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Parent petitions committee after child born Sept. 6 denied early kindergarten; motion to reconsider fails
Summary
Parent Amanda Lafond asked the Blackstone‑Millville Regional School Committee to revisit a denial to admit her child, born Sept. 6, to kindergarten early; the committee debated adopting written petition criteria but voted against reconsidering the individual decision.
A parent asked the Blackstone‑Millville Regional School Committee on April 8 to reopen a denied petition to admit her child to kindergarten early. Amanda Lafond said she had preschool evaluations and letters from her child’s preschool teacher and was told the denial rested solely on the child’s birth date (Sept. 6).
Committee members explained the district policy requires students be five years old by the first day of school to enter kindergarten but allows parents to petition the committee for exceptions on a case‑by‑case basis. Several members said the district has no formal written standards for evaluating petitions and that practice has generally been to adhere to the date because it is a clear, repeatable cutoff.
During public comment Lafond pressed why petitions are solicited if age alone determines eligibility and said she was willing to provide testing and supporting letters. The committee discussed whether to make an exception for this case or to develop written screening criteria and a teacher‑led screening process to assess social, emotional and academic readiness.
A motion to reconsider the committee’s prior denial was moved and seconded and then put to a voice vote. Committee members who supported reconsideration cited the one‑day gap between the child’s birthday and the start of instruction; those opposed warned that creating ad hoc exceptions without guidelines would invite many similar requests. The motion failed on a voice vote; the transcript does not record a numerical tally.
Committee members advised Lafond that the petition option remains available under policy but recommended the policy language and the petition review process be clarified by the policy subcommittee so future requests have consistent criteria.
The committee did not change the earlier denial and encouraged Lafond to submit the additional documentation she offered if she wished the committee to review a formal exception request under a clarified procedure.
