Table 5.3. Types of state and district requirements for kindergarten entrance and attendance, waivers and exemptions for kindergarten entrance, by state: 2018
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State | Compulsory school age | 1 | Kindergarten entrance age |
State requires district to offer full-day kindergarten program |
State requires district to offer half-day kindergarten program |
State requires attendance |
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---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
United States2 | † | † | 17 | 28 | 18 | |||||
Alabama | 6 | 5 on or before 9/01 | Yes | No | No | |||||
Alaska | 7 |
5 on or before 9/01 | No | No | No | |||||
Arizona | 6 | 5 before 9/01 | No | Yes | No | |||||
Arkansas | 5 | 5 on or before 8/01 | Yes | No | Yes | |||||
California | 6 | 5 on or before 9/01 | No | Yes | No | |||||
Colorado | 6 on or before 8/01 | 5 on or before 10/01 | No | Yes | No | |||||
Connecticut | 5 | 5 on or before 1/01 | 3 | No | Yes | Yes | ||||
Delaware | 5 on or before 8/31 | 5 on or before 8/31 | Yes | No | Yes | |||||
District of Columbia | 5 on or before 9/30 | 5 on or before 9/30 | Yes | No | Yes | |||||
Florida | 6 by 2/01 | 5 on or before 9/01 | No | Yes | No | |||||
Georgia | 6 | 5 by 9/01 | No | Yes | No | |||||
Hawaii | 5 on or before 7/31 | 5 on or before 7/31 | Yes | No | Yes | |||||
Idaho | 7 by first day of school | 5 on or before 9/01 | No | No | No | |||||
Illinois | 6 on or before 9/01 | 5 on or before 9/01 | Yes | 4 | Yes | 4 | No | |||
Indiana | 7 | 5 on 8/01 | No | Yes | No | |||||
Iowa | 6 by 9/15 | 5 | 5 by 9/15 | No | Yes | † | ||||
Kansas | 7 | 5 on or before 8/31 | No | Yes | No | |||||
Kentucky | 6 by 8/01 | 5 by 8/01 | No | Yes | No | |||||
Louisiana | 7 | 5 by 9/30 | Yes | No | Yes | 6 | ||||
Maine | 7 | 5 on or before 10/15 | No | Yes | † | |||||
Maryland | 5 | 5 by 9/01 | Yes | No | Yes | |||||
Massachusetts | 6 | Local Education Agency (LEA) option | No | Yes | † | |||||
Michigan | 6 by 12/01 | 5 by 9/01 | No | No | No | |||||
Minnesota | 7 | 5 on or before 9/01 | 7 | No | No | No | ||||
Mississippi | 6 on or before 9/01 | 5 on or before 9/01 | Yes | No | † | |||||
Missouri | 7 | 5 before 8/01 | 8 | No | Yes | No | ||||
Montana | 7 by the first day of school | 5 on or before 9/10 | Yes | 4 | Yes | 4 | No | |||
Nebraska | 6 by 1/01 | 5 on or before 7/31 | No | Yes | No | |||||
Nevada | 7 | 5 on or before 9/30 | No | Yes | Yes | 9 | ||||
New Hampshire | 6 | † | No | No | No | |||||
New Jersey | 6 | LEA option | 10 | No | 11 | No | No | 12 | ||
New Mexico | 5 by 9/01 | 5 before 9/01 | No | Yes | Yes | |||||
New York | 6 | LEA option | 13 | No | 14 | No | No | 15 | ||
North Carolina | 7 | 5 on or before 8/31 | Yes | No | No | 16 | ||||
North Dakota | 7 | 5 before 8/01 | No | Yes | No | |||||
Ohio | 6 | LEA option | 17 | No | Yes | Yes | ||||
Oklahoma | 5 | 5 on or before 9/01 | Yes | No | Yes | |||||
Oregon | 6 | 5 on or before 9/01 | No | Yes | No | |||||
Pennsylvania | 8 | LEA option | 18 | No | No | No | ||||
Rhode Island | 6 on or before 9/01 | 5 on or before 9/01 | Yes | No | Yes | |||||
South Carolina | 5 before 9/01 | 5 on or before 9/01 | Yes | No | Yes | |||||
South Dakota | 6 | 5 on or before 9/01 | No | Yes | Yes | 19 | ||||
Tennessee | 6 | 5 on or before 8/15 | Yes | No | Yes | |||||
Texas | 6 | 5 on or before 9/01 | No | Yes | No | |||||
Utah | 6 | 5 before 9/02 | No | Yes | No | |||||
