Kindergarten Entry Age Change
Plainfield Public Schools
Connecticut Kindergarten entry age changes for the 2024-2025 school year
During the 2023 legislative session, Connecticut changed how old a child must be to start kindergarten. Public Act 23-208, Section 1(a) changed the birth date cutoff date from January 1 to September 1 of a given school year. Effective in the fall of 2024, children need to turn five on or before September 1 of the school year to be eligible to enroll in public school Kindergarten.
The legislation does allow a school district to admit a child who has not turned five by September 1 of the school year if: (1) the parent makes a request in writing and (2) the school district conducts an assessment of the child to ensure that the child meets kindergarten readiness indicators.
Connecticut Kindergarten entry age changes for the 2024-2025 school year
In 2023, the Connecticut Legislature changed how old a child must be to start kindergarten. Beginning in the 2023-2024 school year, children need to turn 5 years old on or before September 1 in order to be automatically eligible for kindergarten. This is a change from the current kindergarten cutoff date of January 1.
The legislation also allows a school district to admit a child who has not turned five by September 1 of the school year if: (1) the parent makes a request in writing and (2) the school district conducts an assessment of the child to ensure that admitting such child is developmentally appropriate.
Plainfield families will have two options available to them: (1) complete the waiver process which will require a district assessment for early admittance into Kindergarten (2) Plainfield is currently in the process of developing an Early Childhood Transition Classroom, which will provide full day instruction at a developmental and age appropriate level. Our focus for this classroom is to provide an opportunity for students to develop the social, behavioral and academic skills necessary for Kindergarten.
Parent Information Sessions
We understand this process is new and impactful, therefore we have scheduled two in-person parent information sessions that will be held at the Early Childhood Center, 651 Norwich Road.
Parent Information Session #1: January 10th 5:00-6:00 pm
Parent Information Session #2: February 7th 5:00-6:00 pm
Please join us during one of these sessions to learn more about the legislation that changed the start age of kindergarten, the waiver/assessment process for early entry into kindergarten, and the Early Childhood Transition Classroom for students that do not meet the age cutoff for kindergarten. Click here to register for an information session.
What if my child will be age 5 on or before September 1, 2024?
If your child will turn 5 on or before September 1, 2024, no action is needed at this time. Our kindergarten registration process will start in March 2024. If your child is not currently attending our preschool program, the kindergarten registration process will include a screening and registration paperwork.
My child will not be age 5 by September 1, 2024 but will be age 5 by January 1, 2025. What can I do?
If you have a child born between September 2, 2019 and January 1, 2020 and do not wish to request early Kindergarten enrollment for Fall 2024, no action is needed. Registration for Fall 2025 Kindergarten entry will take place in March 2025. Your child will be eligible to attend our Early Childhood Transition classroom. This program will be a full-day transitional program.
If you have a child born between September 2, 2019 and January 1, 2020 and would like your child to be considered for early Kindergarten enrollment in Fall 2024, please note the following steps parents/guardians must complete:
Complete the Request for Early Entrance Survey no later than February 16, 2024. This will serve as your formal written request. A copy will be shared with the principal of your anticipated elementary school.
As a provision of the new state law, an in-person assessment is required for all students requesting early entrance to kindergarten. These will be available by appointment between February 26th and March 8th, 2024. The child will need to meet or exceed Kindergarten readiness benchmarks in numeracy, literacy, social, and language skills to be granted early admittance to Kindergarten.
Parents/guardians will be notified of the district early entrance decision on or before April
5th, 2024. Students will not be screened more than once.
