Why Montessori / The State of Preschool Education

Kansas | Preschool Program

General

Pre-kindergarten Initiative in 2013-14:
Kansas Preschool Program

State agency with administrative authority over pre-K:
Kansas State Department of Education

Availability of program:
14 out of 105 counties/parishes (13%)

Are districts, counties, or towns in Kansas required to offer this pre-kindergarten initiative?
No, competitive

Hours of operation per day:
Determined locally2

Is there a formal partnership at the state level to provide extended day services through collaboration with other agencies and programs?
No2

Enrollment

Fall 2013, Total children:
1,159

Fall 2011, by age:
1,159 4-year-olds1

Fall 2011, by type of administering agency:
Breakdown not available

Program enrollment, Fall 2013, by operating schedule:
Determined locally, 1,1592

Eligibility

Minimum age for eligibility:
4 by August 31

Maximum age for eligibility:
5 by August 31

Kindergarten eligibility age:
5 by August 31

Does state policy allow any exceptions to the age requirement for prekindergarten or kindergarten eligibility?
No3

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 kindergarten3

Aside from age, how is eligibility determined for individual children for this state prekindergarten initiative?
Eligibility is determined by individual child or family characteristics in addition to age4

What was the state-specified income requirement during the 2013-14 program year?
No income requirement4

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

Is there a sliding payment scale based on income?
No4

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:
Low parental education level; Non-English speaking family members; Teen parent; Parental active military duty; Other state-specified risk factors: Department for Children and Families referral; early childhood referral from antoher program; developmentally or academically delayed based upon valid assessment4

How many of the specified risk factors must be present for eligibility?
14

How do these risk factors relate to the income cutoff for the state pre-K program?
Meeting the income cutoff can count as one of the risk factors4

Class Sizes

Maximum class size:
4-year-olds, 20

Staff-child ratio requirement:
4-year-olds, 1 to 10

Teachers

Minimum teacher degree requirement:
BA (public and nonpublic)8

Required teacher certification, licensure, and/or endorsement:
Public and nonpublic: EE (K-6/9); EE with EC Endorsement (K-6/9); EC (B-5); EC Special Education (B-5); EC Unified (B through 3rd); EC Unified (B through K)

Education level of teachers during 2011-12 by percent:
Breakdown not available

Education level of teachers during 2011-12 totals:
Breakdown not available

Teacher in-service requirement:
15 clock hours per year

Minimum assistant teacher degree requirement:
CDA (public and nonpublic)9

Assistant teacher specialized training requirement:
Public and nonpublic: CDA9

Services

Meal requirement:
Snack (part-day); lunch and one snack (school day)5

Support services for English Language Learners and families:
A home language survey is sent home at the beginning of the school year; Other; Information must be presented to parents in their primary language7

Support services required for all programs:
Parent involvement activities; Child health services; Nutrition information; Referral for social services; Transition to K activities; Parent conferences and/or home visits

 

Regulations

Screening and referral requirements:
Required: Vision; Hearing6

State’s early learning standards document in 2013-14.
Kansas Early Learning Standards

For more information about the early learning standards in 2013-14:
http://www.ksde.org/Portals/0/Early%20Childhood/Early%20Learning%20Standards/KsEarlyLearningStandards.pdf

Funding

Days per week the state prekindergarten initiative is funded to operate using state funds:
Determined locally2

Annual operating schedule for this state-funded prekindergarten initiative:
Determined locally2

Actual fiscal year 2014 spending for this state prekindergarten initiative:
$4,799,812

All funding sources:
State, $4,799,81210

State funding sources and amounts:
Tobacco Settlement Funds, $4,799,812

Federal funding sources and amounts:
None

Is funding for this state prekindergarten initiative determined by a school funding or state aid formula?
No

Agencies eligible to receive funding directly:
Public schools, Head Start, Private CC, Faith-based centers11

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

Is there a required local match for this program?
No

Select a state program to view details.


Kansas | Preschool Program Footnotes

 

  1. Enrollment figures are possibly duplicated. Programs are funded througha grant process based upon a budget, not per-child. The number of children may include those also enrolled in Head Start, the State Pre-Kindergarten Program, or other pre-K programs
  2. Programs must provide 465 hours per year of education. The actual schedule is determined at the local level with most programs operating approximately 3 hours per day, 5 days per week. Kansas Preschool Program funds are used to provide a half day of instruction, which may be used to extend the day of a child in another supported program. If a community chooses to use their existing State Pre-Kindergarten program as a Kansas Preschool Program classroom, they must either add an additional 465 hours over the year to the pre-K experience or use the additional funding to improve the existing program. If a community chooses to use a Head Start classroom as a Kansas Preschool classroom, they must add an additional 3 hours to the Head Start experience. Most sites operate on an academic year calendar, but some programs, such as Head Start and child care centers, may be on a 12-month half day cycle.
  3. Kansas Preschool Program funding may not be used for kindergarten-age children. However, children who are kindergarten age can be served in the Kansas Preschool Program classroom if parents/staff determine this to be the best placement.
  4. Fifty percent of children must meet one of the risk factors, which include eligibility for free or reduced-price lunch. Priority for enrollment includes low parent education, non-English speaking family, teen parent, parent on active military duty, single parent families, referrals of at-risk 4-year-olds from early childhood programs, developmentally or academically delayed based on assessments, and social rehabilitation services referral. Eligibility for the other 50 percent of children is based on the local program’s discretion.
  5. Children in half-day programs receive snack; children in full-day programs receive snack and lunch.
  6. The grant does not require screenings and referrals. All sites have different models so the actual requirements are locally determined. However, hearing and vision tests are required in both public schools and Head Start settings.
  7. School-based programs that serve children who are ELLs must document this need through a home language survey and other instruments and provide ESL services through an ESL-trained teacher. The district sends the home language survey.
  8. As of the 2013-2014 school year, teachers in all settings are required to be a licensed teacher in early childhood education. All teachers must be an EC or ECH (early childhood special education ) or ECU (EC Unified) licensed teacher. For this year only, teachers with a license in elementary education who have taught the last two years in an early childhood classroom (4-year-old at-risk program) can be a teacher in the Kansas Preschool Program.
  9. Assistant teachers are required to have at least a CDA. Assistants are also eligible if they have an AA or BA in EC, CD, elementary education, family and consumer sciences, parenting education, social work, or speech-language pathology.
  10. The amount of local funds, including tuition, grants, and blended funding is unknown.
  11. Grants are awarded to school districts and non-profit community partnerships or community agencies on behalf of a coalition of service providers. Seventy percent of members of the partnership must include representations from: mental health centers, private child care providers, cooperative extensions, Head Start, Social and Rehabilitation Services, schools, the health department, the faith-based community, businesses, family representatives, community colleges or universities, libraries, government, child care resources and referral agencies, interagency coordinating councils, other nonprofit organizations, or foundations.