Legislation

§ 3602-e. Universal prekindergarten program. 1. Definitions. For the
purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the following
meanings:

a. "School district" shall mean all public school districts eligible
for total foundation aid pursuant to subdivision four of section three
thousand six hundred two of this article, such term shall not include
boards of cooperative educational services.

b. "Eligible agencies" shall mean a provider of child care and early
education, a day care provider, early childhood program or center,
non-profit organization, charter school, library, museum, or
community-based organization, including but not limited to approved
pre-school special education programs, head start, and nursery schools
so long as the standards and qualifications set forth pursuant to
subdivision twelve of this section have been met.

c. "Eligible four-year-old children" shall mean resident children who
are four years of age on or before December first of the year in which
they are enrolled or who will otherwise be first eligible to enter
public school kindergarten commencing with the following school year.

c-1. "Eligible three-year-old children" shall mean resident children
who are three years of age on or before December first of the year in
which they are enrolled or who will otherwise be first eligible to enter
public school kindergarten commencing two years from the time of
enrollment.

d. "Pre-kindergarten program plan" shall mean a plan approved by the
board of education or, in the case of a school district having a
population of one million or more, by the community superintendent and
the chancellor that is designed to effectively serve eligible children
directly through the school district or through collaborative efforts
between the school district and an eligible agency or agencies.

e. "Session" shall mean one universal prekindergarten program class
operating pursuant to time, staff ratio and other regulatory
requirements as set forth by the board of regents and the commissioner
for such purpose.

f. "Universal access proxy" shall mean the product of eighty-five
percent multiplied by the positive difference, if any, between the sum
of the public school enrollment and the nonpublic school enrollment of
children attending full-day and half-day kindergarten programs in the
district in the year prior to the base year less the number of resident
children who attain the age of four before December first of the base
year, who were served during such school year by a prekindergarten
program approved pursuant to section forty-four hundred ten of this
chapter, where such services are provided for more than four hours per
day.

g. "Half-day program" shall mean a program which serves students for
at least two and five-tenths hours but less than five hours per day.

h. "Full-day program" shall mean a program which serves students for
at least five hours per day.

2. The commissioner is hereby authorized and directed to award grants
for the establishment and implementation of a prekindergarten program to
serve eligible children.

* 3. Beginning in the two thousand twenty-three--two thousand
twenty-four school year, all school districts shall annually report to
the commissioner: (i) the number of four-year-old prekindergarten
students the district intends to serve in full-day and half-day slots in
district-operated prekindergarten programs in the current school year;
(ii) the number of four-year-old prekindergarten students the district
intends to serve in full-day and half-day slots in prekindergarten
programs operated by community-based organizations in the current school
year; (iii) the number of four-year-old prekindergarten students in the
current school year the district is unable to serve due to a lack of
capacity; (iv) the reason for the lack of capacity, including the
availability of appropriate space, facilities, and staff; and (v) any
other information available to districts and determined by the
commissioner to be necessary to accurately estimate the unmet demand for
four-year-old prekindergarten programs within a district. School
districts that are eligible to receive an apportionment under this
section or section thirty-six hundred two-ee of this part but have not
claimed the full apportionment shall include in the report to the
commissioner information on barriers to implementing new or expanding
existing universal prekindergarten programs despite available funding.
Such report shall be due on or before September first of each year and
shall be collected as part of the application submitted pursuant to
subdivision five of this section. Beginning November first, two thousand
twenty-three, the commissioner shall annually submit a report to the
governor, the temporary president of the senate, and the speaker of the
assembly on the information reported by districts.

* NB Repealed December 30, 2026

5. In any school district, other than the city school district of the
city of New York, that seeks an apportionment pursuant to this section,
the school district shall develop and submit an application pursuant to
the rules and regulations adopted by the board of regents and the
commissioner for such purpose. Such application shall be submitted by a
date and in a form prescribed by the commissioner pursuant to
subdivision eight of this section, including the program elements as
provided for in subdivision seven of this section and shall be
consistent with the plan adopted by the district.

a. If the school district chooses to coordinate proposals for
prekindergarten program services, it shall conduct a competitive process
in accordance with procedures set forth by the commissioner and with the
requirements and regulations set forth in, and pursuant to, subdivisions
seven, eight and twelve of this section.

b. An application developed by coordinating proposals submitted by
eligible agencies pursuant to a competitive process shall ensure
delivery of prekindergarten program services in an effective, efficient
and non-duplicative manner.

c. The results of the competitive process for prekindergarten program
services shall be made public at a regular meeting of the board of
education. An eligible agency may request a written statement from the
board of education stating why the application was not accepted.

d. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the school districts
shall be authorized to enter any contractual or other arrangements
necessary to implement the district's prekindergarten plan.

e. Not less than ten percent of the total grant award to the school
district shall be set aside for collaborative efforts with eligible
agencies, provided that the commissioner may waive such set aside
requirement based upon documented evidence that the school district was
unable to use the set aside to make a collaborative arrangement that
would meet all requirements of this subdivision because of
unavailability of eligible agencies willing to collaborate or other
factors beyond the control of the school district, or for school
districts which have fully implemented a universal prekindergarten
program by serving all eligible four year olds in the nineteen hundred
ninety-eight--ninety-nine school year and due to parental choice the ten
percent set aside requirement exceeds the total of the district's aid
per kindergarten pupil multiplied by the number of pre-kindergarten
pupils in collaborative programs. In such cases, school districts shall
set aside, for collaborative efforts with eligible agencies, the total
of the district's aid per kindergarten pupil multiplied by the number of
prekindergarten pupils in collaborative programs.

f. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section to the
contrary, two or more school districts may submit a joint application to
operate a joint universal prekindergarten program. For purposes of
paragraph e of this subdivision and all other provisions of this section
except subdivision ten, all references to a school district shall be
deemed a reference to all school districts participating in such joint
program as if they were a single district. For purposes of subdivision
ten of this section, the grant award for the joint program shall be the
sum of the grant awards computed for each participating district
pursuant to such subdivision ten.

6. In the city school district of the city of New York, if a community
school superintendent seeks to receive an apportionment pursuant to this
section, the community school superintendent shall submit such plan to
the chancellor for adoption, modification or rejection.

a. If the chancellor adopts such plan as submitted or as modified by
the chancellor, the chancellor shall submit an application in accordance
with subdivision five of this section.

b. If the chancellor rejects such plan, he or she shall notify the
community superintendent in writing and shall state the reasons for such
rejection.

The community superintendent may modify and resubmit such application
to the chancellor for adoption.

7. In order to receive approval from the commissioner to implement a
prekindergarten program, applications and proposals shall demonstrate
that the program to be implemented contains, at a minimum, the following
components:

a. provides for an age and developmentally appropriate curriculum and
activities which are learner-centered;

b. provides for an assessment of the development of language,
cognitive and social skills;

c. ensures continuity in the program with instruction in the early
elementary grades;

d. encourages children to be self-assured and independent;

e. encourages the co-location and integration of children with special
needs;

f. utilizes staff who meet the qualifications set forth pursuant to
the rules of the board of regents;

g. provides for strong parental partnerships and involvement in the
implementation of and participation in the plan;

h. provides staff development and teacher training for staff and
teachers in all settings in which prekindergarten services are provided
pursuant to this section; and

i. establishes a method for selection of eligible children to receive
prekindergarten program services on a random selection basis where there
are more eligible children than can be served in a given school year,
provided, however, that a school district that operated a targeted
prekindergarten program in the base year may use the selection process
established for such program.

8. Each application for a prekindergarten program pursuant to this
section shall be on a form prescribed by the commissioner and shall
include, but not be limited to:

a. a prekindergarten program plan identifying specific goals,
including how the district will expand its program to assure that all
eligible children may be served, and a proposed timetable for the
implementation and achievement of such goals;

b. a proposed budget and a description of the proposed use of the
grant funds including the mechanism for the distribution of such funds;

c. the local share to be used, as defined by the commissioner, which
may include resources which may be available from the community;

d. the participation and contribution of each of the collaborative
partners; and

e. a description of any costs associated with the administration of
the program.

10. Universal prekindergarten apportionment. School districts shall
receive a universal prekindergarten apportionment, in the two thousand
twenty-six--two thousand twenty-seven school year and thereafter, equal
to the sum of the four-year-old apportionment and the three-year-old
apportionment.

a. The four-year-old apportionment shall equal the lesser of (i) the
product of aid per four-year-old prekindergarten pupil multiplied by
four-year-old prekindergarten pupils served, or (ii) total actual grant
expenditures incurred by the school district as approved by the
commissioner.

(1) "Aid per four-year-old prekindergarten pupil" shall equal the
greater of (A) the school district's selected foundation aid for the
current year projection as of the final electronic data file prepared by
the commissioner pursuant to paragraph b of subdivision twenty-one of
section three hundred five of this chapter prior to July first of the
current year, calculated pursuant to subdivision four of section
thirty-six hundred two of this part, (B) ten thousand dollars, or (C)
the amount set forth for such school district as "2025-26 4YO MAX UPK
AID" on the school aid computer listing produced by the commissioner in
support of the executive budget for the two thousand twenty-six--two
thousand twenty-seven fiscal year and entitled "BT262-7" divided by the
amount set forth as "2025-26 4YO MAX FTE" on such listing.

