Pre-school and Kindergarden entrance cut off date (kindergarten, pay, classroom)

[suzie02]

We just moved from GA to CA and I discovered that early schooling is very different across the country. I was jut curious how it was in other states. Please share. What is the cut off age in your state and if there is public pre-school?.

Here in CA cutoff is Dec 2

In GA it is Sept 1 and there is full time public(free) preschool

[golfgal]

In MN the cut off is Sept 1 and there isn't free preschool available in most towns. There might be a few programs for low income families but for the most part preschool is not free.

[Momma_bear]

In FL the cutoff is Sept 1 an there is the VPK free preschool program. The VPK is a few years old. Although it is free it is provided by private vendors.

[Padgett2]

In Georgia, in some systems, the space for pre-school in the regular school buildings is limited. Therefore, children are chosen for this free program by lottery. Parents then pay for Pre-K for the ones that weren't chosen. I may be mistaken, but I don't think that either Pre-K or kindergarten is mandatory. I think the Sept 1 date is State wide.

Hopefully, it will soon be possible to have classroom space for all. The argument is that the money for these little ones could be better spent elsewhere in the school system.

[summers19]

In Virginia the cutoff date is September 30.
There may be free public preschool in some of the lower income towns/neighborhoods, but not in general for the entire state unfortunately.

[Katiana]

Colorado: Sept. 30. The only public pre-school is Head Start and for kids with disabilities (that I know of).

[TouchOfWhimsy]

In Florida, preschool is free and the cut off is Sept 1.

In Connecticut, I believe that the only free preschool is HeadStart, and the cutoff is December 31.

[suzie02]

Originally Posted by Padgett2

In Georgia, in some systems, the space for pre-school in the regular school buildings is limited. Therefore, children are chosen for this free program by lottery. Parents then pay for Pre-K for the ones that weren't chosen. I may be mistaken, but I don't think that either Pre-K or kindergarten is mandatory. I think the Sept 1 date is State wide.

Hopefully, it will soon be possible to have classroom space for all. The argument is that the money for these little ones could be better spent elsewhere in the school system.

As far as I knew pre-school is usually at daycare centers but the State pays for it. Where I lived only special ed pre-k was in school buildings.

[tamitrail]

Kindergarten Cut-Off Dates

[Katiana]

I noticed that list is old (at least 2000) and Colorado is incorrectly listed as Sept. 15. In our district, it has been Sept. 30 for at least the past 25 years. There is a lot of local option out here, maybe that is one of them.