First grade enrollment; allow child who turns six on or before December 31 to start at beginning of that school year.

HB 173 would amend Mississippi law to allow children who turn six on or before December 31 to enroll in first grade at the beginning of the school year in which they turn six. This affects families with children born between January 1 and December 31, enabling them to start first grade in the same year they turn six rather than waiting for the next school year. The bill also updates the definition of "compulsory-school-age child" in the state's school attendance law to include these children, making them subject to mandatory school attendance requirements at that age. The policy change standardizes first-grade enrollment rules for children approaching their sixth birthday.