(a) (1) A child is eligible for the part-day California state preschool program if both of the following requirements are met: (A) The child is one of the following: (i) A two-year-old child and the California state preschool program has chosen to enroll the two-year-old child in accordance with the guidance developed pursuant to Section 8207.1. (ii) A three-year-old child. (iii) A four-year-old child. (iv) Enrolled in kindergarten pursuant to Section 48000. (B) The childâs family is one of the following: (i) A current aid recipient. (ii) Income eligible. (iii) Homeless. (iv) One whose children are recipients of child protective services, or whose children have been identified as being abused, neglected, or exploited, or at risk of being abused, neglected, or exploited. (v) (I) One that has children with exceptional needs, as defined in Section 8205. (II) Only the children in the family who are children with exceptional needs may be enrolled under the eligibility criteria of this clause. Any other child in the family without exceptional needs may be enrolled pursuant to any of the criteria established in clauses (i) to (iv), inclusive. (vi) One who has a member of its household who is certified to receive benefits from Medi-Cal, CalFresh, the California Food Assistance Program, the California Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, the federal Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations, Head Start, Early Head Start, or any other designated means-tested government program, as determined by the department. Children eligible for services pursuant to this subparagraph shall be prioritized by the income declared on the application for the means-tested government program. (2) Notwithstanding any other law, a part-day California state preschool program may provide services to children in families whose income is no more than 15 percent above the income eligibility threshold, as described in Section 8213, after all eligible two-, three-, and four-year-old children have been enrolled. No more than 10 percent of children enrolled, calculated throughout the participating programâs entire contract, may be filled by children in families above the income eligibility threshold. (3) Notwithstanding Section 8213, after all otherwise eligible children have been enrolled as provided in paragraphs (1) and (2), a part-day California state preschool program may provide services to two-, three-, and four-year-old children in families whose income is above the income eligibility threshold if those children are children with exceptional needs. Children receiving services pursuant to this paragraph shall not count towards the 10-percent limit in paragraph (2). (4) Notwithstanding any other law, after all otherwise eligible children have been enrolled as provided in paragraphs (1) to (3), inclusive, a provider operating a part-day state preschool program within the attendance boundary of a public school, as set forth in Section 8217, may enroll two-, three-, and four-year-old children. (b) A part-day California state preschool program contracting agency shall certify eligibility and enroll families into their program within 120 calendar days prior to the first day of the beginning of the new preschool year. Subsequent to enrollment, a child shall be deemed eligible for a part-day California state preschool program for the remainder of the program year and for the following program year, as long as applicable age-eligibility requirements are met, as specified in Sections 8205 and 48000. (c) (1) Commencing July 1, 2022, at least 5 percent of a part-day California state preschool program contracting agencyâs funded enrollment shall be reserved for children with exceptional needs, as defined in Section 8205. (2) (A) The department shall review data on compliance and provide technical assistance to California state preschool program contracting agencies to assist them in meeting the requirement described in paragr
‹ Prev All California sections Next ›
Lexace provides legal information, not legal advice, and no attorney–client relationship is created. Statute text is provided for general information and may not reflect the most recent amendments; verify against the official state code.