What are the age requirements in your area for school?

[mommy4ever]

I have always been curious about the differences to the ages of when a child start school.

 

Here, in Alberta, Canada, it is as follows:

 

Preschool - 3yr old program must be potty trained and 3 by October 1st of the current year

 

Preschool - 4 yr old program must be 4 by December 1st of the current year

 

Kindergarten is optional, but to attend you must turn 5 no later than March 1st of the next year(ie start in 2011 must be 5 by March 1, 2012), otherwise you wait a year.

 

Grade 1, a child must be six no later than March 1 of the next year.

 

What is it like in your state/province?

Edited March 24, 2011 by mommy4ever

[ScoutTN]

Here a child must begin school by age 6.

 

The private schools usually require that a child be 5 by April to begin K.

The public school cut off is much later, September or even October, I think.

 

No clue on preschool things.

[tabrizia]

Most preschools here follow the same cut off as the public school system, most private schools do as well.

 

So 3 by September 1st for 3 year old preschool

4 by September 1st for 4 year old preschool/pre-k

5 by September 1st for Kindergarten

6 by September 1st for First Grade

[Dobela]

Each preK and private school has their own schedule. Public schools - if you are 5 before September 1st you must enroll in Kindergarten that year or file a waiver of attendance to wait another year. If you are turning 6 by Sept 1, you must either enroll in kindergarten, file an intent to homeschool, or enroll in a private school that year.

 

Interestingly, if you have a child that is receiving early intervention services, and medicaid is paying for that service, medicaid stops paying at age 5 and requires the child start school the year they turn 5 if the child meets the enrollment age guidelines.

[fairytalemama]

In Michigan, you don't have to go to school until you are 6. If you want to go to kindergarten, you have to be 5 by December 1st of that school year.

 

I honestly don't know about preschool because I never checked into one.

[mommy4ever]

This is neat. So by the other dates, my dd7 would be a 1st grader there :) My older 3 would all be as they are now, 6, 8, and 11 grade.

[C_l_e_0..Q_c]

Here it's tricky, and silly...

 

A child who is 6 by Sept 30th must be accepted by a public school. However, the parents do not have to send a child to school before said child is 6 on July 1st. Therefore, a child who's born in July, August and September has a choice. Parents can decide if the child is ready or not to attend school. However this does not apply to K (which is not mandatory) and I think if you 'hold an August child back', he will be put in 2nd grade when you bring him to school the following year, because grades are based on your age on Sept 30th. So do parents really have a choice? Sigh...

[Xander]

In England, "compulsory school age" runs from the start of the term following a child's 5th birthday to the end of the school year in which he turns 16.

 

The school leaving age is set to rise to 17 in a couple of years, then to 18 a couple of years after that.

[NanceXToo]

In Pennsylvania, the cutoff date by which a child must turn 5 in order to be allowed to start Kindergarten varies by school district.

 

Compulsory school age- the age at which a child MUST be enrolled in school by law- is age 8 (age 8-17 to be exact).

[Dmmetler]

Must turn 5 by Sept 30 for K, and 6 by Sept 30 for 1st, unless the child meets certain criteria to be grade skipped, and the principal is willing to do it. It's rare-my DD was the first child grade skipped in her school in something like 20 years.

 

Students do not have to attend school until the year they will turn 7, and Kindergarten is mandatory. My DD had a child in her K class who turned 7 in October-the parents had homeschooled K/1, but hadn't registered the child as homeschooled, and when they decided to put the girl in school for 2nd, were told that they couldn't do so. Legally, she hadn't been in school at all, and therefore had to start in K.

Edited March 24, 2011 by Dmmetler2

[Ali in OR]

Must be 5 by September 1st to attend kindergarten in our public schools. Private schools basically go by that but may make exceptions on a case by case basis. And that's the requirement most people care about--when can I finally put my kid in school. The compulsory age (and the age when home schoolers must declare) is when they are 7 by September 1st.

[sleepymommy]

Virginia Public Schools-private schools vary (I've seen Sept.1 and Aug.30th) but usually follow the state guidelines.

 

K cutoff is Sept.30

 

1st grade cutoff Sept. 30

[ocelotmom]

Here, Sept. 30th is the cutoff for Kindergarten.

 

I have one born Sept. 28th, and one on Oct. 22. The Sept. 28th kid is quite definitely more than ready for K academically now (at 4.5), but would almost certainly be the youngest in her class. If the baby is similarly precocious, I can't see waiting until she's nearly 6 to start K as being beneficial. I'm glad I'm homeschooling and the question is purely hypothetical.

 

School is not compulsory until age 7.

[Crimson Wife]

The private schools usually require that a child be 5 by April to begin K.

The public school cut off is much later, September or even October, I think

 

Wow, that's early! I'd never heard of a cutoff prior to June 30th before. :svengo:

 

The private schools in this area vary, but the cutoffs are usually 5 by August 1st-September 15th for K. The public schools have a December 2nd cutoff.

[beccad777]

Here the K cutoff is Setember 1, you have to be 5.

[snipsnsnailsx5]

Here in WA I believe that kindergarten cut-offs are 5 by August, or somewhere around there.

But it seems schooling isn't required until age 8 - at that point a child has to be enrolled in a school or declared homeschooled...apparantly before that they don't really care. lol

[Koerarmoca]

In Pennsylvania, the cutoff date by which a child must turn 5 in order to be allowed to start Kindergarten varies by school district.

 

Compulsory school age- the age at which a child MUST be enrolled in school by law- is age 8 (age 8-17 to be exact).

