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Parents and Students

Enrollment and Attendance

Preschool and Kindergarten

Refrigerator Curriculum

Scholarship Information

Student Assessment Program

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Parents and Students

Enrollment and Attendance

Enrolling a child in an Arkansas public school is addressed in Arkansas law and in the State Standards for Accreditation of Arkansas Public Schools.

According to A.C.A. § 6-18-208, "(a) Prior to a child’s admission to an Arkansas public school, a school district shall request the parent guardian, or other responsible person to furnish the child’s social security number and shall inform the parent, guardian, or other responsible person that, in the alternative, they may request that the school district assign the child a nine-digit number designated by the Department of Education. (b) Prior to a child’s admission to Arkansas public school, the parent, guardian, or responsible person shall provide the school district with one (1) of the following documents indicating the child’s age: (1) A birth certificate; (2) A statement by the local registrar or a county recorder certifying the child’s date of birth; (3) An attested baptismal certificate; (4) A passport; (5) An affidavit of the date and place of birth by the child’s parent or guardian; (6) Previous school records; or (7) A United States military identification."

Parents and guardians are encouraged to contact their local school district superintendent’s office for specific information concerning required enrollment documents.

Enrollment Age for Kindergarten Students

Act 462 of the Regular Session of the 86th Arkansas General Assembly (2007) changed the age of enrollment for kindergarten students entering public schools.

A.C.A. § 6-18-207 states that for the 2010-2011 school year, students may enter kindergarten in the public schools if the student will attain the age of five years on or before August 15, 2010.

Act 29 of 2009 amends A.C.A § 6-18-207 to allow students attending a pre-kindergarten program to enroll in kindergarten under certain circumstances. Any child NOT five years old on or before August 15, 2010, must meet all of the following requirements in order to be eligible for enrollment into a public school kindergarten program during the 2010-2011 school year:

• The child must turn five no later than September 15, 2010, and
• The child must have attended a STATE-APPROVED pre-kindergarten program for at least 100 days during the 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 school years.
  

More information is available in Commissioner's Memo LS-10-023.

For questions on the new kindergarten enrollment age, please contact:

Dee Cox, Ed.D, Special Assistant to the Commissioner
Arkansas Department of Education
Statewide System of Support
Four Capitol Mall, Room 305-B
Little Rock, AR 72201
Phone: 501-683-5300
Fax: 501-682-3372