(NETWORK IN) Indiana Pre-School program expanded to 20 counties

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Legislators agreed in April to expand state-funded preschool into 15 more counties. Now we know which ones.

The new additions include all Indiana’s major university communities: Delaware, Saint Joe, Tippecanoe, Vigo and Monroe Counties. The rest are concentrated in the state’s eastern half: Madison, Bartholomew, DeKalb, Elkhart, Floyd, Grant, Harrison, Howard, Kosciusko and Marshall Counties.

Marni Lemons with the Family and Social Services Administration says the expansion will be complete in time for the 2018 school year, but some facilities may start accepting students as early as January.

Lemons says 20 counties applied for the 15 expansion slots. F-S-S-A made its selections based on the number of low-income students in need of preschool, the capacity of high-quality programs in the counties to handle additional students, and local support in the community. The law requires some local money in addition to the state funding.

Missing the cut were Clark, Clinton, LaPorte, Ohio and Pulaski Counties.

Preschool funding for students from low-income families began in 2015 in Marion, Allen, Vanderburgh, Lake and Jackson Counties.