Southern Wisconsin Times

To enroll in Kindergarten, Wisconsin law mandates that children must be at least five years old by September 1 of the school year they start. However, the School District of Janesville (SDJ) has policies allowing parents to request evaluations for early entrance into Kindergarten. This applies to children who will turn five between September 1 and November 1, 2025.

For the upcoming 2025-26 school year, parents or legal guardians residing within SDJ boundaries can seek an evaluation if their child meets the age criteria. The district team, comprising a school psychologist, speech and language therapist, and a Kindergarten teacher, will conduct evaluations during May and June of 2025. They will assess children's intellectual abilities and social-emotional, physical, and language development. Academic skills such as numbers and letters are not part of this evaluation.

Recommendations for early entrance will be reviewed by the Board of Education in June. Parents will be informed about the decision soon after this meeting.

Interested families should contact Angela Lynch at (608-751-8178) or Peggy Karleski, Learning and Innovation Administrative Assistant, at (608-743-5038) for more information on how to proceed with an evaluation request. Written requests must reach SDJ by April 30, 2025.