Beginning in the 2024-25 school year, Connecticut law requires children to turn 5 years old on or before September 1 to automatically be eligible for kindergarten. The new age requirements impact current RSCO students as well as students applying to RSCO schools. Please see below for how the RSCO system will manage prekindergarten and kindergarten enrollment with the new requirements for new applicants and for current RSCO students.
The RSCO application allows students to apply for PK3, PK4, or KG if they meet specific age requirements. The prekindergarten age requirements have been updated to align with the new kindergarten requirements.
Contact the RSCO Parent Resource Center at 860-713-6990 for application assistance and more information about PK and KG eligibility!
* Exceptions to the new age requirements for kindergarten:
Exception specifics under the new law: A child who has not reached the age of 5 on or before September 1 may be admitted to kindergarten if:
Applying to kindergarten for students who do not meet the new age requirement and seek to enroll under the exception:
To submit a kindergarten application for a child turning 5 years old in September, October, November, or December, parents must contact RSCO for assistance. Kindergarten placement offers made to students who have not reached the age of 5 on or before September 1 will be conditional, pending the results of the assessment. The student’s application is considered a written request for the school to admit the child to kindergarten. If the school determines that the student is not developmentally appropriate for kindergarten, the student will be placed back on the waiting list for PK4.
Please Note: There are no exceptions to the age requirements for PK3 or PK4.
We understand that parents and guardians applied to magnet schools and Open Choice districts with the expectation that PK4 students would progress to kindergarten in 2024-25 and PK3 students would progress to kindergarten in 2025-26. As a result, RSCO has developed a process to transition current magnet and Open Choice students to kindergarten who do not meet the new age requirement in line with the exception to the law.
For both PK3 and PK4 students, the RSCO prekindergarten application is considered a written request for a child to progress to kindergarten as expected along the PK-kindergarten pathway. Parents will also be provided an opportunity to opt-out of the assessment for kindergarten and request an additional year of prekindergarten. Requests for an additional year of prekindergarten must be made in writing to the principal and will be granted pending seat availability.
