When to Start

Under Connecticut State Law, children must be age 5 by December 31^st to attend public school that year, and thus could start Kindergarten as early as 4 years and 9 months old.  As a result, most nursery school programs require that the child must turn 3 by December 31^st to ensure a fall start of that same year and thus could start Pre-K 3 as early as 2 years and 9 months old.

So, when can your child start school? This chart shows when they are eligible based on their birth year.

Birth Year	Pre-K 3	Pre-K 4	Kindergarten
2012	Fall 2015	Fall 2016	Fall 2017
2013	Fall 2016	Fall 2017	Fall 2018
2014	Fall 2017	Fall 2018	Fall 2019
2015	Fall 2018	Fall 2019	Fall 2020
2016	Fall 2019	Fall 2020	Fall 2021
2017	Fall 2020	Fall 2021	Fall 2022
2018	Fall 2021	Fall 2022	Fall 2023

Enrollment begins during the winter-early spring of the start year, depending on the program. See the Preschool Options or Kindergarten Registration pages for specific registration dates.