In 2004, the Florida Legislature enacted legislation to implement the Voluntary Prekindergarten (VPK) Education Program, in accordance with the State Constitution (PDF). The VPK program will better prepare our young children for successful entry into kindergarten by focusing the Department of Education’s efforts on early literacy. This legislation (PDF) assigns responsibilities for the day-to-day management of the program to the Agency for Workforce Innovation; licensing and credentialing to the Department of Children and Families; and the creation of standards, curriculum, and accountability to the Department of Education. All three agencies are working together to provide leadership and support to the local early learning coalitions, school districts, and public and private providers to ensure the successful implementation of effective prekindergarten education programs for Florida’s four-year-old children.

VPK Funding

Section 1002.71, Florida Statutes (F.S.), Funding; financial and attendance reporting.

(3)(a) The base student allocation per full-time equivalent student in the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program shall be provided in the General Appropriations Act and shall be equal for each student, regardless of whether the student is enrolled in a school-year prekindergarten program delivered by a private prekindergarten provider, a summer prekindergarten program delivered by a public school or private prekindergarten provider, or a school-year prekindergarten program delivered by a public school. (b) Each county's allocation per full-time equivalent student in the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program shall be calculated annually by multiplying the base student allocation provided in the General Appropriations Act by the county's district cost differential provided in s. 1011.62(2). Each private prekindergarten provider and public school shall be paid in accordance with the county's allocation per full-time equivalent student.

(d) For programs offered by school districts pursuant to s. 1002.61, each district's funding shall be based on a full-time equivalent student enrollment that is evenly divisible by 10. If the result of dividing a district's full-time equivalent student enrollment by 10 is not a whole number, the district's enrollment calculation shall be adjusted by adding the minimum number of full-time equivalent students to produce a full-time equivalent student enrollment calculation that is evenly divisible by 10.

Memo #06-10 (PDF)

2006-07 VPK Funding (Excel)

2008-09 Legislative Budget Requests for Early Learning (PDF)

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