DC cracks down on kindergarten redshirting, forces kids into 1st grade even if they're not ready

Washington, DC is officially ending redshirting for kindergarteners, a practice where parents enroll their children late in kindergarten. The crackdown is not even making exceptions for children who may have developmental concerns.

According to Axios, public schools in the nation's capital used to allow parents to enroll their children later if desired or if the child had some developmental issues. However, now, Washington, DC is not making exceptions for redshirting.

DC Public Schools (DCPS) rejected requests from over a dozen families who were looking to delay enrollment into kindergarten and for the kids who were delayed last year in going to kindergarten, they have to skip it altogether and go to first grade if they turned 5 before September 30.

One parent told the outlet about the stress it has caused but wished to remain anonymous to protect the child. "This has been so stressful," the parent told reporters. The family decided last year that their child would do another year of pre-k because of learning difficulties and got assurance that the child could start in kindergarten for the 2025-2026 school year.

"There has been zero sympathy," the parent said. "They are making no exceptions." The family had even gotten a letter from a pediatrician and psychologist. DC Mayor Muriel Bowser recently said, "We are not a redshirt jurisdiction."

"We shouldn't have a policy to say we want some kids to be advantaged to the disadvantage of other kids," she added. When the outlet reached out to DCPS about the concern, the school district referred reporters to the comments from Bowser. The mayor said before that if there are "specific children that demonstrate why they need to be in a lower grade... then that possibility exists in the chancellor's authority."

Redshirting can sometimes give children an edge later on in life when they are going out for school sports, and especially when advancing to the collegiate level. However, Council Chair Phil Mendelson has suggested kids should be enrolled and only taken down a grade after they are evaluated for developmental issues.