Kindergarten in California

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Kindergarten in California

California state law and information regarding admission to kindergarten.
There is a growing interest in a number of kindergarten issues: e.g., enrollment age, retention, and extended-day kindergarten. This guidance material is designed to address many of these issues. Since many private schools also adhere to the state Education Code, this guidance may be of assistance to them. This information may also be helpful to parents and guardians, as well as teachers of preschool, kindergarten, and first grade.

Kindergarten Enrollment
Parents and guardians are currently not required to enroll children in kindergarten (Education Code [EC] Section 48200) (Outside Source). If parents/guardians choose to enroll their children, schools must admit children who are of legal age (EC Section 48000[a]). Admission of age-eligible children must occur at the beginning of the school year or whenever the students move into the school district. (See Barajas, et al. v. Board of Trustees, et al , Sup. Crt. Sonoma County, 1990, No. 80963.)

While local education officials may need a day or two to identify the particular assigned kindergarten classroom, no age-eligible child may be denied access to school by being placed on a waiting list. Although demographics and class size reduction restrictions may prevent parents/guardians from enrolling their children in the neighborhood school, the district must provide the name(s) of available schools. Parents/guardians may discuss school choice options with district officials. To help make placement decisions, parents/guardians may compare schools online at either Ed-Data (Outside Source) or Data and Statistics. Both sites offer information on schools' demographics and characteristics.

Age-Eligible Children: Districts must admit children at the beginning of the school year (or whenever they move into a district) if they will be five years of age on or before December 2 of the school year (EC Section 48000[a]). Children who are age-eligible for kindergarten may attend any prekindergarten summer program maintained by the school district. Information about items constituting proof of age supplied by parent or guardian is found in EC Section 48002. Immunization requirements are found in Health and Safety Code Section 120325 and Section 120335 and on CDE's Factbook Web page.

Under-Age Children: Districts and CDE staff are frequently requested by parents/guardians to enroll children who are not age-eligible in kindergarten and first grade. CDE has no authority to require districts to admit or accelerate under-age children. The information below is regarding enrollment of under-age children in either kindergarten or first grade.

Early Admission to Kindergarten. In addition to the laws mentioned above (in A. Age-Eligible Children), there is an additional—but rarely used—option for admitting children to kindergarten once they turn five years old. Districts may admit to kindergarten those children whose birthdays occur after December 2. These children may not begin school at the beginning of the school year, but they must wait until their fifth birth date occurs (EC Section 48000[b]). Districts that admit these children to kindergarten prior to their turning age five jeopardize their apportionments, as auditors may take fiscal sanctions through an audit process (see pages 68 through 70 of the state Controller's Office attendance accounting procedures [PDF; Outside Source] for auditors). While EC Section 48000(b) allows a child to be admitted early on a case-by-case basis, districts offering this option to families would be wise to have local governing board-adopted criteria by which students are accepted. Districts that base early admissions on test results, maturity of the child, or preschool records may risk being challenged by parents/guardians whose children are denied admission. If these children continue in kindergarten past the anniversary dates of their admission, the school would be well advised to have signed Parental Agreement Forms on file to continue the children in kindergarten to the end of the school year.

Acceleration to First Grade. California law requires a child to be six years old on or before December 2 to be legally eligible for first grade (EC Section 48010). A child who was legally enrolled in an out-of-state kindergarten (using that state's requirements), but who does not meet California age eligibility for first grade, may be enrolled by the district in first grade (EC Section 48011). A child who was not age-eligible for kindergarten (that is, the child turned five after December 2 in the school year) and who attended a California private school kindergarten for a year is viewed by the CDE as not legally enrolled in kindergarten, pursuant to EC Section 48000 requirements. Therefore, this child, upon enrollment in public school, is enrolled in kindergarten, assessed, and may (but is not required to) be immediately promoted to first grade if the child meets the following State Board of Education criteria, pursuant to Title 5, Section 200:

The child is at least five years of age.
The child has attended a public school kindergarten for a long enough time to enable school personnel to evaluate the child's ability.
The child is in the upper 5 percent of the child's age group in terms of general mental ability.
The physical development and social maturity of the child are consistent with the child's advanced mental ability.
The parent or guardian has filed a written statement with the district that approves placement in first grade.
A statement, signed by the district and parent/guardian, is placed in the official school records for these five-year-olds who have been advanced to first grade (EC Section 48011). This action prevents a subsequent audit exception for first grade placement of an age-ineligible student.

