From the ECS State Policy Database P-3 Kindergarten

This database is made possible by your state's fiscal support of the Education Commission of the States (ECS). Most entries are legislative, although rules/regulations and executive orders that make substantive changes are included. Every effort is made to collect the latest available version of policies; in some instances, recent changes might not be reflected. For expediency purposes minimal attention has been paid to style (capitalization, punctuation) and format. Please cite use of the database as: Education Commission of the States (ECS) State Policy Database, retrieved [date]. State Status/Date Level Summary CA Vetoed 09/2012 P-12 Teacher Credentialing and Transitional Kindergarten A.B. 1853 From bill summary: Authorizes the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to convene a workgroup of specified members to develop program standar... More... MI Signed into law 07/2012 P-12 Kindergarten Entrance Ages H.B. 4513 Updates cut-off date for entrance ages into kindergarten. For the 2013-14 school year, a child must be five years of age by November 1. For... More... NY Signed into law 07/2012 P-12 Kindergarten Attendance May Be Mandated in NYC A.B. 9861 Authorizes the New York City board of education to require children who turn five by December 1 to attend kindergarten. Provides exceptions.... More... HI Signed into law 06/2012 P-12 Early Learning System S.B. 2545 Provides legislative findings. Establishes the executive office on early learning, to be temporarily placed in the office of the governor, a... More... OH Signed into law 06/2012 P-12 Kindergarten, 1st Grade Entrance S.B. 316 - Kindergarten, 1st Grade Entrance Repeals existing requirements providing exceptions to minimum ages for admission to kindergarten or 1st grade. Replaces with provision provi... More... OH Signed into law 06/2012 P-12 Birth through 3rd Grade Literacy Education S.B. 316 - Birth through 3rd Grade Literacy Education Directs the state board and the early childhood advisory council, in consultation with the governor's office of 21st century education, to d... More... DE Signed into law 06/2012 P-12 Kindergarten Readiness Assessment H.B. 317 Provides that the Department of Education establish a statewide readiness tool that will review a child's readiness for learning when they e... More... HI Adopted 06/2012 P-12 Research on the Correlation Between Late-Born Children and Educational Outcomes S.C.R. 80 Requests that the department of education conduct research on the correlation between children who are late-born (born after August 1) and e... More... IL Adopted 06/2012 P-12 Kindergarten Readiness Survey Implementation, "K" in State Standards 23 IL ADC 1.420; 23 IL ADC 1.APP. D From Illinois Register: This rulemaking resulted from the State Board of Education's application for funding under the American Recovery and... More... IA Signed into law 05/2012 P-12 Kindergarten Requirement S.F. 2284 - Division XIII This section requires that a student who is enrolled in a district and is age 5 by 9/15 be considered of compulsory attendance age unless th... More... TN Signed into law 05/2012 P-12 Kindergarten Age H.B. 2566 Sets kindergarten entrance age. Children entering kindergarten shall be five years of age on or before August 31 for the 2013-2014 school ye... More... IL Adopted 05/2012 P-12 Early Childhood Block Grant 23 IL ADC 235.20, 30, 40, 45, 50, 60, 70; 23 IL ADC 235.APP. A, B, C From Illinois Register: This rulemaking resulted from the state board's application for funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment... More... CO Signed into law 05/2012 P-12 Early Literacy Assessment Tool H.B. 1345 (sec. 7) Requires the education department to issue request for proposals for the purchase of an early literacy assessment tool that teachers may use... More... GA Signed into law 04/2012 P-12 Age for Kindergarten or First Grade Entry for Children Moving from Abroad H.B. 706 - Age for Kindergarten or First Grade Entry for Children Moving from Abroad Clarifies that provisions for child's entry into kindergarten and 1st grade for a child who was a legal resident of one or more states two y... More... KY Signed into law 04/2012 P-12 School Entrance and Lower Compusory School Ages S.B. 24 Amends school entrance ages and compulsory school ages. Effective with the 2017-18 school year, kindergarten entrance age is 5 by August 1 a... More... UT Signed into law 03/2012 P-12 Enhanced Kindergarten Program for At-Risk Students H.B. 513 Creates an early intervention program to provide funds for applicant school districts and charter schools to offer an enhanced kindergarten ... More... WA Signed into law 03/2012 P-12 Statewide Implementation of the Washington Kindergarten Inventory of Developing Skills H.B. 2586 Requires the Washington kindergarten inventory of developing skills, beginning in the 2012-2013 school year and to the extent funds are avai... More... SD Signed into law 03/2012 P-12 Fee for Early Childhood Services H.B. 1195 Permits schools to charge a fee for early childhood services for any child who is under the age of compulsory attendance pursuant to § 13-27... More... OH Issued 10/2011 P-12 Early Education Executive Order 2011-21K Creates the position of Early Education and Development Officer ("Officer") within