Question: Is kindergarten required?
Answer: Yes, Hawaii state law mandates that children who turn 5 “on or before” July 31 enroll in public-school kindergarten for that school year, unless the child goes to private school or is otherwise exempt under the law.
These requirements took effect with the 2014-15 school year, after then-Gov. Neil Abercrombie signed Senate Bill 2768 into law as Act 76.
Hawaii’s compulsory education requirements and exemptions are spelled out in Hawaii Revised Statutes Sections 302A-411 and 302A-1132.
As noted, the law does not apply to 5-year-olds enrolled in private schools (which have their own age requirements for preschool and elementary programs) or to those who are home-schooled or whose physicians certify that they are “physically or mentally unable to attend school.”
It does apply to charter schools, which are part of the public-school system.
The statute provides no exceptions for students born even soon after the age cutoff. So a child who turns 5 on July 31 would enroll for the 2016-17 school year, while one whose birthday is Aug. 1 would not begin kindergarten until 2017-18.
The new school year begins Aug. 1 for most public-school students.
Q: There was a body found on Tantalus several weeks ago. Have these remains been identified yet? Are there any leads on the crime (if it was foul play, as police said they suspected)?
A: No, as of Thursday the human remains had not been identified; the investigation is ongoing, said Sarah Yoro, a spokeswoman for the Honolulu Police Department.
The badly decomposed remains were found April 17 on a steep hillside in the 3000 block of Tantalus Drive. Police said at the time that they suspected foul play, but classified the case then as an unattended death. The remains were found by volunteers cleaning up the area near Tantalus lookout as part of a community event (808ne.ws/1TIBHz7).
Tax caution
The IRS is reminding tax-exempt organizations not to include Social Security numbers or other unnecessary personal information on Form 990-series information returns, which are due Monday for many nonprofit groups. Most elements of Form 990s are publicly disclosed, including schedules and attachments, which is why the IRS is reminding nonprofits not to include the SSNs of clients, donors, benefactors or others mentioned in the filings. The IRS recommends filing electronically to reduce the risk of inadvertently including such personal information, which gives rise to identity theft. See irs.gov for more information.
Zoo freebie
Bicyclists who ride to the Honolulu Zoo get free admission Sunday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., as the city encourages people to use bikes rather than cars for short trips. Bike to the Zoo Day will include free valet service for bicyclists and prizes for the first 200 to arrive. Bicyclists should enter from the Monsarrat Avenue gate.
Auwe
Shame on the family in an Ewa subdivision burning wood fires up to six days a week, for hours on end. Don’t you have a kitchen? Or heard of a gas grill? Burning wood is banned in our homeowners association bylaws, but you continue to do whatever you like. Neighbors have spoken to you but you ignore them. The site manager has spoken to you, and you ignore him. Your smoke and its stink fill our houses if we try to open our windows, and the smoke bothers people with breathing ailments. This is not a campground. It is a neighborhood with houses built close together. Follow the rules! The rest of us try to be good neighbors. Shame on you! And that goes for all the illegal fireworks you set off, too. — Fed up
Mahalo
I would like to say thank you to Michael at Walmart in Honolulu for his great customer service and for helping two Aussies set up a cellphone and learn how to use a hotspot. It all worked great, and we were able to keep in touch with my son’s carers back in Australia while we spent three wonderful weeks in Hawaii. — Mahalo, Sandra Lovell, Australia
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