Voluntary Pre-K for Tennessee Initiative

The legislation for the Voluntary Pre-K (VPK) for Tennessee Act of 2005 was passed by both the House and the Senate in May of 2005. This law provides for the use of $25 million in excess lottery dollars to establish quality pre-kindergarten classrooms through a competitive grant process.

In subsequent years (2006-07 and 2007-08) Governor Bredesen's approved budget included additional State funding to expand Tennessee's VPK program classes to reach an ever growing number of at-risk pre-k children.  Today, Tennessee's Voluntary State and Lottery funded pre-k classes are available in almost every Tennessee school district.

The VPK for Tennessee initiative provides Tennessee’s four-year-old children, with the first priority to those four-year-olds who are at-risk, an opportunity to develop school readiness skills (pre-academic and social skills). VPK classes promote a high quality academic environment which fosters the love and joy of learning and promotes success in kindergarten and throughout the child’s life.

For more information about the benefits of early childhood education and the history of the Voluntary Pre-K for Tennessee initiative, visit the Governor’s Pre-K Web page at http://www.tennessee.gov/governor/prek/.

If you have any questions about the program or the competitive awards, please contact one of the program staff members listed on our contact page.

If you are interested in enrolling your child in a VPK, please contact your local school system for details.

2008-2009

   Enrollment Eligibility Requirements      

1st Requirement	Pursuant to state law 49-6-101: students eligible for the free and reduced lunch program.
2nd Requirement	students with disabilities, students identified as ELL, in state custody, or those identified as educationally at-risk for failure due to circumstances of abuse or neglect.
	If an insufficient number of children meeting the above enrollment requirements are enrolled to fill a specific classroom, the LEA may enroll any child which meets the age requirement and the requirements set forth by the Community Pre-K Advisory Council.
3rd Requirement	students who meet local at-risk criteria as established by the local Community Pre-K Advisory Council or who do not meet any at-risk criteria but are considered unserved or underserved may be enrolled by a process established by the C-PAC.