General

Pre-kindergarten Initiative in 2013-14:
Florida Voluntary Prekindergarten Program

State agency with administrative authority over pre-K:
Office of Early LearningFlorida Department of Children and Families1

Availability of program:
67 out of 67 school districts (100%)

Are districts, counties, or towns in Florida required to offer this pre-kindergarten initiative?
Required for all2

Hours of operation per day:
Determined locally5

Is there a formal partnership at the state level to provide extended day services through collaboration with other agencies and programs?
No5

Enrollment

Fall 2013, Total children:
170,266

Fall 2011, by age:
170,266 4-year-olds3

Fall 2011, by type of administering agency:
Public schools, 31,141; Nonpublic schools, 139,1254

Program enrollment, Fall 2013, by operating schedule:
Breakdown not available6

Eligibility

Minimum age for eligibility:
4 by September 1

Maximum age for eligibility:
5 by August 31

Kindergarten eligibility age:
5 by September 1

Does state policy allow any exceptions to the age requirement for prekindergarten or kindergarten eligibility?
Yes7

State policy on enrolling children in state pre-K when they are eligible for kindergarten:
Children may not enroll in pre-K if they are age-eligible for kindergarten7

Aside from age, how is eligibility determined for individual children for this state prekindergarten initiative?
All age-eligible children in districts offering the program, or in the entire state, may enroll

What was the state-specified income requirement during the 2013-14 program year?
No income requirement

To whom, or to what percentage of children, does the income requirement apply?

Is there a sliding payment scale based on income?
No

Is child eligibility for this state prekindergarten initiative ever reassessed after a child has been enrolled in the program?
No

Risk Factors

Risk factors besides income that can be used to determine eligibility:
Not applicable

How many of the specified risk factors must be present for eligibility?
NA

How do these risk factors relate to the income cutoff for the state pre-K program?
No income requirement

Class Sizes

Maximum class size:
12 (summer); 20 (school year)

Staff-child ratio requirement:
4-year-olds: 1:11 or 2:12-20 (school year); 1 to 12 (summer)

Teachers

Minimum teacher degree requirement:
BA (summer); CDA or equivalent plus specified training (school year)12

Required teacher certification, licensure, and/or endorsement:
BA or higher in: ECE; prekindergarten or primary education, preschool education, family and consumer science, or teacher certification in any area (Summer); CDA or equivalent and specified training about performance standards and emergent literacy training (school year)12

Education level of teachers during 2011-12 by percent:
CDA, 66%; AA, 21%; BA, 11%; MA, 2%

Education level of teachers during 2011-12 totals:
CDA, 8284; AA, 2,618; BA, 1,311; MA, 227

Teacher in-service requirement:
10 clock hours per year12

Minimum assistant teacher degree requirement:
None (public and nonpublic)13

Assistant teacher specialized training requirement:
None

Services

Meal requirement:
Depends on length of program day8

Support services for English Language Learners and families:
State policy does not regulate services for English Language Learners10

Support services required for all programs:

Regulations

Screening and referral requirements:
Screenings/referrals locally determined9

State’s early learning standards document in 2013-14.
Florida Early Learning and Developmental Standards for Four-Year-Olds (2011)

For more information about the early learning standards in 2013-14:
http://flbt5.floridaearlylearning.com/bt5_uploads/feldsfyo.pdf11

Funding

Days per week the state prekindergarten initiative is funded to operate using state funds:
Determined locally5

Annual operating schedule for this state-funded prekindergarten initiative:
Determined locally5

Actual fiscal year 2014 spending for this state prekindergarten initiative:
$381,108,517

All funding sources:
State, $381,108,517

State funding sources and amounts:
General Revenue, $381,108,517

Federal funding sources and amounts:
None

Is funding for this state prekindergarten initiative determined by a school funding or state aid formula?
Yes14

Agencies eligible to receive funding directly:
Other settings: Early Learning Coalitions

Agencies with which subcontracting is permitted:
Public schools, Head Start, Private CC, Faith-based centers, Family CC, Other settings:15

Is there a required local match for this program?
No

Select a state program to view details.


