When an autistic child turns 3 in Florida, responsibility for early services moves from Early Steps to the local school district. The district's program for eligible 3- to 5-year-olds is the Prekindergarten Program for Children with Disabilities, the name used in the Early Steps Policy Handbook. Parents often call it "ESE pre-K" or "pre-K ESE." This article explains who it is for, how a child gets in, how the IEP team decides where and how your child is served, and how it can work alongside private ABA.
What is the Prekindergarten Program for Children with Disabilities?
It is the public school district's special education program for children from age 3 until they enter kindergarten. It exists because federal and Florida law give children with disabilities the right to a free appropriate public education (FAPE) from age 3. Section 1003.5716 of the Florida Statutes opens with that principle: "All students with disabilities who are 3 years of age to 21 years of age have the right to a free, appropriate public education."
For families, this means:
- services are provided at no cost to you through an Individual Education Plan (IEP);
- the district decides eligibility through its own evaluation;
- the IEP team, which includes you, decides the services and the setting.
Each district runs its own program, so classroom models, schedules and locations differ across Palm Beach, Broward, Hillsborough, Duval, Charlotte, Highlands, Polk and other counties. Ask your district's exceptional student education (ESE) office for its pre-K options.
Who qualifies?
A child must be found eligible for exceptional student education. For young autistic children, two Florida eligibility rules come up most:
- Autism spectrum disorder (Rule 6A-6.03023). The evaluation includes behavioral observations across settings, a social and developmental history, a psychological evaluation with at least one autism-specific standardized instrument, a language evaluation with an observation by a speech-language pathologist, and an adaptive behavior assessment. The child must also need special education.
- Developmentally delayed (Rule 6A-6.03027). For ages 3 through 9 (unless the child has finished grade 2), based on a delay of 2 standard deviations or 25 percent in one area, 1.5 standard deviations or 20 percent in two areas, or, for children 6 or younger, the eligibility staffing committee's recommendation. Many preschoolers start here. See 'Developmentally Delayed' eligibility.
A medical autism diagnosis is not the same as school eligibility. The district must consider outside evaluations you share, but it makes its own decision. See how Florida schools decide autism eligibility.
How does a child get into the program?
There are two common paths.
From Early Steps
If your child is in Early Steps, transition planning starts at least 90 days before the third birthday (section 391.308). Unless you opt out, Early Steps notifies the district, and with your approval holds a transition conference with a district representative. By the third birthday, if your child is eligible, an IEP (or an IFSP, under Rule 6A-6.03029) must be in place. If the birthday falls in summer, the IEP team sets the start date (Rule 6A-6.03028). At your request, the district must invite your Early Steps service coordinator to the first IEP meeting. Read turning 3: the transition checklist.
From a screening or a parent request
If your child was never in Early Steps, start with Child Find. A free FDLRS developmental screening that suggests a disability triggers the district's duty to seek consent to evaluate within 30 days, and you can also request an evaluation in writing at any time. The evaluation must be finished within 60 calendar days of your consent, not counting certain breaks and holidays (Rule 6A-6.0331). See FDLRS and Child Find.
How is placement decided?
After eligibility, the district has 30 calendar days to hold the initial IEP meeting (Rule 6A-6.03028). The IEP team writes goals and then decides which services and setting can meet them. The team includes you, a special education teacher or provider, a regular education teacher if your child is or may be in a regular setting, a district representative and someone who can interpret evaluation results. You may invite people with knowledge of your child, which can include your child's private BCBA.
Depending on your district, pre-K options can include:
- inclusive classrooms where children with and without disabilities learn together;
- smaller ESE classrooms;
- related services only, such as speech or language therapy, sometimes delivered where the child already spends the day;
- a combination of these.
Two placements need a separate written consent in Florida: instruction in the Access Points (alternate standards) curriculum, and placement in an ESE center school (section 1003.5715). The district must give you 10 days' written notice of an IEP meeting where these are discussed, unless you waive it. Without your consent, the district may go ahead only if it documents reasonable efforts to reach you and you did not respond, or if it wins approval through a due process hearing. Read Florida ESE placement terms.
The IEP team must also consider extended school year (ESY) services at least once a year.
Is Florida's restraint law the same for pre-K?
No, and this surprises families. Section 1003.573, Florida's school restraint and seclusion law, defines "student" as a child with an IEP enrolled in kindergarten through grade 12 and says the term "does not include students in prekindergarten." That section's specific rules and notices, such as same-day written notice of restraint, are written for K-12. Ask your district for its written policy on behavior support, restraint and parent notification in pre-K classrooms, and ask for behavior supports to be written into the IEP.
Can my child do district pre-K and private ABA?
Often, yes. District pre-K is an education service; ABA paid by insurance or self-pay is a health service. They answer to different rules and can run side by side. Families commonly:
- schedule ABA at home or at a center in the hours outside the pre-K day;
- ask for ABA support in the classroom under section 1003.572, which lets private behavior analysts and RBTs hired by parents observe, collaborate and provide services in the educational setting when the teacher and principal agree on the time and place (the statute speaks of students in the educational setting; ask your district how it applies its procedure to pre-K classrooms);
- invite the BCBA to IEP meetings so school goals and ABA goals line up.
Using a private provider does not waive your child's right to FAPE (section 1003.572(4)). Insurance coverage for ABA in a school setting depends on your plan, so ask before you plan around it.
Some families compare district pre-K with the specialized instructional services option in VPK, which can fund ABA for 4-year-olds with an IEP. Choosing one affects the other. See specialized VPK vs district ESE pre-K.
Questions to ask your district
- What pre-K settings does the district offer, and where?
- How many hours a day and days a week does each option run?
- Is transportation available, and how is it decided?
- How does the district handle requests for a private BCBA or RBT to observe or work in the classroom?
- What is the written behavior support and restraint policy for pre-K?
- Who is my contact if services on the IEP are missed?
How Hope Center helps
Hope Center for Behavior Change provides school-based ABA, home ABA, daycare ABA and center-based ABA, written by BCBAs and delivered by RBTs with weekly supervision and weekly parent training. Our staff can join IEP meetings where allowed and coordinate with your child's teachers. Hope Center is not an approved specialized VPK (SIS) provider, so specialized VPK funds cannot be used for ABA with us. We have no waitlist and offer a free benefits check. Contact us or call 561-337-8865.