Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten (VPK)

Free for Orange County’s Four-Year-Olds 

ELCOC administers Florida’s Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten (VPK) educational program in Orange County. 

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In Florida, VPK is free for all four-year-olds residing in the state, regardless of income.  

Using an age-appropriate curriculum, qualified VPK teachers prepare your four-year-old for the adventure of kindergarten, teaching the early literacy, social, and self-management skills your child needs to succeed not only in kindergarten, but throughout their school career.

To register for VPK, click HERE.

Parents have the option of enrolling children in one of the following VPK programs:

  • School-year Program: 540 instructional hours and a class size of 20 or fewer students. At a minimum, instructors must hold a Birth through Five Florida Childcare Professional Credential and complete special training on early literacy and performance standards.
  • Summer Program: 300 hours of instruction and a class size of 12 or less. Instructors must hold a bachelor's degree. 
  • Specialized Instructional Services program (SIS): hours vary based on services provided. SIS is for children with special needs who have current individual educational plans (IEP) developed with Orange County Schools. Learn more about VPK SIS.

Eligibility

To be eligible for the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program or VPK Specialized Instructional Services (SIS) program, your child must reside in Florida and reach the age of 4 on or before September 1 of the program year or the following program year. Your child remains eligible until kindergarten admittance, or unless they reach the age of 6 years by February 1 of any program year.

When is my child eligible for VPK? 

Providers

In Orange County, parents can enroll their children in either school-year (540 instructional hours) or summer VPK programs (300 instructional hours) run by ELCOC-supported providers: 

  • Private and faith-based childcare centers
  • Public school sites
  • Head Start sites
  • Licensed family childcare homes 

To find information about VPK providers, including class scores, hours of operation, and the latest inspection reports, please visit the DCF Provider Search tab click HERE.

This link will take you to the Department of Children and Families (DCF) Provider Search and Profile. To locate a provider, please follow these steps:

Step 1: Enter a Zip Code, City or County to produce a list of childcare providers in that area –OR– Enter an Address, Provider Name or License # to select a specific childcare provider.

Step 2: Providers offering VPK will have the VPK logo listed to the right under the “Programs” heading.

Step 3: For detailed information, click on the childcare provider's name, then click the tabs: “About Provider”, “VPK”, or Services

VPK Provider Readiness rates

A provider's Readiness Rate is the percentage of children who are deemed ready for kindergarten at the end of a VPK term.

To search for VPK Readiness Rates, click HERE to access the Division of Early Learning’s Readiness Rate website.

To locate a provider, please follow these steps:
Step 1: To conduct a “Standard” search, to the right of the screen, enter the Provider Name. 
Step 2: To conduct an advanced search, select “Advanced”. This will allow you to search for a provider by city and/or zip code
Step 3: To view the detailed report of the VPK provider’s readiness rate, click “View Report” 

two young students complete an matching activity in their pre-school classroom.

Want a VPK provider listing customized for you?

For help finding VPK providers in Orange County, contact our Childcare Resource & Referral (CCR&R) specialists. Call 407-841-6607 Monday through Friday between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. or visit our walk-in locations.

Apply For VPK

For parents of children with special needs:

Parents of four-year-olds with special needs have an additional option outside the classroom setting ‒ VPK Specialized Instructional Services (VPK-SIS).  

For more information click HERE.

faq

Florida was one of the first states in the country to offer free prekindergarten for all 4-year-olds regardless of family income. Since the program began in 2005-06, more than 2.6 million children have benefited from the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program (VPK). Data collected by the Florida Department of Education shows that children who participate in VPK are much more ready for kindergarten than children who do not participate in VPK.

Parents can select from one of several program options available in different educational settings from private and public providers and specialized instructional services providers. Providers have flexibility to structure daily hours per week to meet the required number of instructional hours.

For an overview of VPK, check out the VPK Fact Sheet in English (PDF) and VPK Fact Sheet in Spanish (PDF).

To be eligible for the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program or VPK Specialized Instructional Services (SIS) program, your child must reside in Florida and reach the age of 4 on or before September 1st of the program year or the following program year. Your child remains eligible until Kindergarten admittance, or unless they reach the age of 6 by February 1st of any program year.

Parents can choose from one of the following VPK programs:

  • School-Year Program: Provides 540 instructional hours with class sizes of 20 or fewer students. Instructors must hold a Birth through Five Florida Child Care Professional Credential and meet standard background screening requirements.
  • Summer Program: Provides 300 instructional hours, with class sizes of 12 or fewer students. Instructors must hold a bachelor’s degree and meet standard background screening requirements.
  • VPK Specialized Instructional Services Program (SIS): For children with special needs and/or disabilities that have an established Individualized Education Plan (IEP); VPK funding is allocated for an IEP service(s) and hours will vary.

