Last week, Governor Lamont signed into law Public Act 26-1, bringing about changes that will affect the age at which students may begin kindergarten in Connecticut public schools. Currently, children who turn five after September 1 of the school year may be admitted early to kindergarten through a mandatory early admission waiver process. Effective July 1, 2026, this process will become optional for school districts, and as of July 1, 2027, it will be eliminated entirely. Therefore, as of July 1, 2027, all children must be five years old on or before September 1 of the school year in order to enroll in public school kindergarten.

Current Law 

Under existing law, public schools must be open to children who are at least five years of age on or before September 1 of a school year. However, there is a mandatory early admission waiver process that permits a student who has not yet reached the age of five to be admitted (1) upon a written request by the child’s parent or guardian to the principal of the school in which the child would enroll, and (2) following an assessment of the child, conducted by the school principal and an appropriate staff member, to ensure that admitting the child is developmentally appropriate. 

Phase One: Changes Effective July 1, 2026

Effective July 1, 2026, the early admission waiver process, which is now mandatory, will become optional. Public Act 26-1 amends Section 10-15c of the Connecticut General Statutes such that a child under the age of five as of September 1 may be admitted to kindergarten early if the local or regional board of education has adopted an early admission policy that permits the child to be admitted (1) upon a written request by the child’s parent or guardian to the principal of the school in which the child would enroll, and (2) following an assessment of the child, conducted by the school principal and an appropriate staff member, to ensure that admitting the child is developmentally appropriate.  

Importantly, the change in the law requires boards of education to decide whether to permit early admission. Moreover, if a board of education wishes to offer an early admission process, it must review its current policy to ensure it meets statutory requirements or act promptly to adopt the required policy by July 1, 2026.  Notably, however, boards of education can only offer the early admission process for the 2026-2027 school year. 

Phase Two: Changes Effective July 1, 2027

Effective July 1, 2027, the early admission waiver process will be repealed in its entirety. Therefore, for the 2027-2028 school year and beyond, all children must be five years old on or before September 1 of the school year in which they seek to enroll in public school kindergarten, regardless of board of education policy.  As such, boards of education that either maintain or adopt an early admission policy for the 2026-2027 school year will need to repeal the early admission provisions prior to the 2027-2028 school year to avoid having an early admission process described in board policy that is no longer authorized by state law. 

Conclusion

These changes represent a significant shift in Connecticut’s approach to kindergarten eligibility and require boards of education to review their policies promptly before the 2026-2027 and 2027-2028 school years. If you have questions about changes to the law, related policy requirements, and practical implementation, please contact a member of the School Law Practice Group.