Pros and Cons of Redshirting Your Kindergartener (+ IEP considerations)
Redshirting kindergarten means delaying your child’s start to kindergarten by a year, even though they’re age-eligible to attend. Parents usually do this to give their child more time to mature, build skills, and feel “ready” for school. And honestly, I get why this comes up so often, especially if your child has an IEP.
If your child is already receiving preschool special education services, it can feel like they’re behind before they even begin. So the idea of giving them an extra year to catch up can feel like the safest choice.
But here’s the part most articles don’t talk about: redshirting a child with an IEP isn’t just a parenting decision; it can affect services, eligibility, and how support is delivered.
What is redshirting?
Redshirting is the practice of delaying kindergarten for a year, even when a child is age-eligible to start.
The term comes from college sports, where athletes sit out a year but still practice with the team. In parenting, it’s been adopted to describe giving a child an extra year before starting school. But unlike sports, this isn’t just about “waiting a year.”
When your child has an IEP, redshirting can affect how and when services are delivered, what placement looks like, and even how eligibility is handled depending on your state and district.
So the real question isn’t just “Should I redshirt my kindergartener?” It’s “What happens to my child’s IEP if I do?”
Pros and Cons of Redshirting Kindergarten
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| More time to mature socially, emotionally, and behaviorally before entering a structured school setting | Delays access to kindergarten-level services, which are often more structured and consistent |
| Can build early confidence by being one of the older students | Uses up a year that could be more valuable later (transition services, ages 18–21) |
| Extra time to work on foundational skills like communication, pre-academics, and self-regulation | Does not fix an inappropriate or weak IEP, just postpones the problem |
| Opportunity to increase therapies or supports before starting kindergarten | May affect how services are delivered, depending on your state or district |
| May ease the transition for children coming from less structured environments | Can create social differences later as your child is older than peers |
Preschool Services are better than Kindergarten
This is one of the most common reasons parents consider redshirting: wanting to keep their child in preschool services because it feels like they’re getting more support.
And I understand why it feels that way. But in most cases, the services didn’t actually change. The demands did.
Kindergarten brings more structure, more expectations, and more time spent sitting, listening, and producing work. That’s a big shift from a home setting or play-based preschool. And yes, many kids—disabled and non-disabled—struggle with that transition at first.
What I see happening more often is this: At the preschool-to-kindergarten transition IEP, supports quietly get reduced.
Not because the child needs less, but because parents are new to the school-age IEP process, and the team presents it as “this is how we do things here.”
And parents agree to it, even when the data doesn’t support it. But we already know the demands are increasing. It doesn’t make sense to decrease supports at the same time. It’s just so early in the game, parents are often overwhelmed and/or don’t understand the IEP process and how to effectively push back.
This kindergarten transition IEP is one of the most important IEPs your child will have. If your concern is losing services, redshirting isn’t the fix.
Understanding the IEP process is. Go into that meeting with data. Document what your child still needs. And don’t assume that fewer supports are appropriate just because the setting is changing.
Presume competence, and advocate accordingly.
We’ll Just Repeat Kindergarten.
I hear this a lot: “If it doesn’t go well, we’ll just have them do kindergarten again.”
But it’s not that simple.
Schools are (and should be) very cautious about retaining a child in any grade, including kindergarten. Most research shows that holding a child back can negatively impact their social and emotional development.
And here’s the bigger issue that often gets overlooked: If nothing changes, why would the outcome be different?
If your child goes through the same curriculum, with the same supports, in the same environment—just for another year—what is going to lead to growth the second time around?
Repeating a grade doesn’t fix a support problem. It just repeats it.
There’s also the social piece to consider. Even if a child says they’re fine with it, they may not fully understand or be able to express how it feels to watch their peers move on without them.
And starting school with the message of “you didn’t make it the first time” isn’t a great foundation. If a child is struggling in kindergarten, the answer isn’t to plan for repeating it.
The answer is to get the IEP right the first time. Make sure supports, services, and goals actually match your child’s needs, so they can access the curriculum and make progress now, not after a do-over.
Charter Schools and Choice Schools
Charter schools or school choice–school choice rarely means choice for our kids. Some charter schools have very specific eligibility guidelines when it comes to age. Yes, they can do this.
Same thing goes for school choice. If you are choosing a different elementary school or a charter school, they can decline your child (most of the time) if you redshirt them.
Yes, I know this is not fair. This is why I dislike the concept of school choice as it exists today. It very rarely includes our kids.
What about those extra years in high school?
If your child has an IEP, they don’t just get K–12 like everyone else. Many students can receive services through age 21, and in some states even beyond that.
And here’s the part many parents don’t realize: When your child turns 21, they usually get to finish that school year, and then services end.
Details vary a bit by state, but the overall structure is similar. In many cases, even if a student turns 21 at the very start of the school year, they can stay for that entire year. That’s how some students end up with a 13th, 14th, or even 15th year of services.
After that, there’s no more entitlement to school-based supports. So when you’re deciding whether to delay kindergarten at age 5 or 6, it’s worth zooming out and looking at the full timeline.
Where is that extra year going to matter most? An extra year of preschool? Or that 13th or 14th year of school?
Or an extra year of transition-to-adult services—when your child is preparing for work, independence, and life after school? Most experienced parents will tell you: those later years are incredibly valuable.
But when your child is 5, it’s hard to think that far ahead.
Kindergarten Now, or Wait a Year?
Before you make a decision, take a step back and gather as much input as you can.
Talk with your child’s full developmental team, not just the IEP team. That might include a developmental pediatrician, therapists, or other providers who know your child well. What are they seeing in terms of growth and readiness?
Connect with the school, too. If kindergarten readiness assessments were done, ask about the results. What skills are they concerned about? What supports do they anticipate will be needed?
Then look at your current team. Are you, the preschool teacher, and the IEP team on the same page about your child’s strengths, needs, and what kindergarten should look like?
Most families are making this decision when their child is 4. That means you still have time to adjust supports. Sometimes the better move is strengthening the current IEP or adding outside services for a year, rather than delaying kindergarten altogether.
And at the end of the day, you know your child best.
The goal here isn’t to tell you what to do, it’s to make sure you’re making a fully informed decision.