Danbury parent says enrollment timeline left some families with little notice after state deadline change

Ernesto Rodriguez, a Danbury resident, told the Board of Education the district’s kindergarten enrollment process left his family and others with inadequate time to complete required assessments after the state moved the enrollment deadline earlier in the year.

Rodriguez said the state changed the kindergarten enrollment deadline from Dec. 31 to Dec. 1 and that the district’s website initially indicated it was not accepting exceptions. “I reached out to the district, and I wasn't really getting answers, direct answers as to why,” Rodriguez said. He said contact with the state Department of Education was required to confirm his child could apply.

Rodriguez said the district later updated its website on Feb. 5 and announced a three-stage process, but that parents were given short notice for the assessment appointment. “The assessment email basically said your child has to appear at 08:00 in the morning on Osborne Street for an assessment on 4 days notice,” he said. Rodriguez said his family received an automated call and email with that appointment and that his wife was out of town and his daughter woke with a swollen eye the morning of the assessment.

Rodriguez asked the board for data on how many applicants were affected by the new timing and said he had not yet received that information. “To this day, my — we actually did sign her up today, so she did pass. Again, I don't know how many, but I do know that the process was unfair for parents,” he said.

The transcript does not record a district response or formal board action in response to Rodriguez’s remarks. Rodriguez urged the district to provide more notice and options for assessment scheduling so families are not excluded because of illness, childcare or short notice.