Enrolling Young Children

Enrolling Young Children

Special considerations are required when enrolling young children in homeschooling. If your child will be six years of age or older on February 1st of that school year, you should follow our steps to Getting Started with Home Schooling.

Age Matters

Florida laws about mandatory school attendance are based on a child’s age, not grade level. A child who is four years old or younger is too young to be required to be in any educational program. So while such children can attend a VPK program, it’s not required (hence the V for Voluntary in the name Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten or VPK).

A child who is old enough to be allowed to attend a public school kindergarten (generally a child who turns 5 by September 1st in Palm Beach County) might not be old enough to be required to attend. So the cut-off age that allows a child to be enrolled in kindergarten is not the age at which a child MUST be enrolled somewhere.

Children MUST be enrolled in some educational program (public school, private school (including an umbrella school program), or a home education program (meaning the parent sends a letter of intent to the school district)) starting in the school year in which the child will be six years old IF the child will be six by Feb. 1st of that school year.

So if a child is five years old now at the beginning of a school year but will be six this fall, that child must be officially registered somewhere now, at the beginning of this school year. If a child will turn six on Feb. 2, 2021, that child doesn’t have to be registered anywhere until the fall of 2021 given the late birthday.

This means that some children who could be in a public school kindergarten don’t actually have to be registered anywhere until the next year when they could be in first grade. Other children will be old enough during what could be their kindergarten year to be required to enroll somewhere.

Homeschooling Kindergarten
Kindergarten is not legally required in Florida. However, principals across the state won’t let children into first grade without kindergarten–so it is required from a practical point-of-view.

If a parent wishes to put a child into a public school for first grade, there are possible issues that the parent should be aware of. Principals might not put a child into first grade if they don’t accept them as kindergarten graduates. Some people assume that enrolling a child officially in a home education program or umbrella school for kindergarten will fix the issue, but it might not.

Getting into first grade can be harder than getting into any other grade.

  1. The child must fit the age the school expects for first grade & the school’s cut-off date. So if your child is even a few days past the cut-off date, homeschooling for a year for kindergarten when a school says the child is too young will not mean that the school will then put the child in first grade the next year.


  2. No matter whether homeschooling officially or unofficially, keep a portfolio of records for the child’s kindergarten year. A principal may wish to see these as proof.


  3. Having testing done at the end of the kindergarten year (in April or so) can help prove that the child is academically ready for first grade.


  4. However, being the right age and academically ready may not be enough. Elementary principals also want to see that the child can handle a classroom setting–that the child won’t break down in tears over missing home, that the child won’t melt down if he can’t get a snack when he’s hungry but must wait until the assigned time, that the child knows to raise his hand to ask permission to leave his seat to go to the bathroom or get a drink or any other reason, etc. Proof of being in a drop-off classroom setting helps here. If your child attended VPK, that may help. Otherwise, finding a drop-off classroom-style program that meets for a few weeks can help immensely.


If a principal doesn’t accept a child into first grade, one option is to homeschool for first grade and then put the child into second grade. As long as the child’s age is in the accepted range, getting into second grade or higher is much easier than getting into first grade.

Next Steps

Now that you have learned about special considerations for young children, please read our guide on Curriculum Options.