Anne Arundel Schools To Cut Public Pre-K For 3-Year-Olds
Anne Arundel County Public Schools will discontinue public prekindergarten for 3-year-olds next school year and reallocate those spots to 4-year-olds in response to newly passed state guidelines.
The county has offered free pre-K for 3-year-olds for the past three years. However, a policy shift—announced Wednesday in a school system news release—follows a January vote by the Maryland State Board of Education. The board unanimously recommended prioritizing full-day, free pre-K for low-income 4-year-olds, a key initiative under the state’s education reform plan, the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future.
The Blueprint aims to expand access to early childhood education, requiring school systems to use both public and private pre-K classrooms. However, Maryland has struggled to recruit enough private early education providers to meet the demand.
With the elimination of public pre-K for 3-year-olds, Anne Arundel County Public Schools advised families to seek private programs, including home-based childcare and Head Start. Some low-income families may still qualify for free or reduced-cost private pre-K. However, the long-term stability of federally funded programs like Head Start remains uncertain.
Following the state board’s decision, the Maryland State Child Care Association raised concerns about pushing families toward private pre-K, where tuition-based models dominate.
“It is hard to compete with free, and our business model isn’t fully sustainable without four-year-olds,” said Executive Director Chris Peusch in a January statement. He warned the shift could further widen gaps between public and private early education programs.
Anne Arundel schools will first offer pre-K spots to the county’s lowest-income 4-year-olds, as well as some students with special needs and English learners. Families with higher incomes will receive any remaining seats after priority students are placed.
Parents can begin registering for next year’s pre-K programs on May 6.
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