Kindergarten cutoff date moved to July 1

Children who will be five years old on or before July 1 are eligible to enroll in kindergarten for the 2001-02 school year.

Previously, Noblesville Schools limited enrollment to children whose fifth birthday fell on or before June 1. The date was changed this year in accordance with changes in Indiana's requirements that moved the cutoff date from June 1 to July 1.

The change does not affect the enrollment age for first grade. Children entering first grade this year must be 6 years old on or before June 1.

Children who meet the age requirement for kindergarten are to be enrolled at the school they will attend. Parents who do not know what school their child will attend may call the central administration office at 773-3171 for assistance.

Parents enrolling their child in kindergarten must provide a birth certificate and a record of completed immunizations at the time of enrollment. If a child's immunizations have not been completed, a schedule for completion must be provided.

Noblesville Schools will accept appeals for early kindergarten entrance for children whose birthdays fall after July 1, 2001 and before August 1, 2001. Applications for early entrance are available at the administration office, 1775 Field Drive.

The appeals procedure is as follows:

1. The parent shall complete the prescribed appeal application. Appeals are to be forwarded to the superintendent or his/her designee no later than June 1 prior to the next school year. Appeals made after June 1 will not be considered unless the parent and child moved into the school district after June 1.

2. Completed applications will be forwarded to the school psychologist and parents will be contacted to schedule an evaluation. All costs for the assessment must be assumed by the parents.

3. After the evaluation is completed the psychologist will notify the superintendent of the results. This determination will be final.

4. The superintendent will advise the parent of his/her decision in writing. In evaluating the early admission application(s), the Superintendent will base his/her decision on the following:

a. Whether or not there is space available in the Kindergarten program. In determining the availability of space, the Superintendent may consider whether admittance of the child will cause the school's Primetime teacher-pupil ratio to be exceeded.

If there are more applicants than the number of spaces available and it is determined that an excess number of applicants qualify for early entrance than space available, the determining factor for acceptance shall be the birthdate of the child; children with birthdates closest to the July 1 cutoff date will be admitted to the kindergarten program.

If no space is available, or if it is determined that it is not in the best interest of the school or the children to admit additional students, no early entrance application(s) will be accepted.

b. Information that is submitted about the child should (may) include age equivalent scores and assessments of the following domains and areas of
development: cognitive, motor skills (fine and gross), social/emotional adaptive behavior, academic readiness skills, motor development, perceptual development, and physical development.

All measures used to determine readiness for school must be approved by the corporation. The measures must be administered by a professional qualified to interpret such tests and approved by the school corporation.

The Superintendent shall not make his/her determination based upon only one single test score.

c. Whether early entrance is in the best interest of the child. A child coming into the school corporation from an out-of-state approved kindergarten program who does not meet the Indiana state age-eligibility requirements, may be admitted to the kindergarten program, unless it can be determined that enrollment in such a program was intended to circumvent Indiana law.

5.The decision rendered by the Superintendent shall be final.

Early entrance applies only to admission to kindergarten. Children who do not meet Noblesville Schools' early entrance to kindergarten criteria must be six years old on or before June 1 to enroll in grade one, seven years old on or before June 1 to enroll in grade two, eight years old on or before June 1 to enroll in grade three, nine years old on or before June 1 to enroll in grade four, and ten years old on or before June 1 to enroll in grade five. A child transferring to Noblesville Schools from an out-of-state elementary school is exempt from this age criteria unless it is determined that the child was enrolled in an out-of-state school to circumvent the Indiana law.