The birthday cutoff for kindergarten in Kentucky is moving up two months from Oct. 1 to Aug. 1 for the 2017-18 school year.
The change means that most children will have to turn 5 by Aug. 1, 2017, in order to enter kindergarten for the 2017-18 school year. But Fayette County Public Schools officials said Monday afternoon that children with advanced academic and social skills may be able to enter kindergarten even if they don’t turn 5 until as late as Oct. 31, 2017.
This month, parents of a child who will turn 5 between Aug. 2 and Oct. 31, 2017, and who exhibits high levels of academic and social and emotional aptitude can request that their child get early entrance to kindergarten. Children will be screened this November and December, and placement decisions for 2017-18 will be made by February.
That process begins with an application and screening, followed by possible assessments and a final school decision for determining a student’s ability to succeed in kindergarten. Minimum requirements include a 96 percent or higher on the screening and academic assessments. Each school makes the final decision for early-entry kindergarten placement based on a review of data related to the child and the child’s social/emotional readiness.
The deadline is Nov. 1 for early entrance applications, which are available at https://apps.fcps.net/kindergarten/.
For a hard copy of the application, call Shavonna (859) 381-4741. Then mail the completed application to Fayette County Public Schools, attn. Shavonna Ross, IAKSS room 206, 1126 Russell Cave Road, Lexington KY 40505.
Valarie Honeycutt Spears: 859-231-3409, @vhspears