Academics · Subject Resources

Kindergarten starts
with a folder of papers.

Registering for kindergarten usually means proving the child’s age and your address, showing an immunization record and filling in a few forms before a deadline that can fall months before school starts. Type your district’s cutoff and deadline; the checklist works out the child’s age on the cutoff and what is still missing.

Add a childWhat you get

Your children

The worked example is made up: J.R., five by the cutoff with an IEP and registration closing in nine days, and a second child, A.R., who misses the cutoff by a month. Saved on this device only; children are listed by initials.

Loading the child form. If nothing appears, turn on JavaScript.

What you get

Academics · Subject ResourcesFree

What you finish with
A record per child: initials, school, birth date, the district’s cutoff and deadline, IEP status and ten enrollment items. Works out the age on the cutoff in years and months, days to the deadline and items in hand; flags a child not yet five, a near or passed deadline, a missing immunization record and an IEP to send ahead.
Who it is for
Parents and guardians registering a child for public school kindergarten, and the preschool teachers and family workers helping them.
Format
Browser checklist with a saved record per child. Prints one child’s list, every child in a table or a blank sheet; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
Free. No account, no sign-in and nothing to install. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Subject Resources space in Caveat Academics.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Find your district’s registration page for the cutoff date and deadline.
  2. Add the child by initials with the birth date.
  3. Mark each document as it goes in the folder.
  4. Submit the form before the deadline, even with one item to follow.
  5. Write your questions for the school.

Add a child

Federal protections

What families can count on, under federal lawEvery childPublic schools mustenroll children whatevertheir or their parents’immigration status.Schools may not requirea Social Securitynumber.Without a stable homeChildren experiencinghomelessness enrollright away, even withoutrecords.Each district has aMcKinney-Vento liaison.With a disabilityAn IEP follows the childinto kindergarten.Ask when the team willmeet to review it.What families can count on, under federal lawEvery childPublic schools must enroll children whatevertheir or their parents’ immigration status.Schools may not require a Social Securitynumber.Without a stable homeChildren experiencing homelessness enrollright away, even without records.Each district has a McKinney-Vento liaison.With a disabilityAn IEP follows the child into kindergarten.Ask when the team will meet to review it.
States and districts set the age cutoff, documents and vaccine rules; these protections apply everywhere in the United States.

The cutoff date

Each state, and sometimes each district, sets the date by which a child must turn five, commonly from early August to early September, with a few later. Some districts allow early entry by screening. This checklist uses the date you type; it does not assume one.

Vaccines

Every state requires certain immunizations for school entry and sets its own exemption rules. The child’s doctor or clinic can print the record; the school nurse can say which doses are still due.

Sources

  1. U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Department of Education (2014). Dear colleague letter on the rights of all children to enroll in public schools, with fact sheet; Plyler v. Doe, 457 U.S. 202 (1982).
  2. McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, 42 U.S.C. 11431 and following; National Center for Homeless Education guidance on immediate enrollment (nche.ed.gov).
  3. Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 34 CFR 300.323 (an IEP in effect at the start of each school year).
  4. Education Commission of the States. 50-state comparison: state kindergarten policies, entrance age (ecs.org); CDC, State school immunization requirements and vaccine exemption laws.

The worked examples are made up. Documents, cutoff dates and vaccine rules are set by your state and district; their registration page is the authority. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.