Alternatives for Placement of Under-age Children. Districts may offer alternatives for later placement of children whose parents/guardians wanted them to be admitted before they were of legal age. These options should best suit the children's educational and social needs:


The child may be assigned to a kindergarten teacher who uses developmentally appropriate curriculum and instruction that is unique to the individual child's pattern of growth. In this type of classroom, differences in children's interests and development are expected and used to differentiate curriculum and enable children to be accelerated within the kindergarten classroom. (For more information, see First Class: A Guide for Early Primary Education [1999]; Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood Programs [1997]).

The child may be enrolled in a multi-age program in which grade-level distinctions are blurred and a student completes assignments and projects based on his or her abilities, needs, or interests rather than on assigned grade level. Thus, a kindergarten child who has accomplished kindergarten standards may have some first grade assignments. The California Kindergarten Association (Outside Source) has research summaries in its Fact Sheet on Kindergartners in Mixed-Aged Classes. The Harvard Education Letter of January/February 1998 also has information on multi-age classrooms.

A child may be assigned to one teacher but also attend another teacher's class for a particular subject area. For example, a child who has completed kindergarten mathematics standards may attend a first grade classroom for mathematics instruction.
Young children who are accelerated to kindergarten or first grade may feel stress as they try to achieve academic expectations and relate to older children. Parents/guardians and early childhood educators are the best judges about what may be gained by acceleration and whether it is worth the price. CDE recommends that educators and district employees explain to parents/guardians of under-age children the following information:

The academic, social, physical, and emotional readiness required for kindergarten and first grade
The rigorous nature of the academic standards
The potential for harming a child's disposition to learn by inappropriate acceleration, and
The important concepts, skills, and knowledge imparted at each stage of a child's education, including preschool
Often it is helpful if school or district staff members arrange for parents/guardians to read kindergarten through first grade standards, visit classrooms, and observe instruction. Districts may provide additional information for parents/guardians, such as:

The CDE documents, Continuity for Young Children: Positive Transitions to Elementary School; and/or Prekindergarten Learning and Development Guidelines
The National Research Council document, Eager to Learn: Educating Our Preschoolers
"School Readiness: Helping Communities Get Children Ready for School and Schools Ready for Children" by Child Trends
Getting Ready for Kindergarten: A Guide for Parents by the San Mateo County Office of Education, and
Helping Your Child Get Ready for School by the U. S. Department of Education.
Private School Considerations: Private schools do not necessarily operate under the same requirements as public schools, but representatives of the California Association of Private Schools Organizations (CAPSO) indicate many private schools do follow Education Code sections referenced in this document. If children have been admitted as three- or four-year olds to private school kindergarten, it is their parents'/guardian's responsibility to monitor their children's emotional and physical responses to the accelerated curriculum.

Public school officials do not automatically enroll in first grade those students who attended a private school kindergarten (see B.2. Acceleration to First Grade above for guidance).
Kindergarten Continuance
Continuance is defined as more than one school year in kindergarten. EC Section 48011 requires a child who has completed a year of kindergarten to be promoted to first grade, unless the parent or guardian and the district agree that the child may continue in kindergarten not more than one additional school year.

A parent/guardian who agrees the child is to continue in kindergarten must sign the Parental Agreement Form, which is available on CDE's Pupil Promotion & Retention Web page. Failure to have signed forms on file may jeopardize audit findings and result in a loss of apportionment.

EC sections 48070-48070.5 set forth requirements for pupil promotion and retention (PPR). While kindergarten was not a grade level included by legislators, EC Section 48070.5(j) enables local boards to adopt additional PPR policies. Districts considering continuance of kindergartners may want to consider:

Reviewing current research
Developing a plan to reduce the rate of continuance
Improving the instructional program for students at risk of continuance, and
Monitoring the progress of schools in reducing continuance rates, including the differential effects of continuance for different ethnic groups, non-English-speaking children, and gender
Section 3934, subdivision (b), located in Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations, states:

(b) No program utilizing consolidated application funds shall:

Create special tracks for the educationally disadvantaged;
Establish adjustment, pregrade, or junior grade classes for the educationally disadvantaged.
Current literature reveals that retention may have a negative effect on student achievement, school attendance, attitude toward school, and student dropout rates. On the other hand, social promotion also may have a negative effect on student achievement. The U.S. Department of Education provides guidance for state and local leaders to prevent, and intervene to reduce, student failure in Taking Responsibility for Ending Social Promotion. This document may assist schools and districts to adopt a comprehensive approach to retention. All CDE guidance points to the need for districts and school staff to provide interventions for students who are at risk of failure to prevent the need for retention. Although kindergarten is not currently a mandated grade, appropriate interventions should not be delayed.

