DECATUR — DECATUR - Kindergarten enrollment at Northside Elementary School is underway, but new state laws will affect when children with birthdays in August and September can begin school, according to principal Leslie Sharp.

Kindergarten registration at the Northside Elementary School was held on April 21 and 22, but parents can still enroll their students at the elementary school office.

Sharp is asking parents to make sure children are registered as soon as possible. Once children are registered, school officials will call parents to schedule kindergarten screenings. Parents will need tobring a current vaccination record, birth certificate, social security card, health history and proof of residency in the Decatur School District to enroll their children. The school will need all of the required documents before the first day of school, Sharp said.

Arkansas Act 29, which passed in 2009, changed the age requirements for kindergarten eligibility. Under the new law, children who turn five on or before Aug. 15, 2010 are eligible to enroll in kindergarten this fall. Children who turn five on or before Sept. 15, 2010 will be accepted into kindergarten if they have attended at least 100 days - or about five months - of a state-approved pre-kindergarten program during the 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 school years.

Children who will start kindergarten in the 2011-2012 school year will be required to turn 5-years-old on or before Aug. 1, unless they have been enrolled in a qualified pre-kindergarten program. After the 2011-2012 school year, the cut-off date will remain on Aug. 1, according to the Arkansas Department of Education.

For a list of state-approved pre-kindergarten programs, contact the Department of Human Services Division of Child Care and Early Childhood Education at 501-682-4888, For more information on kindergarten enrollment, contact the Northside Elementary School office at 752-3981.

Community, Pages 3 on 04/28/2010