§ 16-28-4 — Minimum Age for Attendance at Public Schools

(a) A child who is five years of age on or before September 1 or the date on which school begins in the enrolling district shall be entitled to admission to kindergarten in the public elementary schools at the opening of schools for that school year or as soon as practicable thereafter.
(b) An underage child may be admitted to public kindergarten on approval of the local board of education, on a space available basis, in either of the following circumstances:
(1) The underage child transfers from a public kindergarten in another state.
(2) The child will become five years of age between September 1 and December 31, and the child satisfies certain criteria that the local board of education may establish for underage enrollment which, if adopted, shall include the successful completion of an assessment to determine developmental readiness for enrollment as provided in subsection (g).
(c) A child who successfully completes kindergarten by the date on which school begins in the enrolling district shall be entitled to admission to the first grade in the local public school at the opening of schools for that school year or as soon as practicable thereafter.
(d) A child who is six years of age on or before December 31, or the date on which school begins in the enrolling district, and who has not successfully completed kindergarten, shall be entitled to admission to the first grade in the local public school at the opening of schools for that school year or as soon as practicable thereafter, as long as the child demonstrates first grade entry readiness, as determined by the State Board of Education, on an assessment of essential development and physical skills as provided in subsection (g), which shall be created by the State Department of Education and approved by the State Board of Education. The department shall publish information about essential first grade readiness skills on its website. If a child does not meet first grade readiness, as determined on the assessment approved by the State Board of Education and as provided in subsection (g), the child shall be enrolled in kindergarten.
(e) An underage child, regardless of whether he or she has successfully completed kindergarten or otherwise demonstrates first grade readiness, may be admitted to the public school first grade if the underage child transfers from the first grade of a school in another state.
(f) Nothing in this section shall affect the eligibility of students for special education services as provided by federal and state law.
(g)(1) For the 2025-2026 school year, a student entering first grade who has not completed kindergarten shall complete the assessment at the beginning of the school year to determine developmental readiness for enrollment. For this initial year assessment, no student shall be prevented from enrollment in the first grade based on his or her performance on the assessment. During the second semester of the first-grade year, students shall take an early years assessment to identify any areas of deficiencies. Programs, resources, and materials shall be made available to those students who perform below standards on the assessment.
(2) For the 2026-2027 school year, a student entering first grade who has not completed kindergarten shall complete the assessment at the beginning of the school year to determine developmental readiness for enrollment. During the second semester of the first-grade year, students shall take an early years assessment to identify any areas of deficiencies. Programs, resources, and materials shall be made available to those students who perform below standards of assessment.
(h) No public school system shall lose any teacher unit as a result of this section. The State Board of Education is authorized to adopt policies for local boards of education for the implementation of this section.
(i) The State Department of Education shall develop an informational campaign to promote kindergarten and encourage parents of school-age students to enroll their children in a kindergarten program. The campaign shall be targeted, and priority shall be given to areas with the largest number of students currently not enrolled in kindergarten programs.

Legislative History

(Acts 1935, No. 246, p. 646, §1; Code 1940, T. 52, §298; Acts 1947, No. 234, p. 103; Acts 1950, 2nd Ex. Sess. No. 4, p. 24, §1; Acts 1967, No. 596, p. 1382, §1; Acts 1982, No. 82-553, p. 914, §§1, 2; Acts 1989, No. 89-854, p. 1704, §1; Acts 1990, No. 90-578, p. 983, §§1, 2; Acts 1991, No. 91-323, p. 602, §13; Act 2016-297, p. 740, §1; Act 2024-347, §§1, 2.)