The Office of Early Learning (OEL) is pleased to inform you that your BOCES has been awarded a Targeted Prekindergarten (TPK) grant for the 2020-2021 school year. The grant period is July 1, 2020 – June 30, 2021. The chart below specifies the TPK grant award, match requirements, and the required number of sessions of each of the three BOCES recipients.

Please note that the Division of the Budget has approved the 2020-21 TPK allocations with the caveat that, because of State revenue losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic, payments of these grant funds could be reduced by a minimum of 20% in the absence of sufficient federal support for the State. 

*A half-day class counts as 1.0 session and a full-day class counts as 2.0 sessions. Please feel free to contact the OEL if you have questions regarding the number of sessions that your agency is offering.

Each session will serve a minimum of 16 children, with a maximum group size of 20 children. For classes of up to 18 students, there must be one teacher and one paraprofessional in the classroom. For classes of 19 or 20 students, there must be one teacher and two paraprofessionals. When TPK students are co-located with special class integrated setting (SCIS) students, the group size is the combined total of the TPK students and the SCIS students. 

At the BOCES discretion, a portion of the grant allocation may be used for summer programming. However, if BOCES reduces the number of sessions offered during the school year, the maximum operating grant will be reduced proportionately. 

Services are to be provided in accordance with the approved application and Subpart 151-2 of the Regulations of the Commissioner. The final approval of the Targeted Prekindergarten application and grant amount will be based upon Department review of the proposed budget (FS-10) to ensure that proposed expenditures are allowable. All grants are subject to further review, monitoring, and audit to ensure compliance. The Department has the right to recoup funds if the approved activities are not preformed and/or the funds are expended inappropriately.

Children enrolled in the TPK program must meet the economically-disadvantaged eligibility requirements of Section 151-2.2(b) of the Regulations of the Commissioner. This section defines “economically-disadvantaged” as “a child whose family is eligible for some form of assistance such as Aid to Families of Dependent Children, for reduced price school lunch, food stamps, Medicaid, unemployment compensation or disability compensation”.

In addition, Section 151-2.5(1) of the Regulations of the Commissioner states “that at least 80 percent of the prekindergarten children served by the program are economically-disadvantaged or that all interested and eligible economically-disadvantaged children residing in the area served by the program will be served by the program.” 

These requirements clearly indicate that all grantees accepting funds must ensure that at least 80 percent of the children enrolled meet the eligibility requirements of Section 151-2.1(b) and 151- 2.5(1) of the Regulations of the Commissioner. Only when all applicants for enrollment meeting these criteria have been enrolled can the grantee enroll children from other interested families. When selecting children from other interested families for enrollment, the grantee must take into consideration the economic status of such families and should enroll those determined as the neediest children coming from low income, working families. 

Attached is the 2020-2021 Targeted Pre-K Application. In addition to this application, you must submit a FS-10 Proposed Budget. Please email the completed application and a scan of the signed FS-10 to oel@nysed.gov no later than September 4, 2020.

In addition, you should follow-up by mailing one (1) copy of the application and one (1) FS-10 with an original signature and two (2) copies to:

I look forward to working with you throughout the upcoming school year.