January 7, 2016
(X)
(X)
Action Required
Due date: April 15, 2016
Informational
MEMORANDUM NO. 079-15M EARLY LEARNING
TO:
Educational Service District Superintendents
School District Superintendents
School District Early Learning Contacts
Elementary School Principals
Educational Service District Early Learning Coordinators
Educational Service District Full-day Kindergarten Coordinators
District Assessment Coordinators
FROM:
Randy I. Dorn, State Superintendent of Public Instruction
RE:
State-Funded Full-Day Kindergarten Eligibility
CONTACT:
Robert Butts, Assistant Superintendent of Early Learning
360-725-0420, Bob.Butts@k12.wa.us
Agency TTY: 360-664-3631
Purpose
This memorandum serves to notify school districts of the schools that are eligible to receive
funding for voluntary, state-funded, full-day kindergarten beginning in the 2016–17 school
year. The requirements for participation in state-funded full-day kindergarten are also provided.
School districts with newly eligible schools must notify the Office of Superintendent of Public
Instruction (OSPI) through iGrants form package #765 by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, April 15, 2016,
regarding whether or not the district will accept the funding. School districts are not required to
complete the iGrant application for schools that received state funds for full-day kindergarten in
the 2015–16 school year.
Background
On June 30, 2015, the Governor signed the 2015–17 state biennial operating budget that
provides sufficient funding for 100 percent of kindergarten students in the state to receive fullday kindergarten beginning in the 2016–17 school year.
However, school districts are not required to offer full-day kindergarten in eligible schools until
the 2017–18 school year, at which time it is required by the Basic Education Act. Until then,
school districts may decline to receive funding from the state.
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January 7, 2016
Conditions for Receiving Funding
To receive funding, school districts are required to agree to a number of conditions in RCW
28A.150.315, which include:
1. Provide at least a 180-day school year with 1,000 “instructional hours” (as defined in
RCW 28A.150.205). However, up to three of these days at the beginning of the school
year may be used for the WaKIDS “Family Connection” (see WaKIDS section below).
2. Provide a curriculum that offers a rich, varied set of experiences that assist students in:
a) Developing initial skills in the academic areas of reading, mathematics, and
writing.
b) Developing a variety of communication skills.
c) Having experiences in science, social studies, arts, health and physical
education, and a world language other than English.
d) Acquiring large and small motor skills.
e) Acquiring social and emotional skills including successful participation in learning
activities as an individual and as part of a group.
f) Learning through hands-on experiences.
3. Establish learning environments that are developmentally appropriate and promote
creativity.
4. Demonstrate strong connections and communication with early learning community
providers.
5. Participate in kindergarten program readiness activities with early learning providers
and parents.
6. Administer the Washington Kindergarten Inventory of Developing Skills (WaKIDS).
Notification to OSPI
School districts with newly eligible schools that want to receive state funding for full-day
kindergarten are required to notify OSPI through iGrants by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, April 15,
2016. The form package is titled: 765 Full-Day Kindergarten (2016–17 Newly Eligible Schools).
The iGrants form package requires that the school district agrees to comply with the statefunded full-day kindergarten conditions listed above.
School district representatives also must notify OSPI through iGrants form package 765 if they
do not want to receive funding for the 2016–17 school year and to identify why they are
declining the funding.
Eligibility in Future Years
If a school does not have adequate space for full-day kindergarten in the 2016–17 school year
or chooses not to accept funding for other reasons, the school must implement full-day
kindergarten beginning in the 2017–18 school year.
“Voluntary” Kindergarten
The statutory language regarding state-funded full-day kindergarten indicates that the program
is to be “voluntary.” This has been interpreted to mean that school districts must provide
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parents an option of part-day kindergarten. This can be implemented in a number of different
ways, including having a separate part-day class or incorporating the part-day students in the
full-day classroom. Whether the school district provides transportation for these children to and
from school is a local school district decision. If a school district elects to provide mid-day
transportation to accommodate parents accessing part-day classes, such costs will be
allowable “to-from” transportation expenditures.
Schools with limited additional classrooms
In previous years, OSPI required that schools receiving state-funding offer full-day
kindergarten for all kindergarten students in the school based on a requirement in the 2007
budget. A number of school districts expressed concerns about this requirement limiting the
number of students they are able to provide full-day kindergarten. As a result of these
concerns, OSPI has initiated the rulemaking process to remove the requirement.
