Pennsylvania

Overview

During the 2021-2022 school year, Pennsylvania preschool enrolled 45,164 children, an increase of 4,602 from the prior year, as the programs began to recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. State spending totaled $351,710,037, up $7,038,439 (2%), adjusted for inflation since last year. State spending per child equaled $7,787 in 2021-2022, down $710 from 2020-2021, adjusted for inflation. Pennsylvania met 6.9 of 10 quality standards benchmarks.

What's New

In December 2022, Pennsylvania received a three-year Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five (PDG B–5) renewal grant to build upon the initial grant which ended in 2020. The Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) is the primary recipient of the $16 million renewal grant in direct partnership with the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE). OCDEL will utilize PDG-R funds to conduct an updated needs assessment, create marketing materials in other languages to support compulsory school attendance, provide additional early childhood mental health supports for both families and staff, enhance the PD Registry, expand the coaching model for early childhood education staff, provide training and resources to support families and children experiencing homelessness, and mini-grants to early learning providers to help expand facilities in child care deserts and obtain supports for challenging behaviors. 

Classroom observations could be conducted virtually in the Head Start Supplemental Assistance Program (PAHSSAP) and the Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts Program (PAPKC) in 2020-2021 and 2021-2022. 

Starting in 2021, all Pennsylvania pre-kindergarten programs could submit flexible instruction plans (i.e., virtual learning options) to provide fluidity in programs due to changing needs (i.e., pandemic related or others). Three of Pennsylvania’s preschool programs received increased allocations for 2021-2022: $25 million for the PAPKC; $20 million for the Ready to Learn (RTL) Block Grant; and $5 million was added to the state’s PAHSSAP budget.

Background

The PDE oversees and conducts fiscal monitoring for four pre-kindergarten programs: PAPKC, PAHSSAP, RTL, and Pennsylvania Kindergarten for Four-Year-Olds and School-Based Pre-K (K4 and SBPK).

RTL (formerly known as the Education Accountability Block Grant Program) is the smallest of Pennsylvania’s four pre-K programs. Launched in 2004, this program is funded through the school aid formula with 75% of funds targeted to children who have not achieved proficiency on the PA System for School Assessment test. School districts may opt to offer this program or choose from a list of other services. 

PAHSSAP, launched in 2004, is the second largest program, and provides extended-day services for children attending federally funded Head Start programs, as well as additional Head Start slots. Programs must meet federal Head Start Performance Standards and programs in child care centers must participate in the Pennsylvania quality rating and improvement system (QRIS). PAHSSAP programs are required to use CLASS, ECERS, or another locally selected tool to annually conduct structured observations of classroom quality. The program is monitored and administered by the OCDEL, which is accountable to the Pennsylvania Departments of Education and Human Services. 

K4 and SBPK, the longest-running of the state’s pre-K programs, are financed through the state’s general fund. K4 launched in the 1990s as “kindergarten for 4-year-olds” and funding is now available to any districts wishing to offer the programs, but enrollment is low. Policy decisions are decentralized to the local school district level. 

PAPKC enrolls the most children of the four state pre-K programs and is operated in most school districts statewide. The PAPKC programs served 98% of the state’s 500 school districts during the 2021-2022 school year. Launched in 2007, specifically to expand access to high quality pre-K, programs can enroll children up to two years before they are eligible for kindergarten. Children living in households with incomes up to 300% FPL are eligible for PAPKC. A variety of programs — Head Start, child care, licensed private academic schools and public school districts — are eligible to apply for funding awarded through competitive grants every five years. Site monitoring is conducted annually by program specialists and programs are required to have an annual assessment of the learning environment, which may include self-assessments.