Early Admission To Kindergarten Under The New Age Restrictions
By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 You may have noticed recently that the age of students in kindergarten is increasing. Soon, all kindergartners will be required to be 5 years old by September 1 the year they enter kindergarten. This is because the birthday month for admission has been steadily moving backwards. California Education Code �48000 is the culprit in this mess. It moved entrance birthdays back from December (2011-2012) to November (2012-2013) to October 1 as of 2013-2014. This means, to enter kindergarten in the fall of 2013, a student must be 5 years old on or before October 1, 2013. In 2014-2015 a student will have to be 5 by September 1, 2014 to enter kindergarten that year. Be off by a single day and a student may not enter traditional kindergarten until the following year. Even turning 5 on October 2 is too late. A four year old born on October 2 who is turning 5 in 20...