If your child won't turn 5 by Sept. 1, the early-entry option Greenwich families have used for years is on its way out — and it's already squeezing kindergarten enrollment.

Gov. Ned Lamont signed Public Act 26-1, making the state's kindergarten entry waiver optional for districts in 2026-27 and eliminating it entirely starting 2027-28. Greenwich hasn't said yet whether it will offer the waiver one last time next year.

Connecticut moved its kindergarten cutoff from Jan. 1 to Sept. 1 in 2023. Districts complained the waiver process — letting some 4-year-olds test into kindergarten early — had no standard evaluation method and piled extra work on staff, according to the Connecticut Office of Legislative Research. Stratford Public Schools has already dropped the waiver for next year; a district official told families flatly that "there will be no waiver option available."

GPS enrollment fell to 8,392 students in 2025-26, down 121 from the year before. Superintendent Toni Jones pinned most of the drop on kindergarten, saying it was "down from pre-enrollment" and that some families held kids back from pre-K because of the age-cutoff change — a pattern she said was showing up across Fairfield County. GPS spokesperson Jonathan Supranowitz noted some families also enroll in GPS kindergarten as a backup while waiting on private school decisions, then withdraw if accepted elsewhere.

Parents of children born after Sept. 1, 2021, who would have sought a waiver should contact GPS directly about enrollment options, including preschool. The Greenwich United Way has flagged its preschool scholarships as more important since the cutoff changed, though current program details haven't been published.