Staff Portal

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

EARLY LEARNING OPTIONS

Eligibility for the State Preschool Program is determined by the following State factors:

• Age Requirements
  • Students who are turning 3 years old by December 1^st of the current school year may apply for the part-day preschool at 17 sites, or the extended-day program at Central Elementary.
  • If your student turns 3 years old after December 1^st of the current school year, please apply at the time the student turns 3 years old.
  • Students who turn 4 years old by September 1st of the current school year may participate in Universal Transitional Kindergarten (UTK), part-day preschool, or the extended day preschool.
  • Students who turn 4 years old after September 1^st of the current school year may participate in a part-day preschool or extended-day preschool.
• Income  The family's gross income must be within the income ceiling guideline to qualify.
• CPS/At Risk (Must provide letter/document from caseworker)
• Homeless (Must provide letter or referral from agency or self-declaration of situation)

• Part-Day Early Learning Program. This State Preschool program is available at 18 school sites in San Diego Unified School District to 3 and 4-year old children for 3 hours a day, Monday to Friday. You may select either an AM or PM session. Families must income-qualify and students must attend 5 days a week.

• Extended-Day Early Learning Program. This State Preschool program is available to 3 and 4-year old children for 6 hours a day, Monday to Friday, and is only offered at Central Elementary. Families must income-qualify and students must attend 5 days a week.

• School Readiness Program. This district-funded preschool program is available to 3 and 4-year old children for 3 hours a day, & 4 days a week.
• This program is offered at Balboa, Clairemont Canyons, Dingeman, Ericson, Jones, Kumeyaay, Miller, Normal Heights, and Rodriguez elementary schools. Students will only attend 4 days a week.

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS

SCHOOL SITES AND MAP

All required documents must be uploaded to the Online Scribbles Preschool Application in order to complete the enrollment process.

To learn more what documents you must submit, please visit the Early Learning Online Application Requirements webpage.

The list of Early Learning school sites including hours of operation, program offerings and map are available at the following links:

• List of Part-Day State Preschool, Extended-Day State Preschool and School Readiness Preschool Sites 2024-2025

• Map of State Preschool and School Readiness Preschool Sites 2024-2025

ECSE – Early Childhood Special Education

PROGRAM DESCRIPTIONS

For Special Education inquiries including a request for assessment, please visit the San Diego Unified School District - Early Childhood Special Education Department’s website at Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) Services.

Early Learning classrooms provide age and developmentally appropriate conditions for our youngest learners.

Learn more

APPLICATION FOR 2025-2026

ACCEPTANCE

The priority period for Early Learning online application be between June 2, 2025 and June 16, 2025. The application closes on June 17, 2025 and will reopen on July 15, 2025.  Late applications will be processed on a date/time order received.

For the State Preschool program, family must complete a preschool application and income-qualify to be offered a seat.

Families that complete the preschool application but do not income-qualify may seek enrollment at a School Readiness part-day program at the schools listed below on space availability basis.

• Balboa
• Clairemont Canyons
  
• Dingeman
• Ericson
• Jones
• Kumeyaay
• Miller
• Normal Heights
• Rodriguez

Acceptance into the State Preschool Program is confirmed through Notice of Action (NOA) sent to parents/guardian via email within 30 days.

If you received a Notice of Action but are no longer interested (e.g., relocation, private school, etc.), please notify our office via email at [email protected].

For School Readiness, families must contact the school site directly to inquire about space and complete student enrollment. There is limited space and priority will be given to resident students.