Kindergarten
TCIS Early Entrance Policy
Kindergarten Entrance Requirements
In Minnesota, children are eligible to attend kindergarten when they are five-years-old on or before September 1 of the calendar year that schools starts. View Minnesota Statutes section 120A.20. In addition to the age requirement, each child entering kindergarten must:
Provide documentation of required immunizations. View Minnesota Statutes, section 121A.15. To learn more about Minnesota School Immunization Laws, visit the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) website.
Participate in a school district’s Early Childhood Screening program. A child may also meet this requirement by participating in a comparable health and developmental screening program provided by Head Start, Child and Teen Checkups or through a health care provider. If a parent is a conscientious objector to the screening program for their child, the child does not need to participate in the state screening program. View Minnesota Statutes, section 121A.17.
http://education.state.mn.us/MDE/dse/kind/
New Requirements for Early Kindergarten Entrance
Children who are not yet five-years-old on or before September 1 may be considered for kindergarten early entrance. Minnesota Statutes, section 124D.02, allows for school boards to permit selected children early admission into kindergarten if there is an early admission policy established by the school board. View the Minnesota Statute on early kindergarten entrance.
Requires parents and the commissioner to have access to the board’s early kindergarten admission policy. Charter schools must post the early entrance policy on their website. The early entrance policy is subject to an MDE audit.
Requires a school board that has adopted a policy to allow a child under the age of five to enroll in kindergarten to establish a comprehensive evaluation to be used to help determine the child’s cognitive, social, and emotional development and the child's ability to meet kindergarten grade expectations and progress to first grade the following year. The comprehensive evaluation must: ◦Use valid and reliable instrumentation.
Be aligned with state kindergarten expectations.
Include a parent report and teacher observations of the child's knowledge, skills, and abilities.
http://education.state.mn.us/MDE/dse/kind/