Preschool Enrollment 2014-15

Change in birthdate for preschool student eligibility

As a result of the House Bill 235, in the fall of 2014, there will be a change in student eligibility for the
state-funded preschool program based on when a child was born. This change could affect
approximately 1,700 children.
The following information will help the districts navigate the new law.
To help clarify the change, during the 2013-14 school year, children whose fourth birthday occurred on
or before Oct. 1 were eligible for enrollment for at-risk (Grade 99) preschool.
The new enrollment system for 2014-15 will move the age of eligibility of preschool children from Oct.
1 to Aug. 1.

A student must be 4 years old on or before Aug. 1 to be enrolled in Grade 99

A 3 year old whose fourth birthday falls between Aug. 1 and Oct. 1 must be enrolled in Grade
98.
o Exception: If the student was pre-registered prior to July 15, this student is eligible to be
enrolled in Grade 99 in the at-risk category (up to 150 percent of poverty).

Preschool registration before July 15

The challenge for the upcoming school year is that districts already have started recruiting and
registering children for the 2014-15 school year. According to the preschool regulation (704 KAR 3:410
section 2), districts may determine eligibility up to four months prior to enrollment. If a district has
already determined eligibility and pre-registered at-risk children with their fourth birthday between Aug.1
and Oct. 1, they will be allowed to continue in the program because their eligibility already has been
determined and that determination is valid for the remainder of the school year. If these children are
registered before July 15, they would be enrolled in Infinite Campus as a 4 year old in Grade 99. The
district would:

complete the preschool tab

select Preschool Type of up to 150% of poverty
select Other, specify and enter PS715 in the textbox

PS715 will be the code to indicate the student was pre-enrolled by July 15. KDE will create an ad hoc
report that will find the Grade 99 students who turn 4 between Aug. 1 and Oct. 1 and have PS715 in the
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Other text box on the preschool tab. This will allow these children to be counted on the fall and spring
enrollment counts for 2014-15.

Preschool registration after July 15

According to the KDE legal department, districts shall follow the new law after the July 15 date for
determining eligibility of the at-risk preschool children. This means that in order to be eligible as an atrisk 4 year old, the child must have their fourth birthday on or before Aug. 1. All calculations for
determining Grade placement (97, 98 and 99) will be based on how old the child is on or before Aug. 1.
Possible impacts
This situation may cause some difficulties for school districts because their recruitment efforts up until
now have stated that income-eligible children would be accepted if the children turned 4 on or before
Oct. 1, and now the age requirement has been moved to Aug. 1. This means that a 3 year old who
turns 4 between Aug. 1 and Oct. 1 may not qualify as a Grade 99 unless he or she is identified as atrisk and is preregistered by July 15. If registered after July 15, he or she would be a Grade 98.
Also, at-risk families of children with their fourth birthday on Aug. 2-Oct. 1 that were anticipating
participation in the preschool program will be told that they are not eligible for the preschool program
until the following year.
Districts are encouraged to share the parent guides with the families whose children are not eligible to
attend the state-funded preschool program as at-risk students and offer them opportunities for family
engagement during the upcoming year. It is possible to accept these children after July 15 enrollment,
however these children will not be counted for funding purposes. Districts may elect to use district
funds, Title I, tuition or other funds to cover the costs of educating these children if they would like to
serve them during the 2014-15 school year.
School districts, through their Family Resource Centers, also may help families identify childcare
program services and help with referrals.
If a child turns 5 during the months of August and September and he/she already has attended the
preschool program as an at-risk 4 year old, then KDE recommends the child enter the kindergarten
program during the fall of 2014.
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In the instance where a child has never attended a preschool or a Head Start program and turns 5
between Aug. 1 and Oct. 1, this child could attend the preschool program as an at-risk 4 year old in
Grade 99. Even though this child is age eligible to attend the kindergarten program, district personnel
could meet with the parents and decide if the child is ready for kindergarten and make a decision on a
case-by-case basis.
Children with disabilities
School districts are required to provide instruction to children with disabilities based on the Individuals
with Disabilities Act (IDEA) and Kentucky special education regulations (707 KAR 1:002- 1:380). The
Individual Education Program (IEP) tells what supports, services, instruction and amount of time in a
regular education classroom must be provided to a child with disabilities. Beginning in 2014-15,
preschool children with disabilities who turn 4 between Aug.1 and Oct. 1 will be eligible for preschool as
3-year-old students (Grade 98). Children coming from First Steps will continue to be served with their
IEP in place by their third birthday.
Head Start programs
This change also will affect the Head Start programs. Head Start is required to follow the same
eligibility date used by the school districts to determine enrollment. Since there is a possibility of fewer
children served, Head Start and school districts will need to look carefully at the Full Utilization number
to ensure that no federal funds are being supplanted and to possibly renegotiate the agreed upon
number of at-risk 4 year olds served by both programs.
The following school year, 2015-16
At-risk children who attend the preschool program in Grade 99 in 2014-15 will be eligible to attend
kindergarten during the 2015-16 school year because these children will be 5 years old on or before
Oct. 1, and theyve already had one year of preschool at-risk services. The age requirement change to
Aug. 1 for kindergarten children is scheduled to begin in 2017-18. In 2015-16, the Aug. 1 age
requirement for all at-risk 4 year olds will be fully implemented for the state-funded preschool program.
Note: Beginning with the 2015-16 school year, the at-risk poverty index for the state-funded program
will be raised from 150 percent to 160 percent of poverty per SB235.
The following are possible scenarios created to help district personnel understand the changes:
At-Risk - new
1. Juana turns 4 on Aug. 2 and is identified as at-risk (up to 150 percent of poverty) prior to July
15, 2014. She would be eligible as at-risk in Grade 99. In the preschool tab, in addition to
clicking the box for up to 150 percent of poverty, also click on the Other box and enter PS715.
2. Mark is a child who turned 4 on Sept. 13. He registered after July 15. For 2014-15 he will be
designated as Grade 98 and thus too young for the at-risk category. However, he could be
screened for a possible disability.

