Texas · School enrollment
Texas kindergarten cutoff date.
Enter a birth date and a school year and see whether the child is five years old on September 1, the date Texas statute uses.
Short answer: Texas Education Code 25.001(a) entitles a person who is at least five years old on the first day of September of the school year to public school benefits for that year. A child who turns five on September 2 or later waits for the next school year.
Check a birth date
Result
Enter a birth date and press Check cutoff.
What the Texas statute says
Education Code 25.001(a) says a person who, on the first day of September of any school year, is at least five years of age and under 21 is entitled to the benefits of the available school fund for that year. Subsection (b) turns that into a duty: the board of trustees of a district, or its designee, shall admit free of tuition a person who is over five and younger than 21 on the first day of September of the school year in which admission is sought, if one of ten listed conditions applies, such as the person and a parent living in the district.
The two subsections word the lower bound differently: (a) says “at least five” and (b) says “over five”. Both measure on September 1, and this tool follows (a), so a child whose fifth birthday is September 1 is counted as five. If your child’s birthday is exactly September 1, confirm with the district registrar.
Birth-date windows for the next four school years
| School year | Child qualifies if |
|---|---|
| Starting fall 2026 | Born on or before September 1, 2021 |
| Starting fall 2027 | Born on or before September 1, 2022 |
| Starting fall 2028 | Born on or before September 1, 2023 |
| Starting fall 2029 | Born on or before September 1, 2024 |
Worked example (real dates)
A child born September 1, 2021 is five on September 1, 2026 and meets the cutoff for the school year starting in fall 2026. A child born the next day, September 2, 2021, turns five on September 2, 2026, one day after the cutoff, so the first school year that child meets it is the one starting in fall 2027. In 2027 the cutoff moves to September 1, 2027, and a child born as late as September 1, 2022 qualifies.
Method
The tool takes September 1 of the school year you enter, moves it back five years, and checks whether the birth date is on or before that day. It repeats the check for later years to find the first year the child qualifies. Dates stay in your browser and nothing is sent to our servers.
What this does not cover
- Pre-kindergarten eligibility, which has its own age rule that this page did not read.
- Your district’s enrollment steps, registration dates and documents. The district admits the child.
- The ten admission conditions in subsection (b), such as residency, which decide whether a district must admit a particular child.
- Early entry decisions and any change to the statute after October 2026.
The official statutes are on the Texas Legislature’s statutes site; that site needs JavaScript, so the text above was read through the public.law copy listed below.
Sources
- Texas Education Code 25.001 (public.law copy of the code) (retrieved October 2026)
Common mix-ups
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Often assumedEach Texas school district sets its own birthday cutoff for kindergarten.
What the source saysSection 25.001 measures age on the first day of September of the school year: subsection (a) entitles a person who is at least five and under 21 on that day to the school fund benefits for the year, and subsection (b) uses the same date for the district's duty to admit. [1]
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Often assumedA child who turns five on September 1 is too young because the cutoff says before September 1.
What the source saysSubsection (a) says at least five years of age on the first day of September, which includes a child whose fifth birthday is that day. Subsection (b) words the bound as over five, so confirm a September 1 birthday with the district. [1]
Checked against these sources on .
Frequently asked questions
What is the kindergarten cutoff date in Texas?
September 1. Education Code 25.001(a) looks at whether a person is at least five years old on the first day of September of the school year.
My child turns five on September 1. Is that old enough?
Under subsection (a), yes: the child is at least five on the first day of September. Subsection (b) words the bound as “over five”, so confirm with your district registrar if the birthday is exactly September 1.
My child turns five on September 2. Can they start this year?
Not under the statute. The child is not yet five on September 1, so the first school year they meet the cutoff is the next one.
Which year do I enter in the box?
The calendar year in which school starts. For the 2027-28 school year, which begins in fall 2027, enter 2027.
Does Texas let the district change the cutoff?
The statute itself sets the entitlement date at September 1. This page did not read any district’s policies, so ask your district about registration dates, documents and anything beyond the birthday.
How does Texas compare with California?
Both use September 1. California says a child must turn five on or before that date, and Missouri and Arizona differ by wording, so see the state-by-state page.
Does this page check that my child is enrolled?
No. It checks the birthday against the statute only. Enrollment is handled by your school district.
General information, not legal advice
This page applies the quoted statute to the dates you enter. It is an unofficial guide, not run by the Texas Education Agency or any district, and nothing you type is transmitted anywhere. Confirm eligibility with your school district.