Kindergarten in Chicago

Ready for some light reading? Go straight to the Illinois State Board of Education (www.isbe.state.il.us) and read up on the Illinois School Code, which is law.

To cut to the chase and get to what you are interested in knowing, you should check out this link:

http://www.illinoisearlylearning.org/faqs/kinderentryage....

Scroll all the way down to the bottom and click on the link that follows "Current Legislation: Pupils Compulsory Attendance."

After clicking that link, scroll down to Article 26: Pupils - Compulsory Attendance.

It would be better if your son starts school now that way he could maybe have two years of preschool if you wanted. 2 years is a big difference,he could improve a lot between that time. I believe most schools offer speech therapy and some may offer occupational therapy. You can ask what school havce these services, I have a school near my house that offers both if you would like to know the name just send me a message.

My son has a July 11th birthday and we moved last year from Chicago to Glenview. The difference in the school system here is amazing (district 34). My son did attend CPS for 6 months in a special ed class before we moved (in private school before that). Because of his needs and our concerns they are letting him stay in the early childhood program for one more year prior to entering kindergarten. He has made incredible progress in the program he was in this past year and actually regressed in the CPS program. If you are considering moving, better to do it sooner rather than later so your son can get as much support as possible while he is still very young. Good luck with your son!

They can't force you to enroll a child under the age of 7, but if you choose to go that route, you need to make other plans. It would probably be more harmful to him to pull him out of school altogether for that year than it would be just to send him to kindergarten. You'll have to find an alternative school for that year. Personally, I'd get my child into preschool at 3 and see what the next two years bring. Think of how far your son has come in the last two years - he might surprise you over the next two.