(2) "Four-year-old prekindergarten pupils served" shall mean the sum
of (i) the unduplicated count of all eligible four-year-old children
registered to receive educational services in a full-day program, as
registered on the date prior to November first that is specified by the
commissioner as the enrollment reporting date for the school district,
as reported to the commissioner plus (ii) for the two thousand
twenty-six--two thousand twenty-seven school year through the two
thousand twenty-seven--two thousand twenty-eight school year, the
product of five tenths multiplied by the unduplicated count of eligible
four-year-old children registered to receive educational services in a
half-day program, as registered on such date and reported to the
commissioner.

b. The three-year-old apportionment shall equal the lesser of (i) the
product of the three-year-old maximum apportionment and the
three-year-old maintenance of effort percentage or (ii) total actual
grant expenditures incurred by the school district as approved by the
commissioner.

(1) "Three-year-old maximum apportionment" shall equal the greater of
the three-year-old maximum apportionment from the base year or the
amount set forth for such school district as "2025-26 3YO MAX UPK AID"
on the school aid computer listing produced by the commissioner in
support of the executive budget for the two thousand twenty-six--two
thousand twenty-seven fiscal year and entitled "BT262-7."

(2) "Three-year-old maintenance of effort percentage" shall equal the
quotient of three-year-old students served divided by the maximum
eligible three-year-old students, but shall not exceed one hundred
percent.

(A) "Three-year-old students served" shall equal the sum of (i) the
unduplicated count of eligible three-year-old children registered to
receive educational services in a full-day program as registered on the
date prior to November first that is specified by the commissioner as
the enrollment reporting date for the school district, as reported to
the commissioner, plus (ii) the product of five-tenths multiplied by the
unduplicated count of eligible three-year-old children registered to
receive educational services in a half-day program, as registered on
such date and reported to the commissioner, (iii) less the
three-year-old overage penalty.

(I) "Three-year-old overage penalty" shall equal, for districts with
thirty percent fewer three-year-old students served in full-day programs
in the current year than the maximum eligible three-year-old full-day
students, due to the conversion of the maximum eligible three-year-old
full-day students to three-year-old students served in half-day programs
in the current year, the difference of the product of seven-tenths
multiplied by the maximum eligible three-year-old full-day students,
rounded down to the nearest whole number, less the number of
three-year-old students served in full-day programs in the current year.

(II) School districts may apply to the commissioner for a hardship
waiver that would allow a district to convert more than thirty percent
of three-year-old students served in full-day programs in the current
year to three-year-old students served in half-day programs in the
current year. Such waiver shall be granted upon a demonstration by the
school district that due to a significant change in the resources
available to the school district and absent such hardship waiver, the
school district would be unable to serve such pupils in prekindergarten
programs, without causing significant disruption to other district
programming. If a hardship waiver is granted, the three-year-old overage
penalty shall be zero for the current school year. No school district
shall be eligible for a waiver in three or more consecutive school
years.

(B) "Maximum eligible three-year-old students" shall equal the greater
of the amount set forth for such school district as "2025-26 3YO MAX UPK
FTE" on the school aid computer listing produced by the commissioner in
support of the executive budget for the two thousand twenty-six--two
thousand twenty-seven fiscal year and entitled "BT262-7" or the sum of
(i) the maximum eligible three-year-old students in full-day programs in
the base year plus (ii) the product of five-tenths multiplied by the
maximum eligible three-year-old students in half-day programs in the
base year.

c. School districts shall receive up to fifty percent of the universal
prekindergarten apportionment defined in this subdivision upon approval
of the application submitted pursuant to subdivision five of this
section, but not earlier than September first. School districts may be
eligible for an additional twenty percent of such apportionment after
April first of each school year upon completion of a request for funds
on a form designated by the commissioner. The remainder of such
apportionment shall be paid to each school district upon acceptance of a
final expenditure report submitted on a form designated by the
commissioner in the following school year.

11. No later than the two thousand twenty-eight--two thousand
twenty-nine school year, all school districts shall serve in a full-day
prekindergarten program all eligible four-year-old children whose parent
or guardian applies to enroll such child in the district's universal
prekindergarten program, whether such services are provided directly
through the school district, a board of cooperative educational
services, or collaborative efforts between the school district and an
eligible agency or agencies.

