General

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

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

Availability of program:
173 out of 173 school districts (100%)

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

Hours of operation per day:
Part day, 2.5 hours/day plus a meal3

Is there a formal partnership at the state level to provide extended day services through collaboration with other agencies and programs?
No4

Enrollment

Fall 2013, Total children:
20,558

Fall 2011, by age:
4,088 3-year-olds; 16,470 4-year-olds1

Fall 2011, by type of administering agency:
Breakdown not available2

Program enrollment, Fall 2013, by operating schedule:
Breakdown not available5

Eligibility

Minimum age for eligibility:
3 by October 1

Maximum age for eligibility:
4 by September 30

Kindergarten eligibility age:
5 by October 1

Does state policy allow any exceptions to the age requirement for prekindergarten or kindergarten eligibility?
Yes6

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?
Eligibility is determined by individual child or family characteristics in addition to age8

What was the state-specified income requirement during the 2013-14 program year?
150% FPL

To whom, or to what percentage of children, does the income requirement apply?
Income eligibility is for at-risk children is available for approximately 54% of children.

Is there a sliding payment scale based on income?
Determined locally

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:
Child disability or developmental delay; Homelessness or unstable housing; Foster care8

How many of the specified risk factors must be present for eligibility?
18

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 factors

Class Sizes

Maximum class size:
3- and 4-year-olds, 209

Staff-child ratio requirement:
3- and 4-year-olds, 1 to 109

Teachers

Minimum teacher degree requirement:
BA (public and nonpublic)14

Required teacher certification, licensure, and/or endorsement:
Public and nonpublic: Interdisciplinary ECE (IECE) (Birth to primary/K)

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

Education level of teachers during 2011-12 totals:
Breakdown not available15

Teacher in-service requirement:
28 clock hours per year

Minimum assistant teacher degree requirement:
HSD or Equivalent (public and nonpublic)

Assistant teacher specialized training requirement:
None16

Services

Meal requirement:
Breakfast or lunch is required

Support services for English Language Learners and families:
Bilingual non-English classes are permitted in pre-K; State policy does not regulate services for English Language Learners11

Support services required for all programs:
Parent education or job training; Parenting support or training; Parent involvement activities; Parent health services; Child health services; Nutrition information; Referral for social services; Transition to K activities; Parent conferences and/or home visits;12

Regulations

Screening and referral requirements:
Required: Vision; Hearing; Height/Weight/BMI; Blood pressure; Immunizations; Psychological/Behavioral; Full physical exam; Developmental10

State’s early learning standards document in 2013-14.
Kentucky Early Childhood Standards

For more information about the early learning standards in 2013-14:
http://kidsnow.ky.gov/School%20Readiness/Pages/Early-Childhood-Standards-2013.aspx13

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:
Academic year3

Actual fiscal year 2014 spending for this state prekindergarten initiative:
$140,169,216

All funding sources:
State, $71,315,300; Federal, $55,226,601; Required local, $2,047,020; Non-required local, $11,580,29517

State funding sources and amounts:
State General Fund, $71,315,300

Federal funding sources and amounts:
Head Start, $30,583,374; Title I, $10,582,122; IDEA (619), $8,513,732; Other, $5,547,37317

Is funding for this state prekindergarten initiative determined by a school funding or state aid formula?
Yes17

Agencies eligible to receive funding directly:
Public schools19

Agencies with which subcontracting is permitted:
Public schools, Head Start, Private CC, Faith-based centers19

Is there a required local match for this program?
No

Select a state program to view details.


