Entrance Age & Requirements

Admission to Kindergarten 

The following guidelines shall be followed for the registration of all kindergarten students.

A. Children must be five (5) years old on or before August 1st.

B. Children must be registered by their parent(s) or guardian(s). Guardians must present proper      certification of legal guardianship and, when applicable, a parent is to provide a copy of any custody arrangements. If a birth certificate is not provided, the parent is to submit other reliable documentary evidence of the child’s date of birth. If custody has been established by the courts, a copy of the court order must be provided.

C. Children transferring from another public or private kindergarten who do not meet the age requirements may be admitted.

D. All registrants shall receive a kindergarten screening as determined by the principal.

Assessment and Appeal for Early Entrance to Kindergarten or First Grade

Children of legal settlement who have not attained the age of five (5) by August 1st shall not be eligible for entrance into the kindergarten program nor shall a child who is not six (6) years old be eligible for entrance into first grade, unless the parents submit an appeal.

Such an appeal is to be submitted to the elementary principal and shall include the following information:

A. name of the child

B. birthdate
 
C. name and address of any kindergarten or preschool program the child has attended
 
D. narrative history related to attendance at another kindergarten or preschool program

Prior to making any decision on early entrance, the child will participate in a screening program.

During the screening, the parents are to be interviewed in order to develop an adequate case history on the child and advised of the nature of the kindergarten (or first grade) program. No indication is to be communicated to the parents during the screening process. They should be told that the evaluation and viewpoints of the staff and parents will be presented to the principal who shall make the final decision.

After the necessary data has been obtained, the decision whether or not to approve the appeal and enroll the child in the kindergarten (or first grade) program will be made by the principal.

If the appeal is approved, a meeting is to be held with the parents to inform them of the decision, to counsel them about their child's particular strengths and weaknesses, and to complete the enrollment procedures for entrance into the kindergarten (or first grade) program.

If the appeal is not approved, the principal is to contact the parents and explain the reasons why their child will not be eligible and to inform them of the enrollment procedures when their child meets the age requirements.

West Lafayette Community School Corporation

Adopted: November 24, 2025

Revised: [date]