New York State Governor Cuomo signed a new law today aimed at New York City to make Kindergarten mandatory for all students who will be five by December 1 in a given year. Previously, attending school was optional until a child turned six (generally first grade) although most parents still enrolled their children in a Kindergarten program. This law also ensures that children will not be turned away from a Kindergarten class because of overcrowding or other circumstances.
In addition to the good this law will do, it also changes the cutoff date for enrollment for students, from December 31 to December 1. This means that any child born after December 1, 2008 will not be eligible to enter Kindergarten for the 2013-2014 school year. It will be imperative for parents of these affected students begin to make arrangements for their children for that school year. It also means that parents intending to enroll their child in a Gifted and Talented program will not be eligible to test during this testing season.
If you have any questions regarding the details of this law, you should contact the New York City Department of Education.
HBG 
rhoda 
Marisela Castillo 
Why not up to December 31st?? Doesn’t make sense to make the cut off three weeks earlier. What difference does three weeks make? It’s going to make a big difference to parents.Parents of those students born after December 1st are going to be upset.