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Pre-K Eligibility

A child is eligible for reduced-tuition Pre-K if the child is 3-years-old on or before September 1, 2025 and meets at least one of the below eligibility requirements. A child is eligible for free Pre-K if the 4-years-old on or before September 1, 2025 and meets at least one of the following eligibility requirements:

  • is educationally disadvantaged (which means a student eligible to participate in the national free or reduced lunch program), including
  • students who receive SNAP,TANF; or
  • is unable to speak and comprehend the English language (based on language score);or
  • is homeless; or
  • is or ever has been in the conservatorship of the Department of Family and Protective Services (foster care); or
  • is the child of an active duty member of the armed forces of the United States or is the child of a member of the armed forces of the United States who was injured or killed while serving on active duty

Language

Appropriate staff members determine that a student is eligible for Pre-K if there is another language other than English spoken at home following this process:

  • Upon enrollment in a Texas public school, a student’s parent completes a Home Language Survey (HLS), indicating the language used in the home most of the time and the language used by the student most of the time. If a language other than English is indicated on any portion of the survey, the district must assess the student for English language proficiency using the state-approved English language proficiency assessment
  • The Language Proficiency Assessment committee (LPAC) convenes to identify the student as emergent bilingual or as English proficient, based on the results of the English language proficiency assessment, and recommends placement of the identified emergent bilingual in either the bilingual or ESL education program.The LPAC must give written notice to the student’s parents informing them that the student has been classified as emergent bilingual and requesting documented parental approval to place the student in the required bilingual or ESL education program.
  • If you are concerned about a developmental or speech delay, please visit our Child Find website for more information on speech assessment and services.

Income

Any student considered educationally disadvantaged is eligible to receive free Pre-K. The TEC, §5.001(4), defines “educationally disadvantaged” as “eligible to participate in the national free or reduced-price lunch program.” Apply for free/reduced meals online and visit the Food Services webpage for more information.

  • Eligibility may be based on total income and size (i.e., number of household members) of a participant’s household.
  • Automatic Eligibility: a child who is a member of a household receiving benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations, State Medicaid programs, or similar income-tested programs or other source of information, as determined by the Secretary of Agriculture (42 USC, §1758f)

Foster Care

Foster care, or out of home care, is the system that a child enters when a child cannot live safely at home and a court of law grants legal custody to the State of Texas.

A child in foster care can be in either the temporary or permanent conservatorship of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. Visit the Round Rock ISD Families in Transition website.

Star of Texas Award

A student is eligible on the basis that his or her parent or guardian is eligible for the Star of Texas Award for peace officers, firefighters, and emergency medical first responders. For the student to be eligible, the parent must have been deemed eligible for the Star of Texas Award between 2004 and the current year of the awards ceremony. The Star of Texas Awards honor all Texas peace officers, firefighters, emergency medical first responders, and federal law enforcement officers who are seriously injured or killed in the line of duty. Private Citizens who were seriously injured or killed while aiding or attempting to aid a peace officer, firefighter, or emergency first responder in the performance of their duties are also eligible to receive a Star of Texas Award.

Homelessness

A student is eligible on the basis of homelessness if our Round Rock ISD Families in Transition (FiT) liaison identifies the student as homeless, regardless of the residence of the child, of either parent of the child, or of the child’s guardian or other person having lawful control of the child. 42 USC, §11434a defines “homeless children and youths” as:

  • “Individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence (within the meaning of 42 USC, §11302). This includes:
  • (i) Children and youths who are sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason; are living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative adequate accommodations; are living in emergency or transitional shelters; are abandoned in hospitals; or are awaiting foster care placement;
  • (ii) children and youths who have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings (within the meaning of 42 USC, §11302);
  • (iii) children and youths who are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings; and
  • (iv) migratory children

Military

The following definitions apply when determining a student’s Pre-K eligibility based on the membership of a parent in the armed forces: Those who qualify as a member of the armed forces include:

  • active duty uniformed members (parents or official guardians) of the U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, or Coast Guard who have eligible children residing in Texas
  • activated or mobilized uniformed members of the Texas National Guard (army or air guard), or activated or mobilized members of the reserve components of the U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, or Coast Guard who have eligible children residing in Texas
  • uniformed service members who are missing in action (MIA) or who are injured or killed while on active dutyDocumentation accepted includes:
    • A statement of service from the installation adjutant general director of human resources for children of active members, mobilized reservists, or members of the Texas National Guard
    • For children of service members who died or were killed, a copy of the death certificate using the service-appropriate DoD form or a DoD form that indicates death as the reason for the separation from service
    • A copy of Purple Heart orders or citation for children of service members, mobilized reservists, or guardsmen who were wounded or injured in combat.
    • A copy of the line of duty determination documentation for children of service members, mobilized reservists, or guardsmen who were injured while serving active duty but were not wounded or injured in combat.
    • Documentation that a service member is MIA for children of service members who are MIA.