Texas

Overview

During the 2021-2022 school year, Texas preschool enrolled 222,424 children, an increase of 26,203 children from the prior year as the program began to recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. State spending totaled $846,690,464 and an additional $24,680,790 in federal recovery funds supported the program, up $122,950,371 (16%), adjusted for inflation since last year. State spending per child (including federal recovery dollars) equaled $4,267 in 2021-2022, up $151 from 2020-2021, adjusted for inflation. Texas met 4 of 10 quality standards benchmarks.

What's New

For the second year, programs serving 4-year-olds were required to provide full-day services, while programs serving 3-year-olds had the option to continue to provide half-day services. Some programs were granted a waiver from providing full-day programs for 4-year-olds for a limited time to allow for transition from half day to full day. Legislation was recently passed in Texas limiting preschool class sizes to 22 children. Prior to this legislation, there was no limit for public preschool class size. 

The Texas Workforce Commission received a $16 million Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five (PDG B–5) renewal grant in December of 2022. Texas is committed to the vision of ensuring all children are ready for school. Through this renewal grant, Texas will support this vision by engaging families as leaders, connecting families to services, supporting local systems building, strengthening the early childhood care and education (ECCE) workforce, building the ECCE workforce, expanding access to high-quality programs, and developing a statewide integrated data system.

Background

In 1985, Texas began funding half-day prekindergarten for eligible 4-year-olds through the Texas Public School Prekindergarten program. Currently, districts with 15 or more eligible 4-year-olds are required to offer prekindergarten. Districts with 15 or more eligible 3-year-olds can also offer prekindergarten but are not required to do so. The Texas Education Agency (TEA) Early Childhood Education Division oversees the free program in school districts and open-enrollment charter schools, and school districts are permitted to subcontract with nonpublic preschools to serve eligible children. 

Students are eligible to participate in the Texas Public School Prekindergarten program if they meet at least one of the following conditions: qualify for free or reduced-price lunch (185% of FPL), are homeless, are in foster care, have a parent on active military duty or who was injured or killed on active duty, are unable to speak or comprehend English, and/or have a parent eligible for the Star of Texas Award. 

In 2019, Texas used PDG B–5 funding to conduct a statewide 0-5 needs assessment, develop a statewide 0-5 strategic plan, increase parental choice and knowledge, share best practices, and improve overall quality of care. This work was led by the PDG team and the Texas Early Learning Council. Also in 2019, House Bill (HB) 3 was passed by the 86th Texas Legislature and signed into law by Governor Abbott on June 11. HB 3 impacts districts and open-enrollment charter schools serving pre-K through third grade students by addressing early education allotment, full-day high-quality pre-K for eligible 4-year-olds, expanded early education reporting, early learning progress monitoring tools (single kindergarten assessment with one alternative available), and early childhood partnerships. 

The Children’s Learning Institute at the University of Texas-Health Science Center, in partnership with the TEA and Texas Workforce Commission, has developed a comprehensive professional development platform for early childhood educators that is free to all public school teachers, Head Start programs, families, and child care providers.

Texas Public School Prekindergarten

Access

Some Head Start children may also be counted in state pre-K. Estimates children in special education not also enrolled in state pre-K or Head Start.
Total state pre-K enrollment	222,424
School districts that offer state program	90%
Income requirement	185% FPL
Minimum hours of operation	32,400 minutes/year; 5 days/week
Operating schedule	School or academic year
Special education enrollment, ages 3 and 4	26,017
Federally funded Head Start enrollment, ages 3 and 4	54,136
State-funded Head Start enrollment, ages 3 and 4	0

Resources

Pre-K programs may receive additional funds from federal or local sources that are not included in this figure. K–12 expenditures include capital spending as well as current operating expenditures. Head Start per-child spending includes funding only for 3- and 4-year-olds.