Florida kindergarten age waiver

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      Table 5.3. Types of state and district requirements for kindergarten entrance and attendance, waivers and exemptions for kindergarten entrance, by state: 2018 Click for the newest version of this table.

      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
      United States 2	†	†	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.