To enroll in kindergarten, a child must be five years old on or before September 1st of the enrollment year. However, according to Michigan law*, if a child residing in a district is not five years of age on or before September 1st, but will turn five years of age not later than December 1st of the enrollment year, the parent or legal guardian may choose to enroll their child in kindergarten by completing a Kindergarten Notice of Enrollment Form to enroll his/her student in school. At Suttons Bay, we offer Transitional Kindergarten for students who meet the kindergarten age requirement but may benefit from an additional year of growth before entering our traditional kindergarten program. Most of these young kindergarteners repeat kindergarten the following year.

When in receipt of a waiver request, districts can make recommendations to the child’s parent or legal guardian, as to the child’s readiness for school, and whether or not the child should be enrolled early. Regardless of a district’s recommendation, the parent or legal guardian retains sole discretion on whether to enroll their child.

*State of Michigan Act No. 198, effective 6/26/12