Fact Sheet Regarding the Mandatory Kindergarten Attendance Law

1. What does the mandatory kindergarten attendance law require?

The mandatory kindergarten attendance law requires a child who resides in Maryland to attend a public or nonpublic kindergarten program regularly during the school year before entering the first grade unless the child is enrolled in an alternative program or is receiving home instruction as specified in question #4 of this fact sheet.

2. Does the change in the age of eligibility for enrollment in kindergarten affect the admissions criteria of a nonpublic school?

Yes. The change in the age of eligibility for enrollment in kindergarten affects nonpublic schools as follows:

• Nonpublic schools that are approved under COMAR 13A.09.10 to receive public pay students are required to adopt the age of eligibility dates shown on the attached "Chart Reflecting Local School Phase-in of Age of Eligibility for Enrollment in Public School Prekindergarten, Kindergarten, and First Grade."

• Until the 2006-2007 school year, nonpublic schools that hold a Certificate of Approval under COMAR 13A.09.09 and church-exempt schools that are registered with the Maryland State Department of Education may elect to follow this chart when establishing the age of eligibility for enrollment in its kindergarten, or may establish September 1 as the date by which a child must be 5-years-old to be age eligible for enrollment in kindergarten.

• For the 2006-2007 school year and thereafter, all nonpublic schools (schools holding a Certificate of Approval and those registered as "church-exempt", must establish September 1 as the date by which a child must be 5-years-old to be age eligible to enroll in kindergarten.

3. Does attendance in a nonpublic kindergarten satisfy the requirements of this law?

Yes. Attendance in any of the following nonpublic kindergarten educational programs satisfies the requirements of the mandatory kindergarten attendance law:

(a) A kindergarten educational program in a nonpublic school that holds a Certificate of Approval from the Maryland State Board of Education;

(b) A kindergarten educational program in a licensed child care center that holds a Certificate of Approval from the Maryland State Board of Education; or

(c) A kindergarten educational program in a church-exempt nonpublic school that is registered with the Maryland State Department of Education as exempt from the requirement to hold a Certificate of Approval because the Legal Authority responsible for governing and operating the school is a bona fide church organization.

4. Are there ways to satisfy the mandatory kindergarten attendance law other than by attending a public or nonpublic kindergarten?

Yes. The mandatory kindergarten attendance regulations permit kindergarten-age children, who are not attending a public or a nonpublic kindergarten, to be enrolled in either an alternative program setting or supervised home instruction.

(a) Alternative Program Setting (see note below):

   (i.) Full time in a licensed child care center;
    (ii.) Full time in a registered family day care home; or,
    (iii.) Part time in a Head Start 5-year-old program.

(b) Supervised Home Instruction (see note below):

Parents/guardians who home school their children must register with their local school system in order to be in compliance with home instruction regulations.

Note: The parent or guardian who elects to meet the mandatory school attendance requirement through (a) or (b) above, must file a written notification of this fact with the local public school system.

5. Can kindergarten be deferred on the basis of maturity?

Yes. State Board of Education regulations allow parents/guardians to file a request for a one-year level of maturity waiver for a kindergarten-age child, if the parents/guardians believe that a delay in kindergarten attendance is in the best interest of their child. Such a child, however, must attend kindergarten the next school year.

6. What must a parent or guardian do to defer kindergarten attendance for one year?

If a parent wants to defer a child's enrollment in kindergarten for one year due to the child's level of maturity, the parent must do the following:

(a) File a written request with the local Superintendent of Schools before the opening of the school year in which the child becomes 5-years-old, asking that the child's attendance be delayed due to the child's level of maturity, and

(b) Register that child in kindergarten the following school year.

7. Will enrollment of a 5-year-old in a nonpublic nursery school program for 4-year-olds satisfy the requirement of the mandatory kindergarten attendance law?

No. Enrollment of a 5-year-old in a nonpublic nursery school educational program approved by the State Board of Education for 4-year-olds and/or below does not satisfy the requirements of the mandatory kindergarten attendance law.

8. When a parent or guardian believes that it is in the best interest of a child who is enrolled in kindergarten to be withdrawn, what must the parent do?

If a parent or guardian feels that it is in the best interest of the child to be withdrawn from kindergarten, the parent or guardian must file a written request with the local Superintendent of Schools for a level of maturity waiver before withdrawing the child from kindergarten. This action delays kindergarten attendance until the following school year.

Attachment: Chart Reflecting Local School System Phase-in of Age of Eligibility for Enrollment in Public School Prekindergarten, Kindergarten, and First Grade


• For the 2006-2007 school year and thereafter, a child must be five-years-old by September 1 of the school year to be age eligible to enroll in a public school kindergarten or any nonpublic school kindergarten in Maryland. Note: For nonpublic schools, this requirement applies to those schools that hold a Certificate of Approval from the Maryland State Board of Education as well as those schools that are registered to operate exempt from the requirement to hold a Certificate of Approval (church-exempt schools).

• Local school systems will use the dates indicated on the chart below for the phase-in of children entering prekindergarten programs, kindergartens, and first grade to be consistent with the change in the age of eligibility for enrollment in kindergarten.

January 18, 2006