3. Lin is an at-risk child who turns 5 on Aug. 3. Even though she is age eligible to attend
kindergarten, she may attend the preschool program and receive funds as a new at-risk student
(Grade 99).
At-Risk rollover
4. Danny was in the preschool program last year as an at-risk 4 year old in Grade 99 with his
fourth birthday on Sept. 30. He is eligible to start kindergarten in the fall of 2014-15. Since the
age requirement for kindergarten will not change to Aug. 1 until 2017-18, he will be in Grade 00
for 2014-15. The Kentucky Department of Education will not fund at-risk 4 year olds for a
second year in preschool.
Disability new
5. Devon, who is transitioning from First Steps, turns 3 on Sept. 10. She was determined eligible
for special education services. She would be in Grade 97 for the 2014-15 school year.
6. Colin is a 4-year-old boy who turns 4 on Aug. 2, is suspected of having a disability. This child is
not income eligible. Enroll the child in Grade 98 and schedule him into the Kentucky Systems of
Intervention/Response to Intervention (KSI/RTI) course. Do not complete the preschool tab. If
he is determined eligible with an IEP, follow the process for end-dating the initial enrollment with
a W01 and re-enroll the child using the R01 on the date of his enrollment. Fill out a preschool
tab for this child and click on Disabled State Funded.
If he is determined not eligible for special education services, then the childs enrollment may be
end dated CO1, or the district may continue to provide services through tuition, district funds, or
other funds. In this case, click on the Other tab and fill in the funding option used.
7. Charlene is a 4-year-old child whose birthday is on Sept. 30 and is suspected of having a
disability. She was determined eligible as an at-risk 4 prior to July 15. According to the initial
enrollment prior to July 15, Charlene is in Grade 99 as at-risk. On the preschool tab, mark
Other, specify with the text PS715. Since she may have a disability, schedule her in the
KSI/RTI course. If she is later identified as having a disability, end date her KSI course, keep her
initial enrollment as at-risk child and also click on the Disabled State Fund box.
8. Patsy turned 4 on Sept. 25. She is not income eligible but is suspected of having a disability. If
she is identified as having a disability and determined to be eligible, enroll her in Grade 98.
During the following year, 2015-16, the Admissions and Release Committee (ARC) would need
to make a placement decision to either keep her in preschool as a 99 or send her to
kindergarten as a 00.

Disability- rollover
9. Mary is a 3-year-old child with disabilities who was enrolled in Grade 98 during the 2013-14
school year. She will turn 4 on Aug. 2, 2014. Mary will continue in the program in Grade 98
again in the 2014-15 school year because she turns 4 on Aug. 2. In the following year, 2015-16,
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the ARC committee will decide whether to place her in Grade 99 in the preschool program or
enroll her in kindergarten in Grade 00.
10. Michael has disabilities and turns 5 on Aug. 15. He was in Grade 99 during the 2013-14 school
year. This child would attend kindergarten during the 2014-15 school year unless the ARC
committee decides otherwise.
Over Income - new
11. Districts may enroll children as over income or other as space is available. The districts may
elect to provide universal preschool services for all 4s and/or 3s in the school district regardless
of income. The same timelines apply. Beginning in the 2014-15 school year, the birthday of the
children will determine the grade level based on how old the children were on or before Aug. 1.
Over Income - rollover
12. In the 2013-14 school year, the district served a 4-year-old boy who turned 4 on Sept. 29 and
was enrolled in Grade 99. He was designated as over-income, and the parents paid tuition.
During the 2014-15 school year, he should go to kindergarten.
Head Start - new
13. An at-risk child who is enrolled in a Head Start blended classroom with Head Start enhanced
services would follow the same guidelines as the child in No. 1. For the 2014-15 school year,
the Head Start children would need to be 4 years old on or before Aug. 1 to be in Grade 99 in
Infinite Campus. At-risk 3 year olds in Head Start would also follow the Aug. 1 date for
enrollment for Grade 98.
Head Start - rollover
14. Follow the same procedures as the state-funded children.