Policy 5001
Students
Admission
Requirements
Minimum
Age:
A
child shall be eligible for admission into kindergarten at the beginning of the
school year if the child is five years of age or will be five years of age on
or before July 31 of the calendar year in which the school year for which the
child is seeking admission begins. The
School Board may admit a child who will reach the age of five years on or after
August 1 and on or before October 15 of such school year if the parent or
guardian requests such entrance and provides an affidavit stating that (i) the
child attended kindergarten in another jurisdiction in the current school year;
(ii) the family anticipates a relocation to another jurisdiction that would
allow admission within the current year; or
(iii) the child has demonstrated through a recognized assessment
procedure approved by the School Board that the child is capable of carrying
the work of kindergarten.
Early
Admission to Kindergarten:
The
following assessment procedure for determining if a child is capable of
carrying the work of kindergarten is approve and shall be made available to
interested persons:
Early kindergarten enrollment exceptions may be made
for younger children who are intellectually advanced. At a minimum, eligibility
for the admission shall be based upon an analysis of the child’s: (1) mental
ability, (2) emotional/social development, (3) pre academic skills, and (4)
fine motor skills.
The
kindergarten early entrance assessment procedures are designed to identify and
place in kindergarten those children who:
a.
will
turn 5 years of age between August 1 and October 15;
b.
are
deemed by parents or guardians as being intellectually advanced and likely to
benefit from advanced grade placement; and
c.
are
selected on the basis of testing by professionals trained and certified to
administer the assessments that will produce evidence of strength in:
1.
mental
ability defined as scoring 84th percentile or above on a standardized
assessment of cognitive ability such as the Wechsler Pre Primary Scale of
Intelligence III, or the Stanford-Binet V;
2.
a
test of emotional/social development such as the Behavior Assessment
System for Children, Second Edition (BASC-2);
3.
75th
percentile or greater on a test of pre academic skills such as the Woodcock
Johnson III; and
4.
a
test of fine motor ability, scoring 75th percentile or above on a standardized
measurement such as the Beery VMI.
In the discretion of the Superintendent or designee,
the assessments may be administered by the School District’s professional
staff, or the parents or guardians may be required, at their own expense, to
have all or some of the required assessments completed by reputable
professionals and to submit the results of such assessments to the
The decision regarding early entrance to kindergarten
requires careful consideration of all factors that affect kindergarten success
with final determination to be made based on the recommendation of the District
Evaluation Team, to be composed of such individuals as the Superintendent or
designee determine appropriate. The academic, social, and emotional readiness,
as well as the student’s physical development and well-being, must be weighed
with institutional factors also considered. Sound decision making in the area
of early entrance to kindergarten is dependent upon reliable information
regarding a student’s readiness and a thoughtful balancing of the myriad of
factors implicated by the decision. Parents will be notified in writing of the
results of the Early Kindergarten Entrance assessment and the determination of
the District Evaluation Team in a timely fashion; not to exceed three weeks
after the assessments are completed.
Families who seek early admission of their child into
kindergarten must obtain an Early Entrance to Kindergarten Packet from the School District
Administrative.
Parents must fill out the early entrance
application forms, which include a parent questionnaire and obtain and attach a
reference letter from someone who is well acquainted with the child but not a
relative of the child. The person providing this reference should know the
child well enough that they can speak with some expertise about the child’s
attributes and abilities. The reference letter should indicate whether this
person recommends the child be schooled with children who will be a year older
than the child and, if so, the evidence this person has concerning the child’s
mental ability, fine and gross motor ability, visual and auditory
discrimination, emotional/social development, and communication skills.
Suggestions for this reference letter are a preschool teacher, a Sunday school
teacher, a day-care provider, or a physician.
The assessment request, reference letter
and parent questionnaire must be completed and returned to the District no
later than May 25th of the spring before fall enrollment to allow summer
assessment to be completed.
Decisions regarding early kindergarten entrance must
include consideration of the above and shall not be made based on race, color,
gender, religion, ancestry, national origin, marital status, age, disability,
or sexual orientation of the child or the child’s parents or guardians.
