Request By:
Mrs. Jean W. Boone, Principal
Washington County Elementary School
Springfield, Kentucky 40069
Opinion
Opinion By: Robert F. Stephens, Attorney General; By: Robert L. Chenoweth, Assistant Attorney General
As principal of the Washington County Elementary School you have asked the Office of the Attorney General to render an advisory opinion on the following question:
"In the fall of 1980, will a child who is 6 years of age prior to September 1, be allowed to meet the compulsory school attendance law by attending a public school kindergarten rather than the first grade? "
We believe the answer to your question is in the affirmative.
The 1978 regular session of the General Assembly addressed Kentucky's kindergarten program concerns and also the age requirements to enroll in a public common school in House Bill 92, copy attached. Compare OAG 76-412, copy attached. The support for our conclusion reached above is the amendment to KRS 157.315 which added subsection (2), reading as follows:
"Any child who meets the minimum age requirements established by KRS 158.030 for first grade attendance but who is less than seven (7) years of age and has not previously attended kindergarten shall be eligible to attend kindergarten if, in the judgment of school officials and the consent of the parent or guardian, the child would benefit more from kindergarten instruction than from first grade instruction."
The effective date of this provision, as well as the other amendment provided for in House Bill 92, is July 1, 1979. Thus, for the 1979-80 school year, a child who has turned six years of age before September 1 but has not previously attended Kindergarten may be permitted in the manner prescribed by KRS 157.315(2) to enroll in kindergarten rather than the first grade.