5111 - Policy and Administrative Regulations Regarding admission to the public schools at or before age five

The Newtown Board of Education (the “Board”) complies with its legal obligation to cause each child five years of age and over and under eighteen years of age who is not a high school graduate and is residing within the Board’s jurisdiction to attend school in accordance with Connecticut General Statutes § 10-184.   

The Newtown Public Schools (the “District”) shall be open to resident children five years of age and over who reach age five on or before the first day of September of any school year. For children who will not reach the age of five on or before the first day of September of the school year, the child’s parent or guardian may submit a written request to 

the principal of the school in which the child would be enrolled based on District residency and attendance area requirements seeking early admission to the District. Upon receipt of such written request, the principal and an appropriate certified staff member shall assess such child to determine whether admitting the child is developmentally appropriate. For decisions relating to early admission to the District, the decision of the principal and appropriate certified staff shall be final. 

The Superintendent or designee shall be responsible for developing administrative regulations in furtherance of this policy. Such regulations shall identify procedures for the receipt and processing of requests for early admission to the District and for assessing whether early admission of a child is developmentally appropriate. 

Legal Reference: 

Connecticut General Statutes 

10-15c Discrimination by public schools prohibited. School attendance for five-year-olds 

10-220 Duties of boards of education 

10-221 Board of education to prescribe rules, policies, and procedures 

10-184 Duties of parents.  School attendance age requirements 

Public Act 23-208, “An Act Making Certain Revisions to the Education Statutes.” 

Adopted: October 15, 2024     NEWTOWN PUBLIC SCHOOLS       Newtown, Connecticut 

5111R

In accordance with state law, the Newtown Public Schools (the “District”) are open to all children five years of age and over who reach age five on or before September 1 of any school year.  A child who has not reached the age of five on or before September 1 of the school year may be admitted to kindergarten only (1) upon a written request by the 

parent or guardian of the child to the principal of the school in which the child would be enrolled based on District residency and attendance area requirements, and (2) following an assessment of the child, conducted by the principal of the school and an appropriate certified staff member of the school, to ensure that admitting the child is developmentally appropriate (“Early Admission Process”). The Early Admission Process shall be available only for a child who will reach the age of five on or after September 2 and before January 1 of the school year. 

I. Assessment  

A. The District will assess a child who does not meet the statutory age requirement if admission of such child is requested in writing by a child’s parent or guardian. Such request must be sent by electronic mail to the principal of the school in which the child would be enrolled based on District residency and attendance area 

requirements (the “Building Principal”) and must be received by the Building Principal no later than February 1. 

B. The Building Principal and an appropriate certified staff member of the school (together, the “Assessment Team”) will conduct an assessment of the child to gather information pertaining to the question of whether admitting the child is 

developmentally appropriate.   

C. The Assessment Team will take a holistic approach to assess a child’s developmental level in a variety of developmental domains (e.g. cognitive, social-emotional, physical development and health, etc.). The Assessment Team may use the Connecticut Early Learning and Development Standards (ELDS) as a guide to assessing a child’s developmental level.   

D. The Assessment Team will obtain information from the parent or guardian as part of the assessment.  

E. The Assessment Team will gather and consider relevant information from the child’s preschool teacher/early care provider, if available, as part of the assessment. 

F. The Assessment Team will conduct the assessment in a manner that is designed to be culturally and linguistically appropriate.  

G. The Assessment Team will assess children whose parents request early admission at specifically defined times. In order to be considered for early admission, the student must be registered at the school in their attendance area.  If the request for early admission is received before February 1, the Early Admission Process will occur on or before February 28.  If the request for early admission is received on or after February 1, the Early Admission Process will occur on a rolling basis.  All requests for early admission must be submitted before the school year begins. 

H. The Early Admission Process will be administered universally across all schools in the District that operate kindergarten classrooms.  

II. Children with Disabilities 

A .All parents and guardians, including those of children with disabilities, may request early entry to kindergarten pursuant to the Early Admission Process in Section I.   

B. For a child with an Individualized Education Program (IEP), the Early Admission Process will be individualized and in alignment with the documented IEP accommodations/modifications in Section 5 (Supplementary Aids and Services) and Section 11 (District and State Testing).  

C. For a child with a Section 504 plan, the Early Admission Process will be individualized and in alignment with the accommodations documented in the child’s 504 plan.  

III. Notification 

The District will strive to notify parents and guardians who have requested their child be granted early admission to kindergarten as soon as possible.  

Legal Reference: 

Conn. Gen. Stat. § 10-15cDiscrimination by public schools prohibited. School attendance for five-year-olds 

Conn. Gen. Stat. § 10-220Duties of boards of education 

Conn. Gen. Stat. § 10-221 Board of education to prescribe rules, policies, and procedures 

Conn. Gen. Stat. § 10-184Duties of parents.  School attendance age 

requirements 

Public Act 23-208, “An Act Making Certain Revisions to the Education Statutes.” 

Connecticut State Department of Education, New Entry Age for Kindergarten: 

Considerations for Connecticut Schools, October 23, 2023. 

Administrative Regulations Adopted: October 15, 2024