RALEIGH --
Parents expecting to start their children in kindergarten may get a surprise this fall.North Carolina has raised the age requirement and now a student must turn five on or before August 31 in order to be allowed to start. The change means some 13,000 students statewide will now be ineligible to begin classes.
State education officials say the Legislature voted to move the age up by a month and a half to reduce dropout rates in later grades.