Eligibility for free prekindergarten is based on age and specific eligibility requirements. For statute and resources, please utilize our FAQs page for Prekindergarten Eligibility as well as TEC §29.153 (b) and the Student Attendance and Accounting Handbook (SAAH), Section 7.2 & 3.5.

To be eligible for enrollment in a free prekindergarten class, a child must be at least three years of age on or before September 1 of the current school year (if a 3-year-old program is available) or four years of age on or before September 1 of the current school year and meet at least one of the following eligibility requirements:

• unable to speak and comprehend the English language
• is educationally disadvantaged (eligible to participate in the national school lunch program... guidelines about NSLP eligibility can be found in sections 4 and 6 of the Texas Department of Agriculture’s Administrators Reference Manual)
• is homeless, as defined by 42 USC, §11434a, regardless of the residence of the child, of either parent of the child, or of the child's guardian or other person having lawful control of the child
• is the child of an active duty member of the armed forces of the United States, including the state military forces or a reserve component of the armed forces, who is ordered to active duty by proper authority
• is the child of a member of the armed forces of the United States, including the state military forces or a reserve component of the armed forces, who was injured or killed while serving on active duty
• is or has ever been in the conservatorship of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (foster care) following an adversary hearing held as provided by Family Code §262.201 or has been in foster care in another state or territory, but currently lives in Texas
• is the child of a person eligible for the Star of Texas Award as a peace officer under Texas Government Code §3106.002, a firefighter under Texas Government Code §3106.003, or an emergency medical first responder under Texas Government Code §3106.004

Eligibility applies to three-year-olds when a three-year-old program is available.

Kindergarten and first grade have minimum age requirements to attend.

To be eligible for kindergarten, a student must be 5 years old by September 1st of the current school year. The statute information regarding kindergarten for a child younger than five years of age, which can be found in TEC §48.003(d), details the local district must have a policy to admit an underage student and the student must perform satisfactorily on an assessment given to third grade students. Statute included below.

TEC §48.003(d)

(d) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), a student younger than five years of age is entitled to the benefits of the Foundation School Program if:

(1) the student performs satisfactorily on the assessment instrument administered under Section 39.023(a) to students in the third grade; and

(2) the district has adopted a policy for admitting students younger than five years of age.

First grade is the first required grade in Texas, and the age requirement for first grade is a student must be 6-years-old by September 1st of the current school year. According to statute TEC §48.003 (c),

(c) A child may be enrolled in the first grade if the child is at least six years of age at the beginning of the school year of the district or has been enrolled in the first grade or has completed kindergarten in the public schools in another state before transferring to a public school in this state.

Districts and charters have local flexibility in advancement and retention policies. The Parental Option for Student Retention does not pertain to students advancing grade levels or minimum age. It is recommended to speak with the local education agency to best understand their policies for advancement and retention.

The benefits of implementing a PK3 program include increased school readiness, increased funding, increased access to high-quality prekindergarten, opportunities to partner with the local early childhood community, continuity of care for children and families, and program flexibility.

Eligibility for free public prekindergarten is based on age and specific eligibility requirements. For statute and resources, please use our FAQs page for Prekindergarten Eligibility as well as TEC §29.153 (b) and the Student Attendance and Accounting Handbook (SAAH), Section 7.2 & 3.5.

Remember local educational agencies (LEAs) are not required to serve three-year-olds. When offered, there are more program model opportunities with this age group. High-quality prekindergarten is not required for PK3, and LEAs can use an enrollment process for this age group based on their needs. Establishing an entry and enrollment process for PK3 is a local decision and TEA does not mandate nor recommend a particular approach.

1. Can you serve three and four-year olds in the same classroom?

Yes, both three-year-olds and four-year-olds may be served in the same pre-k class.

2. Is a certified teacher required for PK3?

Yes, a certified teacher is required for PK3. In a traditional school district, a teacher serving eligible three-year-olds must be appropriately certified. It is best practice for open-enrollment charters and districts of innovation to hire teachers who are appropriately certified in early childhood. Open-enrollment charters must follow the specifications within their charter contract regarding teacher certification. Districts of innovation must follow their local innovation plans regarding the certification of teachers.

3. Do you have to serve eligible three-year-olds before offering a tuition-based program?

There is no statute that requires districts to serve eligible three-year olds before ineligible children, but best practice is to serve eligible children first. Remember that ineligible children are not eligible for ADA funding . Some districts also provide a blended model where both eligible and ineligible children attend the same program.

Tuition-based programs should not interfere with serving all eligible four-year-olds in full-day prekindergarten programs.

Information regarding Prekindergarten Tuition can be found on the ECE Division Prekindergarten Tuition page. This page includes statute defining programs, the process for prekindergarten tuition, and a template for the tuition rate request letter.. Tuition may not be higher than is necessary to cover the added costs of providing the additional prekindergarten classes, including any costs with data collection and reporting requirements.

Early learning partnerships are formal collaborations between local educational agencies (LEAs) such as school districts or open-enrollment charters, and private early learning centers (ELCs) or Head Start centers. The resulting partnership allows them to dually enroll children and provide prekindergarten and/or additional comprehensive, wrap-around services. For more information view the overview video.

