 Texas Project FIRST - Families, Information, Resources, Support & Training
State-Funded Pre-Kindergarten Programs |
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If your child is eligible for Preschool Programs for Children with Disabilities (PPCD), you may consider placement in a pre-kindergarten program offered in many Texas school districts. Texas funds half-day pre-kindergarten programs in districts which have 15 or more four-year-olds who:
- Are unable to speak or understand English;
- Are educationally disadvantaged (eligible for the free/reduced lunch program);
- Are homeless; or
- Whose parents serve in active military duty, in an activated reserve unit, or who were killed or wounded in action.
School districts may draw on other funding sources to provide a full-day program or open the program to three-year-olds. Additional funding sources may also be used to include preschoolers with disabilities. Some school districts partner with local Head Start programs and community daycare providers.
Pre-Kindergarten programs are designed to help at-risk preschoolers develop the skills they need to be successful when they reach public school. Emphasis is on language development, pre-reading and mathematics, and social skills. Like Head Start, state-funded pre-kindergarten programs can provide the inclusive programming that benefits children both with and without disabilities.
To find out if there is a pre-kindergarten program available in your school district, contact your neighborhood school or your district’s administration office.
Additional Resources:
You and Your Preschool Child – Toolkit developed by the U.S. Dept of Education
Early Childhood Education – What Works Clearinghouse review of interventions
Head Start and Early Head Start – U.S. Dept of Administration for Children & Families provides information to help understand needs and services of children with disabilities enrolled in Head Start/Early Head Start programs
TEA Special Education Services for Students with Disabilities – Ages 3-5
TEA Showcase of Promising Practices - For examples of how some districts in Texas are effectively educating preschoolers with disabilities alongside their non-disabled peers
Legal Framework for Children with Disabilities – Ages 0-5
Preschool Programs for Children with Disabilities (PPCD)
Revolutionary Common Sense Articles by Kathie Snow, Disability Is Natural
Environment, Environment, Environment (pdf document)Special Education Preschools, Help or Hindrance (pdf document)
Texas Project FIRST is an activity of the Texas Continuing Improvement Process (TCIP) under the auspices of the Texas Education Agency (TEA) and Region 9 Education Service Center, and is focused on helping to fulfill the goals of TEA and the Parent Training Committee
TEA Parent Information Line 1-800-252-9668Texas Project FIRST - A project of Family To Family Network - Contact Web Administrator