To All Families Planning to Enroll in Pre-Kindergarten (Pre-K) in HISD in the 2024-2025 School Year:
We are excited to announce HISD’s new Pre-Kindergarten (Pre-K) Application and Enrollment process for the 2024-2025 school year. This information applies to current families as well as families interested in applying to HISD.
1. Pre-K Application Timeline
We’re excited to announce important information about the Pre-Kindergarten (Pre-K) 2024-2025 enrollment and application process. This information applies to current and new-to-HISD families with students who will be 3 or 4 before September 1, 2024. Below are key dates for the SY24-25 Pre-K application:
Milestone |
Date |
Phase 1 PreK application opens |
2/28 |
| Phase 1 PreK application closes | 4/22 |
| Families are notified of their student(s)’ campus | 5/10 |
| Phase 2 PreK space available and waitlist begins | 5/10 |
Families must accept their student(s)’ placement |
5/30 |
2. Update on Zoning for Students in Pre-K Next year
Families told us that they prefer the opportunity to enroll in Pre-K at the campus where their student will attend elementary school. HISD is “zoning” Pre-K this year to make this possible for most families with Pre-K 4-year-olds. Families who wish to attend Pre-K at a campus they are not zoned to still have that option. See details for each type of student below:
Students enrolling in Pre-K at HISD for the first time next year (must be 3 or 4 before September 1, 2024) who want to:
- Enroll in Their Zoned Pre-K Campus: All students who are starting school in HISD for the first time next year must submit an application to indicate they want to attend their zoned school. In most cases, students who want to attend their zoned school will automatically receive a seat and will NOT need to participate in a lottery process. There are some exceptions when the elementary school does not have space (see below).
- Enroll in a Pre-K Campus Other than their Zoned School: Parents of Pre-K students interested in a Pre-K campus other than their zoned campus must apply to this application and rank up to 10 options. Additional options other than neighborhood schools include magnet Pre-K programs and Early Childhood Centers. If space is available in a school after zoned students are provided seats, a lottery will be held for the remaining seats.
Students currently in Pre-K at HISD as 3-year olds, continuing in Pre-K next year as 4-year olds:
- Students enrolled in Pre-K as a three-year old will be automatically enrolled at the same school as a Pre-K four-year old. These parents do NOT need to apply to this application unless they are seeking to change schools.
Students who are currently in Pre-K this year, continuing in Kindergarten next year:
- Parents will be automatically enrolled in their zoned school for Kindergarten. Parents do not need to apply to this application if they would like their student to attend this school.
- Parents that are interested in attending a non-zoned school in Kindergarten must apply to the K-12 School Choice Application that opened on January 18th and will close on February 23rd. If a student is currently enrolled in Pre-K that is not their zoned school, that student will receive priority in the lottery above other non-zoned students. This will help more families can continue in their current school.
Zoning Exceptions:
- Texas law requires HISD to provide seats to all students eligible for free Pre-K 4 before seats are provided to students who must pay tuition or students in PreK-3. Law defines which students are eligible based on state requirements (e.g., students identified as low-income, homeless, unable to speak/understand English, military families, etc.). HISD will offer seats to students in the following order, regardless of zone: 1) all eligible Pre-K 4-year-olds, 2) Pre-K 4 students who must pay tuition, 3) All eligible Pre-K 3-year-olds, 4) Pre-K 3 students who must pay tuition.
- In previous years HISD has not had enough Pre-K seats for the number of students interested. HISD is working to solve this issue as quickly as possible by adding PreK classrooms to schools and partnering with more early childhood centers to increase the number of available seats. We will not be able to create all the seats needed in one year given budget constraints and the need for building improvements at many schools. When we do not have enough seats for all students who wish to attend Pre-K at a specific campus, HISD will run a lottery to determine which zoned students receive a seat. Families will be notified if they are in a zone where space is limited. These families will be encouraged to rank up to 10 Pre-K options across the district to allow them to secure a seat at another school.
- HISD will guarantee that all eligible PreK-4 students will have a seat somewhere in HISD for SY24-25.
3. Pre-K Application Information Events to Learn More About Pre-K in HISD:
We will host the following family events to provide an overview and Q&A on the PreK application process:
- In person community events will be held Wednesday, February 7, 2024, from 5:30 – 6:30pm at the following locations:
- Farias Early Childhood Center (ECC)
- Ninfa Laurenzo Early Childhood Center (ECC)
- Martin Luther King Early Childhood Center (ECC)
- Shadowbriar Elementary (Cafeteria)
- Virtual community events will be held Thursday, February 8, 2024:
Please join us at one of these events to learn more about these changes. We will also be scheduling application trainings and support sessions once the Pre-K application is open and available. You will also be able to access Pre-K specific additional resources on the HISD School Choice website in the coming weeks. Please reach out to Marisol Castruita, Director of Early Childhood Education at mcastrui@houstonisd.org with any questions.