LEAs, including those actively interested in participating in partnerships, must adhere to statute when soliciting proposals from Early Learning Programs. LEAs may establish partnerships with ELPs that meet specific eligibility standards to ensure they provide high quality prekindergarten for eligible children in Texas.

For more details, visit the Early Learning Partnership homepage.

In implementing the high-quality prekindergarten components, districts and open-enrollment charters must have a written Family Engagement Plan containing the six required components and identifying a primary point of contact and contact information. The link that connects directly to the high-quality prekindergarten (HQPK) Family Engagement Plan must be submitted to TEA within the ECDS each year. Minimally, the written Family Engagement Plan must contain information on how the district is achieving and maintaining high levels of family involvement and positive family attitudes toward education through the following six components:

• Facilitating family-to-family support
• Establishing a network of community resources
• Increasing family participation in decision-making
• Equipping families with tools to enhance and extend learning
• Developing staff skills in evidence-based practices that support families in meeting their children’s learning benchmarks
• Evaluating family engagement efforts and using evaluations for continuous improvement

For more assistance, please use the HQPK Family Engagement page as well as our FAQs. More information can be found within these statutes: TEC §29.168; 19 TAC §102.1003 (h).

The new 2022 Texas Prekindergarten Guidelines are available on the Texas PKG web page. There will be additional resources available on the webpage that will support the guidelines and implementation of instructional strategies in the prekindergarten classroom.

TEA is pleased to share a resource for early childhood staff across Texas – online professional development on the Texas Prekindergarten Guidelines (updated 2022). The new Texas Prekindergarten Guidelines trainings are available for free on the CLI Engage platform.

Creation of the Texas Prekindergarten Guidelines trainings was a collaborative effort between the Texas Education Agency and the Children’s Learning Institute at UTHealth. Visit CLI Engage to learn more about the trainings, view video introductions to each course, and to create a free account for full access to the trainings.

For questions about the Texas Prekindergarten Guidelines trainings, contact cliengage@uth.tmc.edu.

Student progress monitoring is a very important part of the teaching cycle and is considered a best practice with all age groups. Progress monitoring enables a teacher to effectively adapt the daily classroom instruction to meet the needs of their students.

In accordance with 19 Texas Administrative Code (TAC) §102.1003(c), school systems providing high-quality, full-day prekindergarten (pre-k) for 4-year-olds must collect data on student progress at the beginning, middle, and end of year in health and wellness, emergent literacy language and communication, emergent literacy reading, emergent literacy writing and mathematics using a commissioner-approved progress monitoring instrument.

The Commissioner's List provides extensive details for each approved data collection tool. This list can be accessed through the Educator Resources page on the TEA website, as well as the Data Tool Selection Guide page.

School systems must submit beginning and end of year data annually to TEA's Early Childhood Data System (ECDS). Raw data for MOY will not be collected in the 2024-25 school year.

The instrument administration windows are determined locally. It is recommended that the BOY instruments be administered within the first 60 days of school so that the resulting data can be used for instructional purposes. School systems should ensure they have systems in place to collect and report student progress monitoring data for students who may have missed the administration or enrolled after the designated window. This data is crucial for the accuracy of Texas Public Education Information Resource (TPEIR) reporting.

As part of the required family engagement plan, school systems are encouraged to provide families with progress monitoring updates that address all five required domains at least three times a year. (19 TAC §102.1003(h)(2)(D)(i))

What are the differences in progress monitoring requirements for 3-year-old vs 4-year-old students?

In mixed classrooms with both 3- and 4-year-olds, school systems should use developmentally appropriate progress monitoring for 3-year-old students. Monitoring can be adjusted for 3-year-olds at the school system’s discretion. Monitoring may not be adjusted for 4-year-old students.

In stand-alone pre-k 3-year-old classrooms, specific progress monitoring is not required for students served. However, if a school system conducts student progress monitoring with its eligible three-year-old students using an appropriate tool from the Commissioner’s list, the BOY and EOY data should be submitted to TEA through ECDS annually.

For reporting and data related questions, please go back to the "Topic Area" question and select "Early Childhood Data System and/or PEIMS."

Resources and additional information can be found on the Early Learning Assessments pages.

As defined in the Texas Education Code (TEC) §28.006(c-2), school systems must conduct a beginning of year (BOY) reading screener using either TX-KEA or mCLASS Texas (both free of charge). This raw data is submitted to the Early Childhood Data System (ECDS) yearly. Diagnosing reading development and comprehension of kindergarten students is vital, in whatever form it may take.

Learn more about each of the kindergarten reading instruments on the Kindergarten Data Tool Selection Guidance page.

It is recommended that students are administered the kindergarten instrument within the first 60 days of school so that resulting data can be used for instructional purposes. School systems should ensure they have systems in place to collect and report student progress monitoring data for students who may have missed the administration or enrolled after the designated window. This data is crucial for the accuracy of Texas Public Education Information Resource (TPEIR) reporting.

