Attendance is mandatory and compulsory for five-year-olds. State law states “students may enter kindergarten in the public schools of this State if they will attain the age of five on or before September first of the applicable school year or have substantially initiated a public school kindergarten program in another state that has a different attendance age requirement from South Carolina.”  Parents may sign a waiver at their local school district office if they desire not to send their child(ren) to kindergarten.