Florida’s Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program or VPK is a free educational program that prepares 4-year-olds for kindergarten and beyond.

Children must live in Florida and be 4 on or before September 1 of the school year they enroll. Parents can choose from schools and school-year or summer programs.

The Voluntary Pre-kindergarten program is designed to prepare Florida’s children for kindergarten and develop the skills they need to become good readers and successful students. It includes standards for literacy skills, strict accountability, appropriate curricula, substantial instruction periods, manageable class sizes and qualified instructors. The school-year program consisting of 540 instructional hours. The Early Learning Coalition of Broward County, Inc. is administering the Voluntary Pre-kindergarten program at the local level which includes registering child care providers and providing applications and information to parent.

Children who attend high-quality preschool do better when they enter kindergarten, which can make a big difference later.