Vermont | 6 | 5 | 20 | No | Yes | No | ||||
Virginia | 5 on or before 9/30 | 5 on or before 9/30 | No | Yes | Yes | |||||
Washington | 8 | 5 on or before 8/31 | Yes | No | No | |||||
West Virginia | 6 prior to 9/01 | 5 prior to 9/01 | 21 | Yes | No | Yes | ||||
Wisconsin | 6 | 5 on or before 9/01 | 22 | No | Yes | Yes | 23 | |||
Wyoming | 7 on or before 9/15 | 5 on or before 9/15 | No | Yes | 24 | † |
† Not applicable. | |||||||||||
1 Specific date at which compulsory age is reached is included only if specified in statute. | |||||||||||
2 The total reflects the number of "Yes" responses in the column. | |||||||||||
3 Children must be 5 years of age on or before January 1 of the current school year. | |||||||||||
4 Districts must offer either full-day or half-day kindergarten. | |||||||||||
5 Children enrolled in preschool programs (4 years of age on or before September 15) are considered to be of compulsory school attendance age. | |||||||||||
6 Or otherwise satisfactorily pass an academic readiness screening upon enrollment in grade 1. | |||||||||||
7 School boards may adopt an early admissions policy. | |||||||||||
8 Metropolitan districts can establish a policy that a child must be 5 on or before any date between August 1 and October 1. | |||||||||||
9 Or otherwise be assessed as prepared to enter grade 1. | |||||||||||
10 Districts may admit children aged 4-5, and they must admit children aged 5-6. The cutoff date must be after October 1. | |||||||||||
11 The Abbott districts are required to offer full-day kindergarten. | |||||||||||
12 Children are required to attend full-day kindergarten in the Abbott districts. | |||||||||||
13 Students must be between the ages of 4-6. | |||||||||||
14 Districts are required to offer full-day kindergarten in Syracuse, New York City, Rochester, Utica, Buffalo, Cohoes, Watervliet, and Yonkers school districts. | |||||||||||
15 Children are required to attend full-day kindergarten in Syracuse, New York City, Rochester, Utica, Buffalo, Cohoes, Watervliet, and Yonkers school districts. | |||||||||||
16 The initial entry point into school is kindergarten, but a principal may override this for an exceptionally mature student and place the child in grade 1. | |||||||||||
17 Districts may adopt a resolution establishing August 1 instead of September 30 as the required date by which students must have attained the specified age. | |||||||||||
18 Students must be between the age of 4 and 6. Minimum age for kindergarten entrance is 4 years 7 months before the first day of the school year. | |||||||||||
19 All children must attend kindergarten before age 7. | |||||||||||
20 LEA may require students admitted to kindergarten to attain the age of 5 on or before August 31 and January 1. | |||||||||||
21 In the 2018–19 school year districts must offer prekindergarten to all children who are age 4 before July 1. | |||||||||||
22 Kindergarten entrance age is 5 on or before September 1 for 5-year-old kindergarten, or age 4 on or before September 1 for 4-year-old kindergarten. | |||||||||||
23 Children must attend in districts that offer kindergarten. | |||||||||||
24 School districts must establish and maintain relationships with a district that offers one full-day kindergarten. | |||||||||||
SOURCE: Education Commission of the States, 50-State Comparison: State Kindergarten Through Third Grade Policies, retrieved June 6, 2018 from https://www.ecs.org/kindergarten-policies/. Data Source. |