As incoming kindergarteners are registered for their first year at Carmel Clay Schools, some students may not be able to start as early they once thought.
State law has long required that students be 5 years old by Aug. 1 to enroll in kindergarten, but CCS offered an early entrance waiver that allowed students to enroll if they turned 5 by Sept. 1.
That will likely soon change.
“In the last legislative session the legislators passed a law that districts would not receive funding for students unless the student was 5 by Aug. 1,” Co-Interim Supt. Amy Dudley stated in an email. “Because of this, CCS can no longer have an early entrance waiver and allow students to enroll in kindergarten unless they turn 5 by Aug. 1.”
The district had granted approximately 35 early entrance waivers per year, according to spokeswoman Courtney Taylor.
The change in the law states that students who are not 5 by Aug. 5 will not be included in the average daily membership count, a student population number used to determine how much funding the state gives to each school district. CCS receives approximately $6,000 per student.
The district’s policy committee is expected to discuss the change and recommend updates to the CCS policy.
