| Policy |
The Plainville Board of Education (the “Board”) complies with its legal obligation to cause each child five years of age and over and under eighteen years of age who is not a high school graduate and is residing within the Board’s jurisdiction to attend school in accordance with Connecticut General Statutes § 10-184.
Effective July 1, 2024, the Plainville Community Schools (the “District”) Kindergarten program shall be open to resident children five years of age who reach age five on or before the first day of September of any school year. For children who will not reach the age of five on or before the first day of September of the school year, the child’s parent or guardian may submit a written request to the principal of the school seeking early admission to the District Kindergarten program. Upon receipt of such written request, the principal and an appropriate certified staff member shall assess such child to determine whether admitting the child is developmentally appropriate. For decisions relating to early admission to the District, the decision of the principal and appropriate certified staff shall be final.
Effective July 1, 2024, the Plainville Community Schools (the “District”) Preschool program shall be open to resident children four years of age who reach age four on or before the first day of September of any school year.
The Superintendent or designee shall be responsible for developing administrative regulations in furtherance of this policy. Such regulations shall identify procedures for the receipt and processing of requests for early admission to the District Kindergarten program and for assessing whether early admission of a child is developmentally appropriate.
Legal Reference:
Connecticut General Statutes
10-15c Discrimination by public schools prohibited. School attendance for five
year olds
10-220 Duties of boards of education
10-221 Board of education to prescribe rules, policies, and procedures
10-184 Duties of parents. School attendance age requirements
Public Act 23-208, “An Act Making Certain Revisions to the Education Statutes.”
Policy #5112REG
ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATIONS REGARDING AGES OF ATTENDANCE FOR KINDERGARTEN
In accordance with state law, effective July 1, 2024, the Plainville Community Schools (the “District”) are open to all children five years of age and over who reach age five on or before September 1 of any school year. A child who has not reached the age of five on or before September 1 of the school year may be admitted to kindergarten only (1) upon a written request by the parent or guardian of the child to the principal of the school in which the child would be enrolled based on District residency requirements, and (2) following an assessment of the child, conducted by the principal of the school and an appropriate certified staff member of the school, to ensure that admitting the child is developmentally appropriate (“Early Admission Process”). The Early Admission Process shall be available only for a child who will reach the age of five on or after September 2 and before January 1 of the school year.
I. Assessment
A. The District will assess a child who does not meet the statutory age requirement if admission of such child is requested in writing by a child’s parent or guardian. Such request must be sent by electronic mail to the principal of the school in which the child would be enrolled based on District residency requirements (the “Building Principal”) and must be received by the Building Principal no later than a specified date within the first week of April.
B. The Building Principal and an appropriate certified staff member of the school (together, the “Assessment Team”) will conduct an assessment of the child to gather information pertaining to the question of whether admitting the child is developmentally appropriate.
C. The Assessment Team will take a holistic approach to assess a child’s developmental level in a variety of developmental domains (e.g. cognitive, social-emotional, physical development and health, etc.). The Assessment Team will use the Connecticut Early Learning and Development Standards (ELDS) as a guide to assessing a child’s developmental level.
D. The Assessment Team will obtain information from the parent or guardian as part of the assessment.
E. The Assessment Team will gather and consider relevant information from the child’s preschool teacher/early care provider, if available, as part of the assessment.
F. The Assessment Team will conduct the assessment in a manner that is designed to be culturally and linguistically appropriate.
G. The Assessment Team will assess children whose parents request early admission at specifically defined times. All requests for early admission must be submitted by a specified date within the first week of April.
H. The Early Admission Process will be administered universally across all schools in the District that operate kindergarten classrooms.
II. Children with Disabilities
A. All parents and guardians, including those of children with disabilities, may request early entry to kindergarten pursuant to the Early Admission Process in Section I.
B. For a child with an Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), the Early Admission Process will be individualized and in alignment with the documented IEP accommodations/modifications in Section 5 (Supplementary Aids and Services) and Section 11 (District and State Testing).
C. For a child with a Section 504 plan, the Early Admission Process will be individualized and in alignment with the accommodations documented in the child’s 504 plan.
III. Notification
The District will strive to notify parents and guardians who have requested their child be granted early admission to kindergarten as soon as possible.
Legal Reference:
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 10-15c Discrimination by public schools prohibited. School attendance for five-year-olds
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 10-220 Duties of boards of education
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 10-221 Board of education to prescribe rules, policies, and procedures
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 10-184 Duties of parents. School attendance age requirements
Public Act 23-208, “An Act Making Certain Revisions to the Education Statutes.”
Connecticut State Department of Education, New Entry Age for Kindergarten: Considerations for Connecticut Schools, October 23, 2023.
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