Institutional factors, such as capacity, may also be considered.
Admission
to First Grade:
A
child may be eligible to enter first grade, even if the child has not attended
kindergarten, if the child is six years of age or will be six years of age on
or before October 15 of the current school year and school officials determine
that first grade is the appropriate placement for the child.
Graduates:
A
student who has received a high school diploma or received a General
Equivalency Diploma shall not be eligible for admission or continued
enrollment.
Age
21:
A
student shall not be admitted or continued in enrollment after the end of the
school year in which the student reaches the age of 21. The school year for this purpose ends at the
last day of instruction for graduating seniors.
Birth
Certificate, Physical, Visual Evaluation and Immunization:
The
parents or legal guardian shall furnish:
(1) A certified copy of the student’s birth
certificate issued by the state in which the child was born, upon admission of
a child for the first time, shall be provided within 30 days of enrollment.
Other reliable proof of the child’s identity and age, accompanied by an
affidavit explaining the inability to produce a copy of the birth certificate,
may be used in lieu of a birth certificate.
An affidavit is defined as a notarized statement by an individual who
can verify the reason a copy of the birth certificate cannot be produced. (Failure to provide the birth certificate
does not result in non-enrollment or disenrollment, but does result in a
referral to local law enforcement for investigation).
(2) Evidence of a physical examination by a
physician, physician assistant, or nurse practitioner, within six months prior
to the entrance of the child into the beginner grade and the seventh grade or,
in the case of a transfer from out of state, to any other grade, unless the
parent or legal guardian submits a written statement objecting to a physical
examination.
(3) Evidence of a visual evaluation by a
physician, a physician assistant, an advanced practice registered nurse, or an
optometrist, within six months prior to the entrance of the child into the
beginner grade or, in the case of a transfer from out of state, to any other
grade, unless the parent or legal guardian submits a written statement
objecting to a visual evaluation. The
visual evaluation is to consist of testing for amblyopia, strabismus, and
internal and external eye health, with testing sufficient to determine visual
acuity.
(4) Evidence of protection against
diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio,
measles, mumps, and rubella, Hepatitis B, Varicella (chicken pox), Haemophilus
Influenzae type b (Hib), invasive pneumococcal disease and other diseases as
required by applicable law, by immunization, prior to enrollment, unless the
parent or legal guardian submits a written statement that establishes that an
exception to the immunization requirements are met.
(5) Every student entering the seventh grade
shall have a booster immunization containing diphtheria and tetanus toxoids and
an acellular pertussis vaccine which meets the standards approved by the United
States Public Health Service for such biological products, as such standards
existed on January 1, 2009.
The Superintendent or Superintendent’s designee shall
notify the parent or guardian in writing of the foregoing requirements and of
the right to submit affidavits or statements to object to the requirements, as
applicable. The Superintendent or Superintendent’s designee shall also provide
a telephone number or other contact information to assist the parent or
guardian in receiving information regarding free or reduced-cost visual
evaluations for low-income families who qualify.
A student who fails to meet the foregoing
requirements shall not be permitted to enroll or to enter school, or if
provisionally enrolled or enrolled without compliance, shall not be permitted
to continue in school until evidence of compliance or an exemption from
compliance is given.
Enrollment
of Expelled Students
If
a student has been expelled from any public school district in any state, or
from a private, denominational, or parochial school in any state, and the
student has not completed the terms or time period of the expulsion, the
student shall not be permitted to enroll in this school district until the
expulsion period from such other school has expired, unless the School Board of
this school district in its sole and absolute discretion upon a proper
application approves by a majority vote the enrollment of such student prior to
expiration of the expulsion period. As a
condition of enrollment, the School Board may require attendance in an
alternative school, class or educational program pursuant to
Legal
Reference: Neb. Rev. Stat. §§
43-2001 to 43-2012
Neb. Rev. Stat. § 79-214
Neb. Rev.
Stat. §§ 79-217 to 79-223
Neb. Rev.
Stat. § 79-266.01
173 NAC
Chapters 3 and 4 (HHS Regulations)
Date
of Adoption: August 15, 2011