Kentucky Footnotes

  1. Child count is based on the average from the Fall (Dec.1) and Spring (March 1) enrollment counts. The count is unduplicated. Children who are both at risk and disabled are counted only once in the disability category.
  2. The school district has primary authority for programs; however, some districts delegate preschool program responsibilities to Head Start through a local full utilization agreement. There were 1903 children who received enhanced Head Start services (average Dec. 1 and March 1 count). There were 8 contracted sites throughout the commonwealth; however, exact numbers of the children in these contracted sites are unavailable.
  3. Standard program operation is 4 to 5 days per week. Any other configuration must be approved by the Kentucky Board of Education. During the 2013-14 school year, 7 districts were granted approval for an alternate schedule of 2 full days a week, M/W or Tu/Th.
  4. There is no formal partnership at the state level to provide extended day services, however the statewide Family Resource Youth Service Center (FRYCS) may offer child care services for preschool children and extended care services for children in the school district.
  5. In 2013 – 2014, 69 districts operated on a school day schedule of more than 4 hours a day, 97 districts operated on a part day schedule and 7 districts offered both school- and part- day schedules. KDE was not able to determine the total number of children in each schedule.
  6. Standard program operation is 4 or 5 days per week. Any other configuration must be approved by the Kentucky Board of Education. Districts may use one of the week days for home visits, parent education, special education evaluations, and other work related to preschool. During the 2013-2014 school year, 7 districts were granted approval for an alternate schedule of 2 full days a week.
  7. The preschool program is required by regulation to follow the school year. However, most preschool programs begin later and end earlier than the school year calendar because they are using these instructional days for child and family activities such as screening, home visits, and other comprehensive components of the program.
  8. Kindergarten children with severe disabilities whose IEP specifies that they may attend the preschool program under certain circumstances. The school- or district-level Admissions and Release Committee decides whether preschool is the best placement for children with special needs. If a family or district decides that the best placement of a 5-year-old child without disabilities is the preschool program and there is space available, the child is coded as a first year primary student (Kindergarten). No preschool funds may be used to support this child.
  9. If a district decides to enroll children who do not meet the income requirements, tuition may be charged using a sliding payment scale. Tuition children are not included in reported enrollment figures as they are ineligible for KPP funding.
  10. According to preschool regulations, if a classroom has two sessions, morning and afternoon, the maximum number of children shall be 34 if the teacher also has the responsibilities coordinating parent involvement activities, and health and social services, thereby reducing the adult-to-child ratio to 1:17. This is rarely the case because most school districts have administrators and family resource workers who coordinate the comprehensive services of the district.
  11. Breakfast or lunch is required.
  12. Dental exam is required for entry into kindergarten.
  13. Home language surveys are encouraged, not required. Translators or bilingual staff are available in some districts but not required by state policy. English Language services begin in kindergarten.
  14. Districts work with their local Family Resource Centers to provide many support services and referrals. For districts that blend services with Head Start programs, comprehensive services are available for state-funded children
  15. The 2013 revised Kentucky Early Childhood Standards include birth to three as well as 3- & 4-year-old standards. They have been aligned with both the Head Start Child Development and Early Learning Framework and the Kentucky Core Academic Standards for grades K-12.
  16. All lead teachers hired beginning fall 2004 were required to hold the IECE certificate. The IECE certification is a unified certification combining general and special education. Lead teachers who were hired prior to year 2004-2005 were permitted to have a CDA or an associate’s degree in early childhood education. These teachers were allowed to continue in their position, but are not permitted to become a lead teacher in another district.
  17. Out of a total of 1017 lead teachers, 725 (71%) had the IECE certification, 122 (12%) had a bachelor’s degree and a letter of exemption. 140 (14%) were Preschool Associate Teachers with a CDA or AA in early childhood who were grandfathered prior to 2004, and 29 (0.3%) were emergency or probationary certified. KDE does not have information on the educational level (bachelors or masters degree) for the certified or exempted teachers.
  18. Teacher assistants in classrooms using Title I funds are required to have an associate’s degree or pass the paraprofessional exam. During the 2013-2014 school year, the following credential for the 1,151 teacher assistants were recorded: High School Diploma 453 (39%), CDA 260 (23%), some college 206 (18%), Associate degree 113 (10%), Bachelor degree 93 (8%), Master degree 7 (1%), IECE degree/certification 9 (1%), other (mostly paraprofessional exam) 10 (1%).