Late start for kindergarten?

Parents hoping to enroll their children in kindergarten next school year may have to wait due to legislation passed by the Wyoming Legislature during the 2020 Budget Session.

This new information was provided to the Carbon County School District No. 2 (CCSD2) Board of Trustees during their meeting on September 21 by Superintendent Jim Copeland.

“The state has changed enrollment birthday deadlines for kindergarten. So, it has been September 15. They had to turn five before September 15 to enroll in kindergarten. The state has moved that up to August 1,” said Copeland. “So, that could be a substantial change, depending on when your birthday falls.”

Copeland added that, should a potential student’s birthday fall between August 1 and September 15, they can go through a readiness assessment to determine if they can attend school.

House Bill 174, or “Kindergarten start date”, was introduced during the 2020 Budget Session in March. The bill amended Wyoming State Statutes 21-2-704, 21-3-110(a), 21-4-102(a), 21-4-301, 21-4-302(a), (b) and (c)(iii), and 21-13-315(k). 

The amended language for 21-2-704 adds the August 1 deadline followed by “or September 15 if pursuant to an approved request under W.S. 21-3-110(a)(xxxvii), of the year in which they may register in kindergarten as provided in W.S. 21-4-302(b).”

However, Wyoming State Statute 21-3-110(a)(xxxvii) pertains to a school district’s ability to procure the professional services of architects, engineers and surveyors. The following subsection, 21-3-110(a)(xxxviii), provides that a school district can establish a process in policy to “approve or deny requests made by a pupil’s parent or guardian based on the pupil’s kindergarten readiness assessment score to assess whether the pupil is sufficiently mature to be admitted to the applicable grade.”

Additionally, W.S. 21-4-302(b) was amended to read “A pupil may register in kindergarten in the public schools of this state in the year in which his fifth birthday falls on or before August 1, or September 15 if pursuant to an approved request under W.S. 21-3-110(a)(xxxviii).”

When the bill passed 3rd reading in the Senate, it was by a 18-12 vote. Senator Larry Hicks voted nay. When it passed the House of Representatives, it was by a 44-15-1 vote with Representative Jerry Paxton voting aye.

Copeland informed the Board of Trustees that the school district would need to change Policy JEB to reflect the changes made by the Wyoming Legislature. The last time JEB was revised was February 19, 2014. While no formal action was taken, the policy would be amended in the coming months.

The superintendent also informed the Board of Trustees that the district’s A-Team would be working on a readiness assessment that could be applied to all five primary schools; Encampment K-12 School, Elk Mountain Elementary School, Hanna Elementary School, Medicine Bow Elementary School, and Saratoga Elementary School.

The next meeting of the Carbon County School District No. 2 Board of Trustees will be at 5 p.m. on October 19 at the Central Office in Saratoga.