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Geneva nixing early kindergarten enrollments

The Geneva school district won't admit children younger than 5 to kindergarten anymore, the school board decided Monday.

Children have to be age 5 by Sept. 1 to enter kindergarten, according to the new policy.

Previously the district allowed children who turned 5 after Sept. 1, but before Dec. 31, to apply for an exception. District educators would evaluate the child to see if they could handle kindergarten work and the schedule.

In the last four years, just one 4-year-old has been admitted.

Illinois law says that children must be enrolled in school by age 6. It does not mandate that they attend kindergarten.

State law does allow 5-year-olds to enroll in first grade, as long as they turn 6 by Dec. 31, if that child attended a private preschool and attended that preschool through kindergarten and was taught by a certified teacher. They also have to pass an assessment by the district.

In 2015, the state moved up the compulsory education age by a year. Until then, a child did not have to enroll in school until age 7.

The change is being made because the curriculum for kindergarten has become more rigorous as the district tries to comply with the Common Core State Standards Initiative. District officials have also cited the length of the school day as a reason, as it implemented full-day kindergarten last school year.

Although by law it has to still offer half-day kindergarten, only about two kindergartners enrolled in half-day this year, according to Superintendent Kent Mutchler.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, as of 2014, 20 states had a 5-by-Sept. 1 cutoff date. Eleven set earlier cutoffs, 12 set later ones, and seven left it up to local agencies.

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