Connecticut Kindergarten Guidelines, Entry, Enrollment, and Attendance – What You Should Know

Connecticut Special Education Attorney, Jeff Forte, Esq. | Forte Law Group

Congratulations! Your child is about to start Kindergarten within your local Connecticut school district. Understandably, as a new parent you have lots of questions. Fortunately, there are many resources here in the nutmeg state to guide you through your questions about kindergarten. Most recently, the Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE) also recently issued a guidance about Kindergarten. You can download the?CSDE’s Kindergarten Guidance here. For convenience, this article summarizes the CSDE’s Guidance below:

• Age 4: It is up to your local school district to admit your child to kindergarten if your child does not reach 5 years of age before the date of January 1. See C.G.S. 10-15c.
• Age 5: Connecticut law requires public schools to be open to all children who reach the age of 5 on or before January 1 of any school year. See C.G.S. Sec. 10-15c.
• Ages 6-7: Parents are not legally required to enroll their child in kindergarten at the age of 5. Rather, you may elect to enroll your child at age 6 or 7, but you must go to your local school district and complete an opt-out form. See C.G.S. Sec. 10-184.
• Half-Day/Full-Day: All public-school districts in Connecticut must offer a half-day kindergarten program, consisting of a total of 450 hours of actual school work during school hours. See. C.G.S. 10-15. If a school district chooses to offer a full-day kindergarten program, it must provide 900 hours of school work.

Depending on the needs of your child, a parent may want your child to go to kindergarten for a full-day program, even if a full-day program is not offered by your local school district. This is particularly important if your child may have a disability. If you suspect your child to have a disability it is critically important that you do not delay a referral for initial eligibility evaluations under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

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