12. The board of regents and the commissioner shall be authorized to
adopt regulations to implement the provisions of this section and which
shall prescribe uniform quality standards for such prekindergarten
programs. In developing such regulations, the board of regents and the
commissioner shall consider and seek to coordinate any regulations which
may currently be applicable to any existing programs or eligible
agencies. In addition, the regents when developing regulations shall
consider and recognize the diversity of settings and models available
for the delivery of prekindergarten programs operated by eligible
agencies in alternative settings, including libraries and community
based organizations, that comply with this section. Such regulations
shall include but not be limited to:

a. minimum qualifications for personnel providing instructional and
other services in prekindergarten programs. In promulgating such
regulations, the commissioner and the board of regents shall take into
account the availability of certified teachers and teaching assistants
to provide instruction in prekindergarten programs and shall consider
ways to increase the pool of qualified personnel;

b. curriculum standards consistent with the New York state
prekindergarten early learning standards to ensure that such programs
have strong instructional content that is integrated with the school
district's instructional program in grades kindergarten through twelve;

c. performance standards for prekindergarten programs, which shall
include procedures for assessing the performance of such programs and
establishing mechanisms for tracking progress of such programs and
reporting such progress to parents of prekindergarten students and the
public;

d. transitional guidelines and rules which allow a program to meet the
required staff qualifications and any other requirements set forth
pursuant to this section and regulations adopted by the board of regents
and the commissioner; provided that such guidelines include an annual
process by which a district may apply to the commissioner by September
first of the current school year for a waiver that would allow personnel
employed by an eligible agency that is collaborating with a school
district to provide prekindergarten services and licensed by an agency
other than the department, to meet the staff qualifications prescribed
by the licensing or registering agency. Provided, further, that the
commissioner shall annually submit a report by November first to the
chairperson of the assembly ways and means committee, the chairperson of
the senate finance committee and the director of the budget which shall
include but not be limited to the following: (a) a listing of the school
districts receiving a waiver pursuant to this paragraph from the
commissioner for the current school year; (b) the number and proportion
of students within each district receiving a waiver pursuant to this
paragraph for the current school year that are receiving instruction
from personnel employed by an eligible agency that is collaborating with
a school district to provide prekindergarten services and licensed by an
agency other than the department; and (c) the number and proportion of
total prekindergarten personnel for each school district that are
providing instructional services pursuant to this paragraph that are
employed by an eligible agency that is collaborating with a school
district to provide prekindergarten services and licensed by an agency
other than the department, to meet the staff qualifications prescribed
by the licensing or registering agency.

e. health and safety standards;

f. time requirements which reflect the needs of the individual school
districts for flexibility, but meeting a minimum weekly time
requirement; provided, however, that the minimum weekly time requirement
for full-day programs shall be twenty-five hours, and the weekly minimum
time requirement for half-day programs shall be twelve and one-half
hours;

g. the staff/child ratio;

h. reasonable grounds and basis for the non-acceptance of a proposal
submitted to the school district when the proposal otherwise meets, to
the extent applicable, all the regulations of the commissioner and the
requirements set forth in this subdivision, as well as subdivisions
seven and eight of this section;

i. any other program components, such as health, nutrition or support
services, which the regents deem appropriate and necessary for the
appropriate and effective implementation of a prekindergarten program;

j. a provision for a waiver of any inconsistent provisions of this
section or the regulations implementing this section to allow school
districts that operated a targeted prekindergarten program in the two
thousand six--two thousand seven school year to continue to operate such
program pursuant to the regulations of the commissioner that applied to
targeted prekindergarten programs in such school year; provided that,
notwithstanding any other provision of this section to the contrary, the
amounts allocated to such targeted prekindergarten program from grants
awarded pursuant to this section shall not exceed the amount of targeted
prekindergarten grant funds received by the district for the two
thousand six--two thousand seven school year;

k. a process by which a school district must submit an application;

l. a definition of the approved expenditures for which grant funds may
be used, which shall include but not be limited to transportation
services and lease expense or other appropriate facilities expenses; and

m. a process for the waiver of the time requirements established
pursuant to this subdivision in order to authorize the operation of a
summer universal prekindergarten program limited to the months of July
and August, upon a finding by the commissioner that the school district
is unable to operate the program during the regular school session
because of a lack of available space pursuant to regulations of the
commissioner. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section to the
contrary, such process shall provide for a reduction of the aid per
prekindergarten pupil payable for pupils served pursuant to such waiver
by one one-hundred eightieth of the aid per prekindergarten pupil
determined pursuant to paragraph a of subdivision ten or subparagraph
(i) of paragraph b of subdivision ten-a of this section for each day
less than one hundred eighty days that the summer program is in session.

