NC Education Code · Regulation
Title 16 — root / Chapter 06 — 16 NCAC 06E .0105
Plain English summary
This regulation establishes the criteria and process for early admission of four-year-old children to kindergarten in North Carolina. A principal, in consultation with professional educators, must evaluate the child across five factors: intelligence test scores, achievement test scores, performance samples, social maturity documentation, and a motivation interview. Specific timelines govern submission of materials, the principal's decision, and conditional enrollment periods, with early admission not automatically triggering gifted program placement.
Key requirements
- The child shall score at the 98th percentile on a standard individual test of intelligence such as the Stanford-Binet, The Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence, the Kaufman Anderson, or any other comparable test administered by a licensed psychologist.
- The child shall score at the 98th percentile on either reading or mathematics on a standard test of achievement such as the Metropolitan Readiness Test, the Stanford Early School Achievement Test, The Mini Battery of Achievement, the Woodcock-Johnson, the Test of Early Mathematics Ability (TEMA), the Test of Early Reading Ability (TERA), or any other comparable test administered by a licensed psychologist, a member of the psychologist's professional staff, or a professional educator who is trained in the use of the instrument and who has no conflict of interest in the outcome of the assessment.
- The child shall be functioning from two to three years beyond the child's peers.
- The child shall demonstrate social and developmental maturity sufficient to participate in a structured setting for a full school day.
- The parent shall provide two recommendation letters with specific documentation of physical and social maturity from preschool teachers, child care workers, pediatricians, or others who have direct knowledge of the child.
- The parent shall present the information required by this Rule to the principal within the first 30 calendar days of the school's instructional year.
- All testing shall be administered after the April 16th that follows the child's fourth birthday.
- The principal shall decide whether to grant the parent's request for enrollment within three weeks after receiving this information.
- The principal may conditionally enroll the child for up to 90 days in order to observe whether the child is able to adjust to the school setting.
- Before the child is exited from school, the principal shall invite the parent to assist in the development of intervention strategies for the child.
- The principal shall provide the parent at least 10 days notice before exiting the child from school so the parent may arrange child care, if needed.
- By the time the child has been enrolled for 90 calendar days, or at any earlier time that school officials determine that the child has adjusted satisfactorily and shall be allowed to remain in school, the gifted identification team shall review the child's information to determine if the child shall receive gifted services.
- Early admission to kindergarten shall not automatically result in the placement of the child in the program for academically gifted students.
- LEAs may require parents to supply information in addition to that required by this Rule.
- LEAs may also require specific tests or other measures to provide information relating to the factors listed in Paragraph (a) of this Rule.
Affected parties
- four-year-old children seeking early kindergarten admission
- parents or guardians of eligible children
- school principals
- professional educators and gifted identification teams
- licensed psychologists
- local education agencies (LEAs)
- preschool teachers and child care workers