By
Meghan Holden
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Explore the personal impact of Connecticut's kindergarten eligibility law through the eyes of a New Haven mother, Stephanie Deceus. Discover how the law affects families' plans, financial burdens, and early childhood development.
The new kindergarten eligibility law in Connecticut, set to take effect for the 2024-2025 school year, is a life-altering event for thousands of families, especially those who are already struggling to make ends meet. Recently, Stephanie Deceus of New Haven spoke out at the Capitol to tell legislators about the effect their decision to rush this law is having on parents like her.
Stephanie, a working mother of three young children, relies on family support for childcare for her youngest child due to the high costs of daycare. With the sudden change in the law, her family's carefully laid plans for her youngest child to start school in the fall of 2024 have been upended.
"We have been planning for years to have my youngest start school in the fall of 2024 and were all so excited to get the relief as a family, since there have been many sacrifices made to make sure we were okay. However, since the sudden change of the law that was passed, we are left trying to figure out how we will put the funds together to get him through another year of not being able to start school. We don’t yet know what we will do," she told lawmakers.
The law's impact goes beyond the financial strain. It is also effecting children beyond the 9,000 four-year-olds who are no longer automatically eligible to start kindergarten this year because their birthdays fall after September 1. In fact, it is also threatening younger children's abilities to start preschool and earlier childhood education. Stephanie's youngest child, for instance, can't start preschool as planned, because her local public preschool has changed its age eligibility requirements to absorb the impact of the kindergarten age change law – with some four-year-olds no longer moving up to kindergarten, preschools have tried to make space by reducing the number of younger toddlers eligible to start, suddenly requiring children to be three or four years old by September 1 when they previously accepted children who were three or four by December 31.
"What we don’t speak about as much is the trickle-down effect for those who have toddlers and how that affects them in their placement for early childhood development in preschool settings. What we don’t think about as much is the amount of planning families have done for years just to have the rug ripped from under them," Stephanie pointed out. "As a mom of three small children who all have major differences in their social, cognitive, and language development, I understand how this can be beneficial for children and their academic achievements. What I am concerned about is the haste in which it is being implemented, the rigidity of the implementation date and the consequences for families across Connecticut."
Her plea for flexibility and support from the legislature is a call to action for all stakeholders.
"We are asking legislators for some flexibility for families by delaying this by a year. This flexibility is necessary or there will be barriers created for families like mine who will have challenges to face as a result. We are asking the legislature to adequately fund families by implementing $50 million into a subsidy to help parents afford early child care when it is implemented," she urged.
Stephanie's story is a powerful reminder to legislators that their decisions have consequences, and that they have the power to prevent families like hers from suffering just because of a rushed policymaking process. By speaking out, she joined thousands of other parents in calling on elected officials to delay this law, to ensure it doesn't harm families.
Join Stephanie and demand action from Connecticut legislators on the Kindergarten Eligibility Law
Read the Report
Explore our report on Connecticut's kindergarten eligibility law and its impact on families. Learn why a delay and increased subsidies are crucial for equitable access to education. Read more here.