the Governor's Office of 21st Century Education. Directs ... More... CT Signed into law 07/2011 P-12 Closing the Achievement Gap/Early Literacy S.B. 929 Sec. 1 - Establishes a task force to address the academic achievement gaps in Connecticut by considering effective approaches to closing the... More... OR Signed into law 06/2011 P-12 Kindergarten S.B. 248 Statutes regarding the provision of half-day and supplemental kindergarten are scheduled to sunset with the 2011-2012 school year. S.B. 248 ... More... LA Signed into law 06/2011 P-12 School Readiness Assessments H.B. 100 Amends and reenacts existing statute relative to school readiness assessment. Provides relative to school readiness tests, inlcuding the sel... More... FL Signed into law 06/2011 P-12 Voluntary Prekindergarten Program H.B. 1255 - Sec. 12 Revises requirements for a good cause exemption for a Voluntary Prekindergarten (VPK) Program provider who fails to meet minimum student rea... More... OK Signed into law 05/2011 P-12 Delays Requirement that Districts Offer Full-Day Kindergarten S.B. 260 The measure delays the requirement for the requirement for districts to provide full-day, free kindergarten until the 2013-14 school year. h... More... ND Signed into law 05/2011 P-12 Kindergarten S.B. 2150 - Multiple Provisions Requires each board to provide at least a half-day kindergarten program for any student enrolled in the district or pay the tuition required... More... AZ Signed into law 04/2011 P-12 Kindergarten S.B. 1256--Kindergarten Finance Arizona Revised Statute 15-821 is clarified. If a child who has not reached the age of five before September 1 of the current school year is... More... OH Signed into law 03/2011 P-12 All-Day Kindergarten H.B. 30 - All-Day Kindergarten Repeals provision requiring districts to provide all-day kindergarten to all students beginning in fiscal year 2011. Permits a district that... More... ND Signed into law 03/2011 P-12 Readiness Testing and Formative Assessments H.B. 1273 Allows districts to conduct readiness testing and formative assessments of incoming kindergarten students (within the regular school calenda... More... ND Signed into law 03/2011 P-12 Kindergarten Entrance H.B. 1436 Allows exceptions to the kindergarten enrollment cut-off date (age 5 by August 1) unless the child will be 5 by Dec. 1 and can demonstrate, ... More... MS Signed into law 03/2011 P-12 Study of Earlier Kindergarten Entrance H.B. 619 Directs the department of education to conduct a survey of public school districts to determine the feasibility of enrolling children in pub... More... CA Signed into law 09/2010 P-12 Kindergarten Entrance Age S.B. 1381 Changes the required birthday for admission to kindergarten and first grade to November 1 for the 2012–13 school year, October 1 for the 201... More... HI Signed into law 06/2010 P-12 Kindergarten Entrance Age and Junior Kindergarten Program S.B. 2068 Amends kindergarten entrance age; provides that beginning with the 2013-14 school year, a child who is at least 5 on the first day of kinder... More... NE Signed into law 03/2010 P-12 Kindergarten Entrance L.B. 1006 Children are eligible for kindergarten if they are 5 years old by July 31, beginning with the 2012-13 school year. Previously, the cutoff da... More... GA Adopted 12/2008 P-12 State Assessments GAC 160-3-1-.07 Eliminates reference to Georgia Kindergarten Assessment Program - Revised (GKAP-R). Provides all kindergarten students must be assessed usin... More... NH Signed into law 07/2008 P-12 Kindergarten Construction Aid Program S.B. 530 Extends the kindergarten construction aid program until all school districts operate a kindergarten program; allows a school district to ele... More... GA Adopted 09/2007 P-12 Student Assessment Programs GAC 160-3-1-.07 Adds language regarding the Assessing Comprehension and Communication in English State to State for English Language Learners (ACCESS for EL... More... HI Vetoed 07/2007 P-12 Prekindergarten and Kindergarten S.B. 613 Directs the department to encourage inclusionary prekindergarten and kindergarten classes of both special education eligible and general edu... More... HI Signed into law 07/2004 P-12 Two-tier Kindergarten Program and Kindergarten Entrance Age S.B. 17 Establishes a junior kindergarten and kindergarten program in the department of education; establishes a pilot program for the 2005-2006 sch... More... CA Signed into law 08/2003 P-12 Postsec. Community College Education Finance A.B. 1754 Relates to reimburse rates under the Child Care and Development Services Act, revenue limits for school districts and county superintendents... More... AR Signed into law 04/2003 P-12 Quality Education Act of 2003 - Accountability and Assessment H.B. 2697 (Omnibus Bill) Amends §§ 6-15-402 - 6-15-406. Creates the Arkansas Comprehensive Testing, Assessment, and Accountability Program Act; including requiring t... More... AR Signed into law 04/2001 P-12 Children Entering Kindergarten H.B. 2195 Requires the Department of Education to develop and conduct readiness testing for children who are entering kindergarten.... More... NH Signed into law 06/2000 P-12 Alternative Kindergarten Programs H.B. 1188 Relates to the establishment of an alternative kindergarten program within a school district; provides that school districts operating an ap... More...