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Age to Start Kindergarten by State 2023
Kindergarten is a year of education between home, daycare, or preschool and elementary school whose approach involves playing, singing, practical activities, and social interaction. Kindergarten institutions originated in the 18th century in Bavaria and Alsace to provide a place for kids to go during the day while their parents worked.
German pedagogue Friedrich Fröbel recognized that children have unique needs and capabilities and created the concept of kindergarten. The German word kindergarten can be translated to “infant garden.” Both the concept and the name stuck, especially in the United States.
In the United States, kindergarten is typically part of the K-12 educational system and begins the primary education (elementary education) years of formal education in most jurisdictions. In most state and private schools, children attend kindergarten for one year beginning at age five.
American kindergartens have been around for about 150 years, starting when Elizabeth Palmer Peabody opened the first English language kindergarten in the U.S. The first public-school kindergarten opened in St. Louis in the 1870s and soon there were hundreds around the country.
U.S. states have different laws and requirements for kindergarten. Most states require a child to be 5 as of a specified date. As of 2018, 18 states require kindergarten attendance for children wishing to continue to elementary school.
Below are the kindergarten entrance ages for each state. States that are designated a local education agency (LEA) indicate that a local school board oversees and implements education policies as set forth by the federal government.
- Minnesota – 5 on or before 9/01 (school board may adopt an early admissions policy)
- New Jersey – LEA option (school districts may admit children aged 4-5, and they must admit children aged 5-6. The cutoff date must be after October 1)
- New York – LEA option (students must be between 4 and 6)
- Ohio – LEA option (Districts may adopt a resolution establishing August 1 instead of September 30 as the required date by which students must have attained the specified age
- Pennsylvania – LEA option (students must be between 4 and 6. The minimum age for kindergarten is 4 years and 7 months before the first day of the school year)
- Vermont – 5 (LEA may require students admitted to kindergarten to attain the age of 5 on or before August 31 and January 1st)
- Wisconsin – 5 on or before 9/01 (Kindergarten entrance age is 5 on or before September 1 for 5-year-old kindergarten or age 4 on or before September 1 for 4-year-old kindergarten.)
- The acronym LEA is the standad abbreviation for "local education agency".
- States with neither a "yes" nor a "no" in the category of "State Requires Kindergarten Attendance" are those marked "not applicable" by The National Center for Education Statistics.
State | Compulsory School Age | Kindergarten Entrance Age | State Requires Districts Offer Full-Day Kindergarten | State Requires Districts Offer Half-Day Kindergarten | State Requires Kindergarten Attendance | Additional Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | 8 | 5 by 8/31 | ||||
| Alaska | 7 | 5 by 9/1 | ||||
| Idaho | 7 | 5 by 9/1 | ||||
| Indiana | 7 | 5 by 8/1 | Districts must offer either full-day or half-day kindergarten. | |||
| Kansas | 7 | 5 by 8/31 | ||||
| Louisiana | 7 | 5 by 9/30 | Children can forego kindergarden and enroll in grade 1 by satisfactorily passing an academic readiness screening. | |||
| Minnesota | 7 | 5 by 9/1 | ||||
| Missouri | 7 | 5 by 7/31 | Metropolitan districts can change the minimum age to 5 on or before any date from August 1 to October 1. Children aged 5-7 can be excused from school attendance if a parent or guardian requests it in writing. | |||
| Montana | 7 | 5 by 9/10 | Districts must offer either full-day or half-day kindergarten. | |||
| Nevada | 7 | 5 by 9/30 | ||||
| North Carolina | 7 | 5 by 8/31 | The initial entry point into school is kindergarten, but a principal may override this for an exceptionally mature student and place the child in grade 1. | |||
| North Dakota | 7 | 5 by 7/31 | ||||
| Wyoming | 7 | 5 by 9/15 | The state requires that LEAs offer half-day kindergarten. School districts must establish and maintain relationships with a district that offers one full-day kindergarten. | |||
| Alabama | 6 | 5 by 9/1 | ||||
| Arizona | 6 | 5 by 8/31 | ||||
| California | 6 | 5 by 9/1 | ||||
| Colorado | 6 | 5 by 10/1 | ||||
| Florida | 6 | 5 by 9/1 | ||||
| Georgia | 6 | 5 by 9/1 | ||||
| Illinois | 6 | 5 by 9/1 | Districts must offer either full-day or half-day kindergarten. | |||
| Iowa | 6 | 5 by 9/15 | Children aged 4 or 5 years old and enrolled in a school district are considered to be compulsory attendance age unless a parent or legal guardian notifies the school district in writing of their intent to remove their child from enrollment. | |||
| Kentucky | 6 | 5 by 7/31 | ||||
| Maine | 6 | 5 by 10/15 | ||||
| Massachusetts | 6 | Variable | Each district may establish its own minimum permissible age for school attendance. | |||
| Michigan | 6 | 5 by 9/1 | ||||
| Mississippi | 6 | 5 by 9/1 | ||||
| Nebraska | 6 | 5 by 9/30 | Children may skip kindergartend if otherwise assessed as prepared to enter grade 1. | |||
| New Hampshire | 6 | Unspecified | Entrance age is not specified in state statutes or regulations. | |||
| New Jersey | 6 | LEA option | Districts may admit children ages 4 and 5, and must admit children ages 5 to 6. The cutoff date must be after October 1. Children are required to attend full-day kindergarten in the Abbott Districts. | |||
| New York | 6 | LEA option | Districts may admit children ages 4 and 5, and they must admit children ages 5 to 6. The cutoff date must be after October 1. | |||
| Ohio | 6 | LEA option | Districts may adopt a resolution establishing August 1 instead of September 30 as the required date by which students must have attained a specified age. | |||
| Oregon | 6 | 5 by 9/1 | ||||
| Pennsylvania | 6 | LEA option | Students must be between the ages of 4 and 6. Minimum age for kindergarten entrance is 4 years 7 months before the first day of the school year. | |||
| Tennessee | 6 | 5 by 8/15 | ||||
| Texas | 6 | 5 by 9/1 | Districts must offer either full-day or half-day kindergarten. This is an option for a school district's board of trustees. | |||
| Utah | 6 | 5 by 9/1 | ||||
| Vermont | 6 | 5 | LEA may require students admitted to kindergarten to attain the age of 5 on or before August 31 and January 1. | |||
| West Virginia | 6 | 5 by 8/31 | Districts must offer prekindergarten to all children who are 4 years old before July 1 | |||
| Wisconsin | 6 | 5 by 9/1 | Kindergarten entrance age is 5 on or before September 1 for 5-year-old kindergarten or 4 on or before September 1 for 4-year-old kindergarten. Children must attend in districts that offer kindergarten. | |||
| Arkansas | 5 | 5 by 8/1 | ||||
| Connecticut | 5 | 5 by 1/1 | ||||
| Delaware | 5 | 5 by 8/31 | ||||
| District of Columbia | 5 | 5 by 9/30 | ||||
| Hawaii | 5 | 5 by 7/31 | ||||
| Maryland | 5 | 5 by 9/1 | ||||
| New Mexico | 5 | 5 by 9/1 | ||||
| Oklahoma | 5 | 5 by 9/1 | Minimum half-day attendance. | |||
| Rhode Island | 5 | 5 by 9/1 | ||||
| South Carolina | 5 | 5 by 9/1 | ||||
| South Dakota | 5 | 5 by 9/1 | ||||
| Virginia | 5 | 5 by 9/30 |