Florida Footnotes

 

  1. These state agencies shared responsibility for the implementation of the program in the 2013-2014 program year. Each agency was assigned responsibilities that align with their statutory functions.
  2. All school districts are required to offer the 300-hour VPK program during the summer.
  3. Participation in the VPK program is projected to follow Florida’s 4-year-old population rate, anticipating a 1 percent growth in future years.
  4. In Florida, faith-based centers are a subset of private child care centers. Students may move between provider types. In addition, there may be overlap between the school-year and summer program enrollment. Florida Office of Early Learning exercise administrative rules that allow reenrollment for certain hardships that may allow a child who had attended some portion of the school year program to enroll for summer in certain circumstances.
  5. Minimum operating hours are 540 hours for the school-year program (most programs operate 3 hours per day, 5 days per week) and 300 hours for the summer program (most programs operate 8 hours per day, 5 days per week). Providers are allowed to determine their individual calendars in order to meet those requirements. Specialized Instructional Services programs offer reimbursement for services to children with disabilities for whom a traditional VPK program may not be appropriate. The funding for these specialized services for children with disabilities is equal to that for children in traditional school year or summer VPK program and is used in lieu of attending a traditional VPK program. The school-year program cannot start earlier than two weeks before Labor Day or before the first day of school according to the local school district calendar and must end by June 30. The summer program may run between May 1 and the beginning of the next public school year. Most school-year programs operate on a 180-day calendar. Most summer programs operate on a two-month calendar.
  6. Enrollment in the school year program was 163,814 and in the summer program 6,452 with possible duplication for children attending both.
  7. State policy permits exceptions to the age requirement for kindergarten only. A student who transfers from an out-of-state nonpublic school and does not meet regular age requirements for admission to Florida public school, may be admitted if he or she meets the age requirements for the public schools in the state from which he is transferring. Any student who transfers from an out-of-state public school, and who does not meet regular age requirements for admission to Florida public schools, will be admitted to kindergarten or first grade when certain data are presented, based on each district’s pupil progression plan.
  8. Child care providers are required to have a plan of scheduled daily activities, which includes meals and snacks as appropriate for the age and the times the children are in care. Meals and snacks are required for extended-day programs.
  9. All children participating in programs in licensed child care facilities or public schools must have evidence of vision, hearing, and immunization/ general physical health screenings. Referrals for follow-up are recommended by the health professional. For public schools programs, referrals for further follow-up are required.
  10. The Florida Department of Education has the authority to grant Good Cause Exemptions (waivers) from performance requirements for specific populations, which may include children with disabilities and English language learners. To be eligible for a good cause exemption, the provider must demonstrate learning gains, adherence to an improvement plan, and high health and safety standards.
  11. The standards are aligned to the kindergarten Florida Standards.
  12. Lead teachers must have a Bachelor’s degree or higher in: early childhood education; prekindergarten or primary education, preschool education, family and consumer science, or teacher certification in any area (Summer); CDA or equivalent plus specified training about performance standards and emergent literacy training (school year). VPK requires lead teachers, whether working in public or nonpublic school settings, to maintain a valid CDA or the Florida Child Care Professional Credential (FCCPC) equivalent as a minimum credential for the school-year program. A CDA or FCCPC must be renewed every five years. Training in specified performance standards and emergent literacy is also required for school year teachers. Lead teachers in the summer program must have a Bachelor’s degree in a specified major and/or teacher certification. All child care personnel in licensed facilities must complete a minimum of 10 clock hours of in-service training.
  13. Assistant teachers do not have to meet any degree requirements, but must complete a 40-hour training course for those employed at licensed child care facilities. This training course is offered by DCF. Additionally, VPK providers on probation completing the Staff Development Plan as a part of their improvement plan are required to have directors, VPK instructors, and VPK assistants complete several additional trainings.
  14. Funding is appropriated using estimated population counts and the base student allocations.
  15. Approved licensed or certified professionals that provide specialized instructional services for children with disabilities.