West Virginia

Overview

During the 2022-2023 school year, West Virginia preschool enrolled 13,731children, an increase of 463 from the prior year. State spending totaled $92,238,300 and an additional $4,317,875 in TANF funds and $289,520 in federal recovery funds supported the program, up $4,097,211 (4%), adjusted for inflation, since last year. State spending per child (including TANF and federal recovery funds) equaled $7,053 in 2022-2023, up $63 from 2021-2022, adjusted for inflation. West Virginia met 9 of 10 quality standards benchmarks.

What's New

In December 2022, West Virginia was awarded a federal Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five (PDG B–5) one-year planning grant for $2 million. The state is using this opportunity to enhance a coordinated system of early care and education by further strengthening connections of the collaborative pre-K program and programs serving children and families birth to pre-K, including enhanced transitions services.

Background

West Virginia introduced public preschool in 1983 for 3- and 4-year-olds through the Public School Early Childhood Education program. In 2002, legislation passed that required pre-K to be available to all 4-year-olds by 2012. Today, West Virginia’s Universal Pre-K System provides pre-K programs in all 55 counties in the state, serving 4-year-olds, as well as some 3-year-olds with special needs, and some kindergarten-eligible children if it is determined that kindergarten placement is not in the child’s best interest. 

Public schools receive West Virginia Universal Pre-K funding directly, with half of all programs required to partner with child care centers, private pre-K, or Head Start agencies to meet demand. During the 2021-2022 school year, the collaboration rate was 83%. Programs are permitted to use additional funding from IDEA and federal Head Start. 

As of July 2013, all new lead teachers in nonpublic settings are required to have at least a BA in ECE or a related field and, as of July 2014, all assistant teachers are required to apply for the Early Childhood Classroom Assistant Teacher Authorization, which requires a CDA or equivalent, as determined by the West Virginia Board of Education. West Virginia also increased instructional days per year and hours per week to at least 1,500 minutes (25 hours) of instruction per week and 48,000 minutes (800 hours) of instruction per year. Programs must operate no fewer than four days per week. 

The West Virginia Universal Pre-K program had undergone a multi-year study to assess the effects of program participation. Programs develop monitoring systems to offer ongoing continuous quality improvement, using reliable monitoring tools selected by a local collaborative team. Children are assessed three times per year using the Early Learning Scale, and this information is used to track child and program outcomes over time, guide teacher professional development and coaching, adjust instructional practices, and support school readiness.

West Virginia Universal Pre-K

Access

Total state pre-K enrollment	13,731
School districts that offer state program	100% (counties/parishes)
Income requirement	No income requirement
Minimum hours of operation	25 hours/week; 4 days/week
Operating schedule	School or academic year
Special education enrollment, ages 3 and 4	3,032
Federally funded Head Start enrollment, ages 3 and 4	6,682
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. †Head Start per-child spending includes funding only for 3- and 4-year-olds. ‡K–12 expenditures include capital spending as well as current operating expenditures.