Universal Prekindergarten (UPK)
New York State (NYS) has a long history of investing in early childhood education. In 1966, the state initiated its first PreK program, serving at-risk children. This program later evolved into Targeted PreK (TPK), which continued to serve high-needs populations. Universal Prekindergarten (UPK) has its origins dating back to 1997 with the enactment of the LADDER legislation. The LADDER legislation authorized the provision of free, high-quality prekindergarten education to all eligible four-year-old children five days per week, on a 180-day per year. The UPK program has continued to grow, with increasing numbers of children enrolled each year.
Today, New York State continues to invest in and grow Universal Prekindergarten across the state to expand access to high-quality early childhood education. To support the expansion, New York State has created significant legislation, policies, and practices that demonstrate a strong commitment to providing high-quality PreK services for children.
Universal Prekindergarten Resources
Explore these Universal Prekindergarten Resources designed to support educators, administrators, and program leaders in providing high-quality early learning experiences for New York's youngest learners.
Planning for High-Quality Prekindergarten Programs
Planning for High-Quality Prekindergarten Programs reflects the commitment of the ¿ìè³É°æÊÓƵ to continue to work toward increasing the availability of high-quality prekindergarten programs. The purpose of this document is to provide guidance to those responsible for planning and implementing prekindergarten programs for three- and four-year old children. It provides a framework for teachers and others who work with young children to create environments and develop curricula, instruction, and assessment strategies that support children as learners. It is based on the recognition that teachers need many and varied opportunities to nurture and refine their craft in order to respond effectively to the diverse needs of the children with whom they will interact during their teaching careers.
Assessment: The Office of Early Learning is committed to best practices in instruction and assessment for all students. In New York State, each school district must conduct a screening for all new entrants. School districts shall also establish a process for assessing the developmental baseline and progress of all children participating in the program. Districts are responsible for reporting the progress of prekindergarten students and may use summative assessments to determine gains.
Curriculum: According to the 2018 Prekindergarten Curriculum Guidance memo from the Office of Instructional Support, it is the State’s responsibility to establish student learning expectations for what all students should know and be able to do as the result of skilled instruction. It is the responsibility of each local school district to develop or select curricula that is aligned to the NYS Learning Standards and responsive to the cultural and linguistic contexts of the students and local community.
Collaborating with Community-Based Organizations: Delivery of prekindergarten programs in New York State is unique since it utilizes a mixed delivery system. Partnerships exist between Head Start programs, Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) and school districts to provide prekindergarten instruction to three- and four-year-old students.Ìý
Mealtimes, Nap Times and Toilet Learning in State-Administered Prekindergarten
The Office of Early Learning (OEL) has provided guidance memos that respond to common questions about providing mealtimes and nap times in prekindergarten programs.
Outreach, Recruitment, & Lottery Guidance
The Outreach, Recruitment, and Lottery Guidance document is intended to serve as guidance in helping school districts with outreach and recruitment of eligible children for its Prekindergarten programming. It also offers guidance for conducting the lottery and informing families of the lottery results, when applicable. Districts are expected to make local decisions around this guidance based on their own locations, resources, programming, and populations served.
Directory of Programs
The New York State Prekindergarten Program Directory contains updated contact information for New York's prekindergarten programs. It is temporarily unavailable while the Office of Early Learning receives applications for the coming school year. Please contact the Office of Early Learning for any relevant information requests.
Prekindergarten programs may update their contact information by completing a Contact Information Update Form and emailing it to OEL@nysed.gov.
The New York State Board of Regents is engaged in an effort to better align the State's early care, preschool and early childhood educational policies and create a comprehensive plan to ensure that all children in New York State get a healthy start from birth, become ready for Kindergarten, stay on track to graduate from high school, and are successful in life.
TheÌýEarly Childhood Blue Ribbon Committee Final Report, under the direction of the New York State Board of Regents Early Childhood Workgroup, reflects a deliberate and comprehensive process designed to give all children in our State the fairness of an even start.