As a result, schools are no longer required to offer full-day kindergarten in every classroom if
the school does not have capacity to do so. OSPI will provide funding for the students who are
in full-day kindergarten classrooms and one-half day funding for those who are not. When
selecting students for these full-day classrooms, school districts must prioritize students from
low income families and consider other students who will likely receive the greatest benefits
from full-day kindergarten.
This will be applicable only for school year 2016–17, as all school districts will be required to
offer full-day kindergarten for all incoming kindergartener students beginning school year
2017–18.
Full-day Kindergarten Guide
OSPI, in collaboration with the Bellingham and Sumner School Districts, has created a guide
to provide information to school principals and teachers in how to implement developmentally
appropriate, and academically rigorous kindergarten programs. The guide is intended to
provide information on effective practices and encourage discussions among kindergarten
teachers and administrators. It may be downloaded at
http://www.k12.wa.us/EarlyLearning/Resources.aspx. This website also includes other
information that may be useful for school district staff in creating high quality kindergarten
classrooms.
Full-day Kindergarten Webinar
A webinar will be conducted on January 28, 2016, from 3–4:30 p.m. to respond to questions
and discuss how to design full-day kindergarten classrooms. One can register for the webinar
at http://www.k12.wa.us/EarlyLearning/default.aspx. The webinar will be recorded and
available online two days after the webinar occurs.
Full-day Kindergarten Professional Development
Three professional development modules have been created for kindergarten teachers on
Child Development, the Kindergarten Learning Environment, and Learning Centers. These
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trainings are being offered in most Educational Service Districts (ESDs) and will be offered at
the Starting Strong Institute in early August. Information about these modules can be obtained
at http://www.k12.wa.us/EarlyLearning/Resources.aspx.
Educational Service District Full-day Kindergarten Support
In addition, the nine ESDs have identified individuals who are available to provide assistance
to school staff in implementing full-day kindergarten programs. A list of these contacts is
available at http://www.k12.wa.us/EarlyLearning/pubdocs/FullDayKindergartenWaKIDSStateContacts.pdf.
Washington Kindergarten Inventory of Developing Skills (WaKIDS)
The Washington Kindergarten Inventory of Developing Skills (WaKIDS) is a kindergarten entry
transition process that includes three components: building family connections, assessing
students’ developmental levels, and collaborating with early learning providers. The objectives
for WaKIDS align with the legislative goals for state-funded full-day kindergarten, as stated in
RCW 28A.150.315.
WaKIDS is required to be implemented in state-funded full-day kindergarten classrooms (RCW
28A.655.080).
Districts are expected to:
 Provide opportunities for teachers to meet individually with families at the beginning of
the school year.
 Assure that teachers attend WaKIDS 101 training.
 Assure that teachers individually assess all students in their class during the
assessment window.
 Assure that administrative assessment procedures are addressed and followed.
 Encourage all teachers to complete inter-rater reliability certification.
 Determine ways to use WaKIDS data to inform instruction and planning, and provide
feedback to families and early learning providers.
 Demonstrate strong connections and communication with early learning community
providers.
 Participate in kindergarten program readiness activities with early learning providers and
parents.
A memorandum providing more detail about WaKIDS will be published in early spring 2016.
Further Information
For questions regarding the state-funded, full-day kindergarten content of this memorandum,
please contact Robert Butts at Bob.Butts@k12.wa.us or 360-725-0420 or Mercedes Eckroth at
Mercedes.Eckroth@k12.wa.us or 360-725-4952. The agency TTY number is 360-664-3631.
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K–12 EDUCATION
Gil Mendoza, Ed.D.
Deputy Superintendent
EARLY LEARNING
Robert Butts
Assistant Superintendent
Attachment – State-Funded Full-Day Kindergarten School Eligibility list for 2016-17 School
Year
OSPI provides equal access to all programs and services without discrimination based on sex, race, creed, religion, color, national
origin, age, honorably discharged veteran or military status, sexual orientation including gender expression or identity, the
presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability, or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a person with a
disability. Questions and complaints of alleged discrimination should be directed to the Equity and Civil Rights Director at 360-7256162 or P.O. Box 47200 Olympia, WA 98504-7200.