13. Each school district that has implemented a prekindergarten
program shall on an annual basis report to the board of regents, the
commissioner, parents, teachers and the public on the status of such
program. Such annual report shall include a financial summary of the
approved expenditures of the program, as defined pursuant to paragraph l
of subdivision twelve of this section, setting forth the expenditures
from state, local and other revenue sources, and the district shall
maintain documentation to insure that all grant funds are used for such
approved expenditures.

14. On February fifteenth, two thousand, and annually thereafter, the
commissioner and the board of regents shall include in its annual report
to the legislature and the governor, information on school districts
receiving grants under this section; the amount of each grant; a
description of the program that each grant supports and an assessment by
the commissioner of the extent to which the program meets measurable
outcomes required by the grant program or regulations of such
commissioner; and any other relevant information, which shall include
but not be limited to the following:

a. (i) the total number of students served in state-funded
district-operated prekindergarten programs, (ii) the total number of
students served in state-funded community-based prekindergarten
programs, (iii) the total number of students served in state-funded
half-day prekindergarten programs, and (iv) the total number of students
served in state-funded full-day prekindergarten programs;

b. (i) the total number of students served in state, federal and
locally funded district-operated prekindergarten programs, (ii) the
total number of students served in state, federal and locally funded
community-based prekindergarten programs, (iii) the total number of
students served in state, federal and locally funded half-day
prekindergarten programs, and (iv) the total number of students served
in state, federal and locally funded full-day prekindergarten programs;

c. the total spending on prekindergarten programs from state, federal,
and local sources;

d. the total number of students on a district wait list for a
prekindergarten slot in a state-funded prekindergarten program; and

e. for each program described in subparagraphs (i), (ii), (iii) and
(iv) of paragraph a of this subdivision, and subparagraphs (i), (ii),
(iii) and (iv) of paragraph b of this subdivision, the total number of
students served with disabilities that have an individualized education
plan and, of those, the total number of students requiring any of the
following approved services: special education itinerant services;
special class in an integrated setting; or a special class. Such report
shall also contain any recommendations to improve or otherwise change
the program.

15. The commissioner shall also provide for a system for evaluation
and assessment of the prekindergarten programs which have been
implemented to determine the short and long-term success, outcomes and
effects of the programs based on relevant and measurable performance
standards. The commissioner shall prohibit the administration of
traditional standardized tests, as defined in regulations issued by the
commissioner, in prekindergarten programs; provided, however, that
nothing herein shall prohibit assessments in which students perform
real-world tasks that demonstrate application of knowledge and skills or
assessments that are otherwise required to be administered by federal
law.

16. The grant payable to a school district pursuant to this section in
the current year shall be reduced by one one-hundred eightieth for each
day less than one hundred eighty days that the universal prekindergarten
classes of the district were actually in session, except that the
commissioner may disregard such reduction for any deficiency that may be
disregarded in computing total foundation aid pursuant to subdivision
seven or eight of section thirty-six hundred four of this chapter and in
addition may disregard a reduction for any deficiency that is caused by
a delay in the opening of public school classes due to extraordinarily
adverse weather conditions or other cause cited in such subdivision
seven of section thirty-six hundred four that results in cancellation of
the prekindergarten program or of transportation to such program.

17. Approved quality indicators. A school district receiving funding
pursuant to this section shall agree to adopt approved quality
indicators within two years, including, but not limited to, valid and
reliable measures of environmental quality, the quality of
teacher-student interactions and child outcomes, and ensure that any
such assessment of child outcomes shall not be used to make high-stakes
educational decisions for individual children.

18. Notwithstanding paragraph (a) of subdivision one of section
twenty-eight hundred fifty-four of this chapter and paragraph (c) of
subdivision two of section twenty-eight hundred fifty-four of this
chapter, charter schools shall be eligible to participate in universal
prekindergarten programs under this section as eligible agencies,
provided that all such monitoring, programmatic review and operational
requirements under this section shall be the responsibility of the
charter entity and shall be consistent with the requirements under
article fifty-six of this chapter. The provisions of paragraph (b) of
subdivision two of section twenty-eight hundred fifty-four of this
chapter shall apply to the admission of prekindergarten students. The
limitations on the employment of uncertified teachers under paragraph
(a-1) of subdivision three of section twenty-eight hundred fifty-four of
this chapter shall apply to all teachers from prekindergarten through
grade twelve.