As the law stands now, children in Tennessee can enter kindergarten as long as they turn five before the last day of September.
It has been a long time pet peeve for many teachers to receive children who had birthdays close to the cut off date. The teachers felt that these children were less ready for kindergarten and lacked the maturity of the children with earlier birth dates.
There is no doubt that age (even if it is just a few months) can make a difference in how well a child adapts to the school setting.
Tennessee has now been faced with a proposal to move up the cut off date for children who plan to enter kindergarten next year. The proposal was to move the date up to July. However, some worried that this big of a move may be hard on parents who had planned for their child to begin kindergarten in the Fall term.
The plan now calls for the day to be moved to the beginning of September instead of the end. Children would now have to reach their fifth birthday by September the first. This change would not affect as many children and families as the first proposal of July. Many parents are already holding their children out for a year if their birthday falls close to the cut off date.
The proposal will be voted on within the next couple of weeks.
I am all for the change for several reasons. The first is a personal reason. My daughter should begin kindergarten next year. Her birthday is September 12. I have struggled on whether I should send her or not. If the date is moved, I will not have a decision to make. It will be made for me. That means there will be less stress for my family.