School Leaders

Early Childhood Services (ECS) and Special Needs

The School Act states that a board or an approved school authority may provide an ECS program to a child who is younger than 6 years of age as of September 1. Children identified with disabilities/delays are eligible for up to three years of ECS programming, depending on age, severity of the disability/delay and its impact on the child’s learning and development. Standards for the Provision of Early Childhood Special Education (261 KB) applies to children who meet the eligibility criteria for special education programming.

Early Childhood Services Fact Sheets

Early Childhood Services (ECS) Special Education Funding

Program Unit Funding (PUF) is provided to approved ECS operators for children with severe disabilities/delays who require support beyond that offered in regular ECS programs. For complete information on funding for children who have been identified with severe disabilities/delays, see the  Funding Manual. For information on current eligibility criteria see 
Special Education Coding Criteria and  the PUF application Fact Sheet.

Children with mild to moderate communication disabilities/delays are children who may be at-risk for future problems.  School authorities can access ECS mild/moderate funding to support children in kindergarten and the year prior to kindergarten in school-based or community-based language-rich and responsive learning environments in order to improve their learning outcomes.
For complete information on funding for mild/moderate disabilities/delays, see the Funding Manual,
Special Education Coding Criteria and Clarification of Special Education Code 30.