A little research goes a long way. Here are the facts. In N.Y. A child must be the age of 5 by December 31 of the school year. This means that a child can be 4 years old for the first 4 months of school. In Maryland child must be 5 years old by september 1 of the school year or must be held out. meaning, if your kid is born on September 2 he/she will not start school until he/she is 6. a full year later. there not cheating. This is no different than the u designation. If the cut off is aug. 1 and a kid is born on july 30. he she is a full year older at least , then the average kid
And your "facts" are incorrect. In NYC, the date is 12/31. On all of Long Island except one or two districts, the date is 12/1. What we often see on LI is a child born in Sept, Oct or Nov, who is age eligible for kindergarten, held back until the following school year. Thus, when they enter kindergarten at 6 years od., almost seven, they at be a full year older than students born in those same months the following year who entered school at the appropriate time. This is fairly common, particularly in the wealthier communities, on LI.
