If you have a kindergartener that may need therapy and/or an IEP, you have no doubt heard someone casually mention “waiver” and their opinion on if it’s of benefit.
From the Department of Education:
A parent, guardian, or other person residing within the state and having custody or charge of a child may elect for the child not to attend kindergarten if the child will not be six (6) years of age on August 1 of that school year. If an election is made, the parent, guardian, or other person having custody or charge of the child shall file a signed kindergarten waiver form with the local school district administrative office. Upon the filing of the kindergarten waiver form, the child shall not be required to attend kindergarten in that school year.
Here are some key points of the Arkansas Kindergarten Waiver that might help with the decision.
- Children who turn 5 before August 1st may enroll in “kindergarten” or some other form of education.
- Children who turn 6 before August 1st MUST enroll in a form of education.
- Public, private, homeschool, or virtual curriculum
- In the state of Arkansas, you have the right to “waive” or postpone entering school for one year if your child is not yet 6 years old. Reasons commonly include:
- Maturity
- Medical history
- Access to supports
- Gain another year in services such as Speech, OT, PT, ABA
- If you choose to waive kindergarten, a form must be completed and filed with the State Department of Education, showing your intent to postpone education for one year.
What does this mean for therapies???
Publicly Funded Therapies:
- Commonly called the “Co-Op” or other state funded DDS/Developmental service provider locations:
- CAN continue serving your child up until their 6th birthday. If your child turns 6 at the end of July, they can get an additional year of free services.
- If your child turns 6 in March, they would not be able to receive these services from March-August upon enrolling in school.
- If you choose to waive serves and are solely using state funded services, think about what services your child receives and how long of a pause would be acceptable for your child based on their birthday
Private Providers:
- Private therapy providers that bill private insurance, Medicaid, TEFRA
- These providers are not required to base services on the child’s age and no pause in services will be based on the birthday or age of the child.
- Private Speech, OT, PT and/or ABA services can continue, without pause, regardless of waiver status.
- These services, for best practice, will assist you with transitioning your child to kindergarten and will collaborate with the school based team to make the best plan for your child.
If you are considering the kindergarten waiver, but have questions or would like more information and discussion, our team would be happy to help walk you through the process.
Author: Vanessa Boomer, ED.S, CCC-SLP, Lead SLP at No Limits Pediatric Therapies
