SACRAMENTO -- Because higher learning standards have made kindergarten more complicated than naps and playtime, Assemblywoman Sharon Runner, R-Lancaster, has proposed delaying the time when some younger 5-year-olds will be able to enter school.

But Runner's proposal has left the realm of policy discussions and rammed into the ongoing budget battle.

The plan, which would require that students be 5 years old before Sept. 1 to enroll in kindergarten, would save $750 million every year it's in place. It would also delay the enrollment of more than 110,000 kindergarten students this fall.

On Monday, Gov. Gray Davis said any budget plan including Runner's proposal would be "dead on arrival."

Now, California is one of eight states with cutoff dates in December or January, the nation's latest, but the more rigorous curriculum for kindergarten is often too difficult for some 4-year-olds, who then get held back for another year, said Runner, R-Lancaster.

"It really sets children up to fail," she said.

Changing the date would cut enrollment by about 25 percent, saving $750 million the first year and each of the next 12 years as the smaller class progressed through school.