The New Jersey Department of Education announced in an advisory a Preschool Expansion Notice of Funding Opportunity 2024-2025, available on the NJDOE Early Childhood Education website, to local educational agencies for the 2024-2025 school year. This opportunity is open to any LEA in the state of New Jersey that is not currently receiving preschool expansion aid and offers full-day kindergarten to students.

LEAs already offering a state-funded general education preschool program with Early Childhood Program Aid or Early Launch to Learn may apply to expand the program to serve more children, or to offer longer hours. Nonoperating LEAs are eligible to apply in collaboration with the LEA that provides the educational program to their kindergarten students.

Note: First-time applicants must demonstrate due diligence in establishing partnerships to provide their preschool programs through a mixed-delivery system with licensed childcare providers and Head Start programs in the community or neighboring communities that are willing and able to meet all preschool program requirements.

Mandatory Technical Assistance Workshop

To be eligible to apply, LEAs must attend a mandatory technical assistance session. There are two in-person sessions to choose from on Thursday, July 11, 2024, from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. or 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. The sessions will be held at 100 Riverview Plaza, Trenton.

It is recommended that LEAs identify a team of administrators to participate in the technical assistance workshop. LEAs must send a minimum of one staff member or consultant to be eligible to apply. If LEAs plan to apply collaboratively, a staff member or consultant from each LEA in the collaboration must attend. Please reach out via email with the session you wish to attend and the names and email addresses of the representative(s). LEAs are only required to attend one of the two sessions and must stay for the duration of the presentation. The sessions are identical, so there is no need to attend both.

The registration deadline is 3 p.m. on Wednesday, July 10, 2024.

Application Submission

Completed applications will be due by 12 p.m. on Aug. 14, 2024, via Homeroom. The NJDOE will not accept a late proposal. The responsibility for a timely submission resides with the applicant. The applicant LEA will not be eligible for an award if the proposal is incomplete or received after the due date.

Award Selection

LEAs that have higher free and reduced-price lunch percentages will be prioritized for consideration. Priority consideration will be based on:

  • Districts at 20% free and reduced-price lunch or above, with successful applications, will receive priority funding.
  • Districts at 15-19% free and reduced-price lunch, with successful applications, will be eligible to receive funding in the second round of consideration.
  • Districts at 10-14% free and reduced-price lunch, with successful applications, will be eligible to receive funding in the third round of consideration.
  • Districts with less than 10% free and reduced-price lunch, with successful applications, will be eligible to receive funding in the final round of consideration.

Eligible applications that meet the minimum score of 70 points, prior to the application of priority points, will be ranked and funded in descending order, from highest to lowest score and utilizing the priority rankings identified above, until available funds have been used. Reviewers will use the points indicated in each section to score the application content.

Contact Information

Questions may be directed to the Office of Preschool Education via email.