My son went to public preschool for a year, after he graduated, I decided to homeschool him. I homeschooled him from kindergarten to first grade.
I decided to put him in public school fall 2015. I thought he would be going to the second grade, but the school told me because of his age, he was seven yrs. old at the time, that he would have to, by law, repeat first grade even though he already completed first grade in homeschool. The reason for this is because the cut off date for the district is Oct. 1st.
My daughter who also started public preschool at the same time as my son, is five yrs. old and according to what the school stated about the cut off date would have to repeat preschool because her birthdate is after Oct. 1st also. The principle told me today that she would be promoted to kindergarten. I don't understand why she can go to the next grade while my son gets left back! I feel like I have been discriminated against because of my decision to homeschool my son. Of course they won’t admit this is the reason, but I can’t see any other reason for them to do this. Is this legal?
The "cut off" date in NJ is 10/1 but a local school board may in its discretion admit a student if he or she meets such entrance requirements as may be established by rules or regulations of the board.
So for instance if a child were registering for kindergarten in Fall 2015 the child would have to be born between 10/1/2009 and 9/30/2010. If the birth date fell in that range the public school would be obligated to register the child. If the child were born 10/1/2010 the district would not have to register that child for kindergarten for the 2015-2016 school year; however it has discretion to do so if the child meets the school board's policy for underage admission.
It is possible that your daughter met the criteria and your son did not. I encourage you to locate you school's policy on the website and then request a meeting with the principal to understand the decision regarding your children's grade placement.
The school evaluates each student for capability but also is concerned with social compatibility of your children. I don't agree with that (skipped a few grades myself in the day), but the school decides where to place a student. But it is not a "law" that they cannot place him ahead if a grade is complete - in fact, it is a common practice for parents to place children in a kindergarten a year early when they can in order to move their kids ahead. However, it is their prerogative to test a student to see if he is ready for first grade or should repeat Kindergarten.
As Ms. Edler states, you must review the local school district's policy about admitting your son to a given grade. There should be some procedure for appealing any administrative decision. If not inquire to the District's main office IN WRITING about such a policy and any appeal process of an unfavorable decision.
Too often, I see school district personnel taking short cuts hoping that the parents will just accept them. I suspect that upon your inquiry, the District will either change their decision or have him evaluated to see if he is ready for the grade you wish him to start.
