Restart Grade

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Parents: Should Your Child Restart Pre-Kindergarten – 3rd Grade?

Prekindergarten – 3rd Grade Students:

If you believe your child needs to restart, you as a parent have the right to make this decision but you must submit a request to repeat before enrolling in the next grade. You can find the steps you must take here.

The Texas Legislature has given parents new rights to make this decision for the upcoming school year. The decision as to whether your child needs to repeat a grade, from Pre-K – 3rd grade in the upcoming school year is your decision to make as a parent.

These grades are an important year for students to develop socially and learn skills that prepare them to succeed in the classroom.

Prekindergarten - Kindergarten

If, during the previous school year, your prekindergarten/kindergarten-age child:

Did not attend prekindergarten/kindergarten
Missed many days of prekindergarten/kindergarten because of the disrupted school year
Attended prekindergarten/kindergarten but struggled

1st – 3rd Grades

Similarly, if during the previous school year, your child:

Missed many days because of the disrupted school year
Attended school but struggled

You may want to consider whether he or she should restart the grade in this upcoming school year. This page offers resources to help you make this decision.

For more resources on how to prepare your child for school in the fall, please visit our parent hub. For additional early childhood education frequently asked questions, please visit our parent FAQ page.

What Should You Consider When Making This Decision?

Consider social factors. The early grades, Prekindergarten through Grade Three are a time when students learn a lot about interacting with other children in school and learn how to behave in a classroom. Would your child benefit from more practice in these areas?
Look at your child's work from the previous year, including progress reports, teacher feedback and the student body of work they created. Does your child's work and performance lead you to believe they are ready for the next grade?
Research on repeating a grade is mixed; different studies have found positive and negative results for students’ academic learning and social development. When making decisions, parents should keep in mind both the general research AND the specifics of their student’s situation.

If you decide your student will restart kindergarten or pre-kindergarten, it is important to act quickly!

You must tell your school in writing as follows:

Check your school's calendar (often available on the school’s website) to make sure you know when school starts for the 2023-2024 school year.
Make your request in writing to the school principal, or to whomever the district otherwise directs you to address your request. Unless your school gives you different instructions, you can use this Grade Repeat Request Form to submit your request.

If your school does not agree with your decision, they may bring together a committee to meet with you to talk about your decision. After you meet with the committee, you will make the final decision whether to your student will restart kindergarten or pre-kindergarten, and the school must honor your decision.