If you've got a summer or early-fall birthday, you already know the kindergarten cutoff question follows you around every conversation with other parents. The frustrating part is that Bergen County doesn't have one countywide answer — every district sets its own date.
Why it varies so much
New Jersey gives individual districts latitude to set their own cutoff, and Bergen County's 70-plus districts have taken wildly different approaches as a result. Some hold firm to October 1st, others push it as late as December 31st, and a handful allow for early-entry testing on a case-by-case basis.
What to actually do
Call your district's registration office directly rather than relying on what a neighboring town does — policies here change more often than people expect, and a rule that applied two years ago isn't a safe assumption today.