:iagree: yup our pvt school you had to be 5 by Sep 30th. The school year started Aug 3rd iirc. dd was 4 for the first days of school (she was not alone) They do test before they are allowed to start. I now wish I just kept her at home since we are HS next year anyway :lol:

 

The good news though is I dont have to file for her until Aug 1st her 3rd grade year :D

[mommy4ever]

Interesting.

 

I think Saskatchewan the cut of is must have turned 4 by Feb 1st to start K the following sept.

[KristinaBreece]

In Ohio, K is optional, and the child must be 5 by either August 1 or September 30 (each district has discretion as to which cut-off date they use-- ours is August 1).

 

School enrollment or notification isn't compulsory until the year the child will be 6 on the district's chosen cut-off date.

[Ellie]

In Texas, a child must be 6 by September 1 to enter first grade. Kindergarten is not mandatory, but dc would have to be 5 by September 1 to enter kindergarten at a public school. I would imagine that private schools follow the same protocol. Preschool isn't mandatory, either, so each preschool facility can decide on its own criteria.

 

In California, a child must be 6 by December 2 to enter first grade that fall. Kindergarten is not mandatory, but a child would need to be 5 by December 2 to enter kindergarten that fall. Private schools follow the same cut-off date.

 

When I lived in South Carolina (1967-ish), the cut-off date was October 1. I don't know if it's still that or not.

[mom2scouts]

Most preschools in our area follow the cutoff of the local schools. Most of the schools in my area moved the cutoff date to an earlier date. Now children must be 5 years old by August 1 of the year they start school. That means ALL children will be at least 5 years old when kindergarten starts and some are closer to 6.

[Desert Rat]

In Clark County, Nevada it's 5 by September 30 to state Kindy. We don't have to register as homeschoolers until the child's 7th birthday. (I had to read that several times when I filed because it just didn't seem right.)

[Veritaserum]

No requirements for preschool. For K you must be 5 by Sept. 1st of that school year.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Here in WA I believe that kindergarten cut-offs are 5 by August, or somewhere around there.

But it seems schooling isn't required until age 8 - at that point a child has to be enrolled in a school or declared homeschooled...apparantly before that they don't really care. lol

 

It's not that they don't care. It's just that compulsory education does not start until age 8 here so they cannot require anything before that.

[freerange]

In England, "compulsory school age" runs from the start of the term following a child's 5th birthday to the end of the school year in which he turns 16.

 

The school leaving age is set to rise to 17 in a couple of years, then to 18 a couple of years after that.

Although in practice many counties have a 'rising five' policy - children go into Reception the September before their 5th birthday, and if you choose not to send them until 'compulsory school age,' you may find you're unable to get a place!

[MinivanMom]

Here you must be 5 by Sept. 1 to enroll in public school kindergarten. If your birthday is close to the cut-off then you can test in, but the required IQ scores are quite high. Most private schools have cut-off dates ranging from June 1 through Sept 1. I've heard that some will be flexible about the dates for girls with summer birthdays, but they want to keep those summer boys out.

[Celia]

Here in BC the child needs to be 5 by Dec. 31 for K. We've also just implemented full day kindergarten here, which I'm not happy about. Less kids at their mothers knee at the tender age of 4.5.

[m0mmaBuck]

Compulsory age for education (either enroll or file a letter of intent to HS) is 8.

 

Kindergarten: Child must be 5 yo as of midnight Aug. 31 of the year of entry.

[Violet Crown]

 

In Texas, a child must be 6 by September 1 to enter first grade. Kindergarten is not mandatory, but dc would have to be 5 by September 1 to enter kindergarten at a public school.

The thing that interests me about Texas' compulsory education law is that (a) there's no notification requirement for homeschooling, and (b) while Leeper purports to lay out minimal requirements for homeschoolers, no agency has the right to look into your curriculum or do anything at all to determine whether you're homeschooling or not. The upshot is © there is, in effect, no compulsory education law; as far as I can tell, Leeper has obviated it.

[Ellie]

The thing that interests me about Texas' compulsory education law is that (a) there's no notification requirement for homeschooling, and (b) while Leeper purports to lay out minimal requirements for homeschoolers, no agency has the right to look into your curriculum or do anything at all to determine whether you're homeschooling or not. The upshot is © there is, in effect, no compulsory education law; as far as I can tell, Leeper has obviated it.

Ain't it great?:D

[nmoira]

In Oregon, a child can start kindergarten if aged 5 by September, but schooling is not compulsory until the first school year after a child turns 7.

[PiCO]

In Colorado, compulsory attendance is ages 6 through 16. You have to be 5 by Sept 30th to enter K, but K is not required.

 

I have two October babies, so they are both the oldest in their classes. Younger dd was reading at age 3, so I sent her to private K & 1st so she wouldn't be bored out of her mind. I sent her to a public (charter) school in 2nd, and she was bored almost out of her mind- but I needed daycare and she had not made any friends at the private school. They do a pretty good job of meeting her needs now.

[RahRah]

Public schools in our area - must be 5 before August 1st for kindergarten (no exceptions or waivers or testing in), must be 6 before August 1st for first grade (this is to prevent private school K'ers from entering young - again, no exceptions, waivers or testing in).

 

Private schools in our area vary - most are the child must be 5 before October 31 for kindergarten; they also allow testing in for a child who will turn 5 between November 1 and December 31 (testing takes place in July, so the child would need to be really pretty advanced at 4 to test in) to enroll in kindergarten.

 

Compulsory age for school in our state is 7....when a child turns 7 before August 1st of a school year they're required to be enrolled in school (including homeschool).

[SweetMissMagnolia]

here basicly they start in the 5-6 yr old range (depending on when the birthday falls in the year) for kindergarten.......