motto is "Live Free or Die,'' -- and whose residents often reject any programs that will raise taxes -- is also home to a fast growing population of young families who have moved to southern New Hampshire from the Boston area in search of more affordable housing and a better lifestyle. Many are shocked to learn they must home school their children for kindergarten or find private day care options.

National Public Radio did a terrific job in 2005 of describing the disbelief and anger of many parents who showed up to their local elementary school to register their children -- only to learn there is no kindergarten.

The law signed last week extending the deadline and giving communities without kindergarten another year to offer programs means more delays-- and more families with fewer options for giving their child the best start in school.