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 shall 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 is capable of carrying the work of kindergarten which can be demonstrated through a recognized assessment procedure approved by the Board.    

Early Admission to Kindergarten:
The following assessment procedure for determining if a child is capable of carrying the work of kindergarten is approved 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 110 Standard Score or above on a standardized assessment of cognitive ability such as the Young Children’s Achievement Test (YCAT);
2.	a test of  emotional/social development such as the Behavior Assessment System for Children, Second Edition (BASC-2)

Early kindergarten admission assessments will be scheduled and administered by District personnel at no cost to parents.  

The decision regarding early entrance to kindergarten requires careful consideration of all factors that affect kindergarten success with final determination to be made based by the Director of Student Services, with recommendations from the student assessor(s). 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 Director of Student Services in a timely fashion. Parents may appeal this decision to the Superintendent, whose decision will be final.

Families who seek early admission of their child into kindergarten must obtain an Early Entrance to Kindergarten Packet from the School District Administration.  The assessment request must be made no later than March 1. 

Parents must fill out the early entrance application forms, which include a parent questionnaire, parent interview, child observation at assessor’s discretion and obtain and attach a reference letter from the child’s daycare, preschool or other regularly attended child care environment. 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. 

Decisions regarding early kindergarten entrance must include consideration of the above and shall not be made based on sex, disability, race, color, religion, veteran status, national or ethnic origin, age, marital status, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical condition, sexual orientation or gender identity, or other protected status 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 than 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 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 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 Nebraska law until the terms or time period of the original underlying expulsion are completed.  A student expelled from a private, denominational, or parochial school or from any public school in another state, will not be prohibited from enrolling in the public school district in which the student resides or in which the student has been accepted pursuant to the enrollment option program for any period of time beyond the time limits placed on expulsion, pursuant to the Student Discipline Act, or for any expulsion for an offense for which expulsion is not authorized for a public school student under such Act.  For purposes of this policy, the term expulsion or expelled includes any removal from any school for a period in excess of twenty (20) school days.  

Military Families

If a parent presents military orders that show that the military family will be stationed in the State of Nebraska during the current or following school year, the District can enroll the student preliminarily without charge upon arrival in Nebraska. 

Legal Reference:	Neb. Rev. Stat. Sections 43-2001 to 43-2012
Neb. Rev. Stat. Sec. 79-214 to 79-215
			Neb. Rev. Stat. Sections 79-217 to 79-223
			Neb. Rev. Stat. Sec. 79-266.01
			173 NAC Chapters 3 and 4 (HHS Regulations)

Date of Adoption: 	August 9, 2021