The VPK program is FREE for eligible children, regardless of family income. Providers are not permitted to charge a fee (registration, supplies, etc.) or require parents to agree to any additional services as a condition for enrolling their child into a VPK program. However, state law does not prohibit a provider from charging registration fees for care provided before/after the VPK program. Providers may also charge late fees for children not picked up in a timely manner at the end of the program. A provider may charge a fee for uniforms as part of the program’s policy. If a VPK provider asks for any type of fees as a condition for participating in the VPK program, please contact VPKOrange@elcoc.org.

Our trained Child Care Resource and Referral team is available to assist you, at no cost, to discuss other options that might be available. For information on CCR&R services, please call 407-841-6607, Monday through Friday between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. or by email at ccrrorange@elcoc.org.

VPK Registration opens January 1st of the program year. For example, you may apply for the 2024-2025 program year beginning on January 1st, 2024.

You will need your personal email address, access to the internet on device (cellphone, desktop, or laptop) to create a Family Portal account online and a document to upload that meets eligibility requirements. You may click HERE to review our VPK document checklist.


To apply, click HERE to go to Florida’s Early Learning Family Portal and apply for School Readiness as either a new or returning user. The Portal is compatible with Google Chrome or Internet Explorer browser; Apple Safari browser is not compatible.
Once you apply your VPK application is reviewed within three (3) business days. Instructions will be sent by email informing you that:

  • Child’s Certificate of Eligibility may be printed to take to the approved VPK provider of your choice. Once the VPK provider has your certificate, the VPK provider enters your enrollment into the Portal.
  • Child’s Application is rejected. You will need to upload more documentation or correct information to resubmit.

Parents or Guardians must submit one of each of the following documents to verify their residency and child’s age.

  1. Proof of Residence:

Parents must provide one of the documents below to prove their child lives in Florida during the time the child will be attending VPK. A child living in Florida is eligible for VPK with proper documentation dated within 12 months of the date the child’s application is submitted for approval.  

(Address listed on child’s application and support documentation must match):

  • Utility bills; or
  • Insurance policies; or
  • Pay stubs; or
  • Government documents (e.g., prior tax returns).

 

  1. Proof of Birth:

Parents must provide one of the documents below to prove their child is the age of 4 on or before September 1st of the program year in which they are seeking enrollment.

 

  • Child’s official birth certificate; or
  • A duly attested transcript of a certificate of baptism showing the date of birth and place of baptism of the child, accompanied by an affidavit sworn to by the parent; or
  • An insurance policy on the child’s life that has been in force for at least two years, which reflects the child’s birth date; or
  • A bona fide contemporary religious record of the child’s birth accompanied by an affidavit sworn to by the parent; or
  • A passport or certificate of arrival in the United States showing the birth date of the child; or
  • A transcript of record of age shown in the child’s school record from at least four (4) years prior to application, stating the date of birth; or
  • An immunization record indicating the date of birth, signed by a public health officer or by a licensed practicing physician; or
  • A valid military dependent identification card showing the date of birth.

 

NOTE: If none of the above information is available, an affidavit of age sworn to by the parent, accompanied by a certificate of age reflecting the child’s birth, signed by a public health officer or by a licensed physician which states that the physician has examined the child and believes that the age as stated in the affidavit is substantially correct.

You may view the VPK Document checklist HERE. All documents uploaded must be current, legible, and not expired.


There are a few points of information to consider:

  1. If the child has not attended the VPK program yet and their date of birth falls between February 2nd and September 1st, they qualify for a VPK Postponement. Each child is eligible to attend VPK once.
  2. Some families will have a choice to send their child to VPK in one year or another based on the child’s birthdate. Not all children would be able to go to VPK a year later because they would be the age of 6 by February 1st.
  3. If the child has attended the VPK program, then a VPK re-enrollment must be submitted along with required documentation to determine if the child is eligible to be re-enrolled in the subsequent program year.
  4. A child may only re-enroll in a subsequent program year if:
    • The child attains the age of 4 years old between February 2nd and September 1st of his or her initial program year of eligibility; and,
    • The child has not yet been admitted to kindergarten; and
    • The child is granted a re-enrollment.

No, you may enroll for either the Fall or the Summer program, but not for both.

Yes, you may transfer your child to another VPK provider during the program year and only if your child has not used 70 percent of the available hours (378 hours fall or 210 hours summer). To receive a transfer Certificate of Eligibility:

  • Orange County: All transfers are now available online as a re-enrollment request by visiting your child’s online application. You may contact VPKOrange@elcoc.org for more information on how to transfer.
  • If you need a provider listing, please contact CCR&R services at 407-841-6607, Monday through Friday between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. or by email at ccrrorange@elcoc.org.

You must carefully read, understand and sign the provider’s policy regarding attendance. This policy may include but is not limited to clauses relating to absences, tardiness, daily sign-in/out, monthly verification, and/or hours of instruction.

Families have the opportunity to review and download the parent handbook and parent guide when they apply for VPK on the Family Portal. It is also available online HERE.

You can postpone your child’s enrollment into VPK by logging in to your Family Portal account HERE. For more information, please contact VPKOrange@elcoc.org.