Voluntary Prekindergarten is free for all children who are 4 years old on or before Sept. 1, reside in Florida.

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Parents can choose from one of the following programs:

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• School-Year Program: Provides 540 instructional hours, with a class sizes of 20 or fewer students. It is mandatory for all instructors to have the Birth through Five Florida Child Care Professional Credential as well as meet standard background screening requirements.
• Summer Program: Provides 300 instructional hours, with class sizes of 12 or fewer students. All instructors hold a Bachelor’s degree and meet standard background screening requirements.
• Specialized Instructional Services Program (SIS): For children with special needs and/or disabilities that have an established Individualized Education Plan (IEP); VPK funding is allocated for an IEP service(s); hours will vary.

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For more information, visit the Florida Early Learning VPK website and Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten Handbook

Public, private, and faith-based providers may be eligible to deliver the program depending on whether they meet the minimum standards required in law. A private pre-kindergarten provider may establish and use criteria to determine whether to admit a child for services in the school-year or summer programs. Criteria must be objective and apply uniformly to all children. Florida law prohibits VPK providers from discriminating against children or their parents on the grounds of race, color, or national origin, including the refusal to admit a child to the VPK program.

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Florida law also prohibits providers from requiring enrollment into other services as a condition of VPK enrollment. VPK is free for eligible children, regardless of family income. Providers are not permitted to charge a fee (registration, supplies, etc.) or require parents to agree to any additional services as a condition for enrolling their child in a VPK program. State law does not, however, prohibit a provider from charging registration fees for child care provided before and/or after the VPK program. Providers may also charge late fees for children not picked up at the end of the VPK program. Make sure you understand the policies of the program you are considering before your child attends.