FAQs for Early Childhood

Enrolling in the Early Childhood programs with NOLA Public Schools is designed to be a process to ensure that children in New Orleans have access to important early education. Families interested in enrolling their young ones into programs such as pre-kindergarten must go through a unified application process. This means using one standard form to apply to various schools or learning centers within the NOLA PS system, making it simpler and more efficient. This system helps families by avoiding multiple different applications with different deadlines and requirements, streamlining the process for the crucial early years of a child's education.

NOLA Public Schools and Agenda for Children work together to support over 150 publicly-funded childcare centers, schools, and Head Start programs as they work to provide quality early care and education to over 5,550 New Orleans children ages 0-5 and families.
 
Early childhood education programs can prepare children to develop the social and emotional skills they need to succeed and graduate high school. Access to high-quality, affordable childcare is a critical need for families across the city. Families can easily enroll and choose the best option for their children through the NOLA-PS Common Application Process (NCAP).
 

• Main Round: Students are assigned to schools/centers based on the family's preferences, the child’s needs, and space availability in schools. 
• Open Enrollment: Students are assigned based on what schools/centers families placed on their list and space availability. 
   

The application period for early childhood enrollment will open annually during the first week of January. Families will have a 7-week window to submit their applications, with the deadline typically falling around February 20.

Match results will be available during the last week of April each year. This is when families will be notified of their child’s enrollment status and seat placement.

Remember to apply within this annual window to ensure consideration for your preferred school or program. Applications received after the deadline will be considered during Open Enrollment.

The application for 2026 - 2027 period for early childhood enrollment is open from January 5 to February 20. During this time, families can submit their applications for the upcoming school year.

Match results for LA4, NSECD, Head Start and Early Head Start will be available during the week of April 28. This is when families will be notified of their child’s enrollment status and seat placement. For City Seats, ECEF and CCAP B-3 will receive seat placement during Open Enrollment after receipt of state allocation in June.

Open Enrollment begins June 1, 2026.

• Log into the Parent Portal. If it is your first time applying, you will need to create login credentials.​
• Follow the prompts to create your family profile.​
• Complete Eligibility Check prompts.​
• Select school choices. ​
• Answer questions and upload documents for eligibility verification directly in the Parent Portal.

Definitions

• Agenda For Children - a Louisiana-based nonprofit organization dedicated to making Louisiana a state in which all children can thrive by ensuring that the basic needs of children and families are met, improving the quality of teaching and learning, and advocating for policies that support children and their families.
• Avela -  offers a complete student application and enrollment solution for education providers that covers all stages of the enrollment journey 
• Categorically eligible - a term that means someone automatically qualifies for a benefit or a program because they are already part of a certain group or category.
• Compliance - The review of verification and eligibility determinations to ensure the policies and documentation procedures  and requirements are followed.
• Early Childhood (EC) Millage -  a special pocket of money that comes from taxes, which is used only for programs for early learners.
• Eligibility - Criteria based on local, state, and/or federal policy that determines if a child qualifies for a publicly funded program and/or funding source.
• Enrollment -The process families go through to receive a seat in an early childhood seat. This process includes the application, verification, eligibility determination, and placement/waitlisted.
• FRC - Family Resource Center; a place where families can receive assistance with the NOLA PS enrollment process
• Free Seat - publicly funded seat for eligible families
• Funding Source - how a seat is funded; there are multiple different funding sources (i.e. LA4, City Seats, MFP, NSECD, etc)
• Head Start - federal programs that prioritize low income students; Head Start progams manage their own waitlists and offers.
• Main Round - the first "window" for families to complete the EC enrollment application
• Open Enrollment - the "open door" period where families can complete the EC enrollment application; chances of being waitlisted are higher during this period
• Placement - Eligible children receive a placement when their families accept an offer from a specific center/school.
• Salesforce - a system that organizations use to keep large amounts of data organized 
• State Match - The State of Louisiana matched the amount of funds Orleans Parish received through the EC millage.
• Tuition Seat - seats that families have to pay for (unless their child receives MFP funding)
• Waitlisted - The status of an eligible child who cannot be placed at a school/center due to the school/center not having available seats at that moment. 

 

Funding Sources

1. City Seats: Created in 2017 to increase access to early learning for those with the greatest need in Orleans Parish, improve the overall quality of participating early learning centers in Orleans Parish, and provide wraparound supports to caregivers & families in Orleans Parish. Visit this link for more information.
2. ECEF: A funding source provided by LDOE intended to incentivize local investment in and fundraising for early childhood care and education. Guardians of children 6 weeks to age 3 must be working, in school and/or in a training program to qualify for this funding source.
3. LA4: The primary preschool program in Louisiana, serving more than 16,000 children. It provides full day pre-K programming in public schools to four-year-olds from disadvantaged families.
4. NSECD: Provides pre-K programming to more than 1,300 four-year-olds from low-income families. Children in the NSECD program receive full day pre-K in state-approved private preschools and child care centers.
5. Special Education (IDEA) Funds: This federal formula grant is combined with state and local funds to provide a free and appropriate education (FAPE) to children with disabilities.
6. Tuition LA: A Louisiana resident only tuition seat that is paid by the family.
7. Tuition OR: An Orleans Parish resident only tuition seat that is paid by the family.

The timing of seat placements is based on the specific funding source and seat allocation timeline.

Funding sources like LA4 and NSECD receive allocations earlier, with seat placements made during the match results week in April. 

Head Start and Early Head start provide their allocations based on their approved funded enrollment provided in the grant application.

Other funding sources or programs operate on a different timeline and therefore offer seat placements during Open Enrollment. 

It was voted by the NOEEN Steering Committee to remove the waitlist numbers.