Families must be notified of the results in writing within 60 days of administration (TEC §28.006(d)(2)).

Additional information regarding the requirements for Dyslexia screening can be found under Kindergarten Requirements section of the Early Childhood Data Collection Requirements webpage.

For reporting and data related questions, please go back to the "Topic Area" question and select "Early Childhood Data System and/or PEIMS."

Resources and information can be found on the Early Learning Assessments pages.

In accordance with TEC §28.006(c), school systems must collect data regarding student reading proficiency using an approved instrument (either from the Commissioner's List or selected by a district-level committee as authorized under TEC §28.006 (b)) for all students in grade 1.

TEA provides the following free reading instruments that meet state requirements:

• mCLASS Texas (includes remote administration option)
• TPRI/Tejas LEE (includes remote administration option)

School systems may also use an alternate reading instrument selected by a district-level committee, as authorized under TEC §28.006(b).

Families must be notified of the results in writing within 60 days of administration (TEC §28.006(d)(2)).

Additional information regarding the requirements for Dyslexia screening can be found under Grades 1 and 2 Requirements section of the Early Childhood Data Collection Requirements webpage.

For reporting and data related questions, please go back to the "Topic Area" question and select "Early Childhood Data System and/or PEIMS."

Per statute (TEC §29.164 -29.172) and Commissioner’s Rule (19 TAC §102.1003), the following high-quality prekindergarten components are required for a prekindergarten program serving eligible 4-year¬olds students:

• Curriculum
• Student Progress Monitoring
• Teacher Qualifications
• Family Engagement Plan
• Student to Teacher Ratio
• Program Evaluation

Resources and information can be found in numerous places on the Early Childhood TEA webpages. High-Quality Prekindergarten houses general information as well as in-depth resources for each component. These resources include downloads, videos, and additional information. The High-Quality Prekindergarten FAQs provides common answers regarding this area as well.

For reporting and data related questions, please go back to the "Topic Area" question and select "Early Childhood Data System and/or PEIMS."

ECDS: The Early Childhood Data System (ECDS) is a state reporting feature in the Texas Student Data System (TSDS). All public schools will report Texas Education Data Standards (TEDS) data elements for public prekindergarten and kindergarten data (only if administering a commissioner-approved kindergarten assessment) at the district level.

Data collected through ECDS includes the following:

• Public Prekindergarten Data, including:
• Available Prekindergarten Program Data for 3- and 4-year-old students
• High-Quality Prekindergarten Components
• Prekindergarten Progress Monitoring Results: School systems are required to administer beginning-, middle-, and end-of-year progress monitoring for 4-year-old students, however only beginning-of-year and end-of-year progress monitoring data is required to be submitted through ECDS for state reporting purposes.
• Kindergarten Program Data, including beginning-of-year reading instrument results

More information on Early Childhood data collection can be found on TWEDS.

PEIMS: The Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS) encompasses all data requested and received by TEA about public education, including student demographic and academic performance, personnel, financial, and organizational information. Examples of data collected through PEIMS for early childhood include enrollment data, partnership reporting, reporting of the Early Reading Indicator data element, and reporting of the Dyslexia Risk data element.

More information on PEIMS data collections can be found on the TWEDS.

ECDS and PEIMS: LEAs should contact their regional education service centers (ESCs) or their assessment vendors for training and support. There are staff at each ESC who have completed training for TSDS and data loading and will be able to assist in this process. The ESC TSDS Champions and Stewards webpage provides additional information about the TSDS Champion and Stewards roles, as well as additional links to the regional lists of Champions for each ESC.

If further assistance is needed outside of the ECDS Champions, a TIMS ticket should be submitted by using a TEAL login.

The Early Childhood Education Division collaborates with other TEA Divisions to ensure early childhood stakeholders, families and young children are appropriately served. Please use the contact information below to connect with knowledgeable professionals and resources for topics related to early childhood education.

Special Education

This division supports Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE), Special Education and Individualized Education Program (IEP) related services.

Phone: 1-855-SPEDTEX (1-855-773-3839)

Website: www.spedtex.org

Website: www.inclusionintexas.org

Email: sped@tea.texas.gov

Emergent Bilingual Support Division

This division offers support for English Learners and Emergent Bilingual programs.

Email: EnglishLearnerSupport@tea.texas.gov

https://www.txel.org/effectiveearlychildhood/

HQIM/Curriculum

Please contact the Instructional Materials and Implementation Division for curriculum related questions for Kindergarten and above.

Request IM Support

Teacher Certifications

Contact Information

(512) 936-8400

Phone Options:

Option 2-Educator Certification

Option 3-Fingerprinting

Option 5-Educator Preparation Programs

Option 6-Investigations

Testing questions: (512) 463-9039

Please use the TEA Help Desk to submit your questions. Allow several business days for staff to respond to your ticket.

PEIMS and ECDS

Regional Assistance: ESC TSDS Champions and Stewards

Email: TSDSCustomerSupport@tea.texas.gov

All technical questions should be submitted via the TSDS Incident Management System (TIMS), which is available within the TSDS Portal using a TEAL login.

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