(a) School districts shall admit beginners to the public schools during at least the first two weeks of the annual school term in districts operating on an annual promotion basis and during the first two weeks of either the first or the second semester of the school term in districts operating on a semi-annual promotion basis; thereafter, the admission of beginners shall be at the discretion of each school district.

(b) Admission shall be limited to beginners who have attained the age of five years and seven months before the first day of September if they are to be admitted in the fall, and to those who have attained the age of five years and seven months before the first day of February if they are to be admitted at the beginning of the second semester. The board of school directors of any school district may admit beginners who are less than five years and seven months of age, in accordance with standards prescribed by the State Board of Education. The board of school directors may refuse to accept or retain beginners who have not attained a mental age of five years, as determined by the supervisor of special education or a properly certificated public school psychologist in accordance with standards prescribed by the State Board of Education.

(c) The term “beginners,” as used in this section, shall mean any child that should enter the lowest grade of the primary school or the lowest primary class above the kindergarten level.