Extended-Day Kindergarten
Extended-day kindergarten (EDK) is defined as a class, taught by the same certificated staff member, that exceeds the four-hour maximum. In some districts EDK is the same length of day as that for older elementary students. While California districts do not receive additional apportionment funds to lengthen the kindergarten day, there is a growing interest in this topic. From 1965 to 1998, participation in what is referred to nationally as "full-day" kindergarten rose from 17 percent to 50.8 percent. Educators may wish to extend the kindergarten day for a number of reasons, including the following:

To improve the educational program for children
To provide more time for the teacher to get to know each child
To encourage children's maximum social, emotional, physical, and academic growth
To address transportation issues related to district bus schedules, and
To address parents'/guardian's needs for child care
EC sections 46110-46119 detail the minimum and maximum lengths of the school day for kindergarten and other elementary grade classrooms. The maximum number of minutes for kindergarten is four hours, (EC Section 46111), excluding recess. However, recess time may be counted as instructional minutes, at the district's discretion, if teacher supervision occurs.

Another portion of the Education Code (EC sections 8970-8974) authorizes EDK if the local school board adopts a policy establishing an Early Primary Program, in keeping with the 1988 recommendations of the School Readiness Task Force, found in Here They Come: Ready or Not! (1988). EC Section 8973 allows schools to offer EDK if both of the following conditions are met:

The kindergarten program does not exceed the length of the primary school day, and
The extended-day kindergarten program takes into account ample opportunity for both active and quiet activities with an integrated, experiential, and developmentally appropriate educational program.
To establish EDK, districts should adopt a formal policy in keeping with an Early Primary Program, EC sections 8970-8974. They may also consider the implications of curriculum and instruction changes, class size reduction, facilities, parents'/guardian's issues, potential bargaining unit agreements, and fiscal considerations. Districts may also carefully evaluate lengthened programs to determine if children are benefiting in all domains (academic, social, emotional, and physical).

While lengthening the day affects the organization of kindergarten classrooms, the most long-lasting and far-reaching change will involve what goes on inside the kindergarten classroom. The National All-Day Kindergarten Network (Outside Source) contains research findings, resources, a discussion group, and contact people on all-day kindergarten.

Transitions to Elementary School
Helping children get off to a good start in school is important to families, teachers, and children. Transition plans are required by the federal, No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Title I, Part A, Section 1114(b)(1)(G) of the act requires Schoolwide Projects to plan children's transitions from early childhood programs to local elementary school programs. Section 1115(c)(1)(D) of the Act requires Targeted Assistance programs to assist preschool children in their transitions to elementary school. Head Start programs are also required to plan transitions and share relevant child-centered information (Section 642A of 42 U.S.C. 9837A). Students with exceptional needs are also provided appropriate transitions, pursuant to EC Section 56445.

A state law offers an additional opportunity for preschool and elementary educators to help children transition to school. The California Preschool Transfer Act of 2001 (Assembly Bill 1539, Chapter 629, Statutes of 2001) requires state-funded preschools to provide to the parent/guardian(s) developmental and any other information deemed beneficial to the child and public school teacher (see EC sections 56435, 56449, and 58930). If parents/guardians authorize it, preschools may provide this information directly to the schools.

Note: The guidance in this document is not binding on local education agencies or other entities. Except for the statues, regulations, and court decisions that are referenced herein, this document is exemplary, and compliance with it is not mandatory. (See Education Code Section 33308.5.)
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California Department of Education Resources
Name Phone Topic
Elementary Education Office
916-319-0839
Enrollment age; curriculum; instruction; extended-day kindergarten

Child Development Division
916-322-6233
Preschool standards; Prekindergarten Learning and Development Guidelines

Educational Demographics
916-327-0219
Comparison data on schools' demographics, characteristics

Elementary Education Office

916-319-0839
Kindergarten continuance/retention policy and forms

Kim Clement
916-327-0857
Average daily attendance; fiscal reports;


Mailing Address
California Department of Education
1430 N Street
Sacramento, CA 95814-5901

Phone Numbers
General: 916-319-0800
TTY/TDD: 916-445-4556