In addition to hearing a presentation about a new anonymous reporting tool, the Katy ISD board of trustees also discussed adding full-day pre-K at its July 29 meeting.
With the passage of House Bill 3—the state Legislature’s school finance reform bill—KISD must expand its half-day pre-K program to full-day pre-K for eligible students.
To accommodate this, the board approved hiring 45 teacher and 60 paraprofessional pre-K staffing growth units for the 2019-20 school year.
Last year, about 1,600 students were enrolled in the district's pre-K program across 29 campuses, KISD Deputy Superintendent Leslie Haack said. She added the district expects about 1,800 pre-K students across 37 campuses for the 2019-20 school year.
According to KISD’s website, a student is eligible for enrollment in the free pre-K program if he or she is:
- at least 4 years old by Sept. 1;
- unable to speak or comprehend English;
- eligible to participate in the free or reduced lunch program;
- homeless;
- in or has ever been in foster care; and
- a child of an active member of the U.S. armed forces; an injured or killed member of the armed forces; or a police officer, firefighter or emergency medical responder who was seriously injured or killed in the line of duty and received the Star of Texas Award.
According to a KISD press release, students who are part of Preschool Program for Children with Disabilities may be eligible for the full-day pre-k.
"Parents of Preschool Program for Children with Disabilities (PPCD) students will also receive a notification letter informing them that their PPCD child will begin half-day classes on the first day of school and will continue as half-day enrollees pending an Admission, Review and Dismissal (ARD) change of placement and determination if they are pre-k eligible," the release states.
Campus meetings to register a child for pre-K will be held Aug. 2 from 8 a.m. to noon. Online enrollment is available at www.katyisd.org/registration/pages/default.aspx.
