Committee discusses temporary early‑entrance waiver for kindergarten; about 55 families have applied

District staff told the Instructional Committee on April 20 that the state passed emergency legislation in March changing the kindergarten age cutoff to Sept. 1 and creating a one‑year transitional early‑entrance waiver for the 2026–27 school year that must be adopted locally.

"To date we already have around 55 families who have requested an early entrance waiver," Mrs. Lour said, describing the district's process for screening and advising families. She told the committee the district uses the SPEED‑DIAL developmental screener, typically administers the screener with kindergarten staff and includes speech and social‑work staff as needed, and provides families with screening results and recommendations.

Staff emphasized the district does not make binding enrollment appeals decisions based solely on the screener. Instead, families receive screening results and are encouraged to consult preschool or daycare providers who know the child best before making an enrollment decision. "We provided a screening, provided the results of said screening to the family, and then we provided them with a recommendation," Mrs. Lour said.

Board members asked for more context. Mr. Vado asked whether the waiver would end after this year; staff confirmed it is the final year for the waiver. Mrs. Rees asked whether the district can report how many families applied in prior years and how many received waivers; staff said they did not have last year's application totals at the meeting but would provide that information.

The committee agreed to place two draft policy items on the full board consent agenda Thursday — Policy 5112 (Ages of Attendance) and Policy 5112.01 (Kindergarten Enrollment and Early Entrance Waiver for 2026–27) — so buildings can begin scheduling screeners and families can receive orientation and planning information ahead of June orientation weeks.

What comes next
The policies will be on the board consent agenda; administrators will post updated registration information on the district website and notify families through school newsletters and ParentSquare. Staff said they will supply the committee with historical counts of waiver applications and outcomes if available.