Pre-Kindergarten Guidelines & Frequently Asked Questions

Who May Attend Pre-Kindergarten at a Public School ?

All children in the United States are entitled to equal access to a basic public elementary and secondary education regardless of their actual or perceived race, color, national origin, citizenship, immigration status, or the status of their parents or guardians. School districts that prohibit, discourage, or maintain policies that have the effect of prohibiting or discouraging children from enrolling in schools because they or their parents or guardians are not U.S. citizens or are undocumented may be in violation of Federal law.

Eligibility for Pre-Kindergarten 

Pre-Kindergarten students must be four-years-old on or by September 1, of the school year in which they wish to enroll. Children who are five-years-old on or before Sept. 1, who have not attended a Georgia Pre-K for more than 30 days, are also eligible for Pre-K unless you prefer your child to go to Kindergarten. Kindergarten registration is held annually usually during the first week of May.

Number of Pre-K Sites & Spaces

The Georgia Department of Early Learning (also known as Bright from the Start) administers the Georgia Pre-Kindergarten program. Bulloch County Schools hosts Pre-K sites at each of its nine elementary schools and two of its three high school campuses.

Unlike our Kindergarten through twelfth grades for which the school district must accommodate each child in Bulloch County who registers for school, Pre-Kindergarten is an optional program, and the Georgia Department of Early Learning decides and approves how many sites and class seats the school district can host. This does limit the number of children who can be registered, but we do provide a lottery drawing and a waiting list for our sites. We also provide lists of other Pre-K sites in the community.

Bulloch County Schools has 11 pre-k sites,  with 20 classes. Beginning with the 2024-2025 school year, the class sizes will be reduced to 20 students each, down from 22 students. This will reduce the school district's available spaces from 436 to 400. For this reason, demand may exceed space, so it is important to register during the annually announced online registration period.

Even if you feel a Pre-K site will fill up, please complete an online registration, and if necessary, ask to be placed on the waiting list. Waiting lists help us show demand for the program and could lead to additional sites being granted to the school system

Which Pre-K Site May My Child Attend?

Parents/guardians must register Pre-Kindergarten children for the school he/she is zoned to attend. Find your attendance zone. All  Pre-Kindergarten registrations are completed through the school district's online registration system. Please review the Pre-Kindergarten Program Guidelines and Frequently Asked Questions tab on this webpage before you register.

Priority is given to children within a school's attendance zone. Selection is based on a lottery drawing. Students from outside a school's attendance zone will be considered if all spaces are not filled with students who live within their attendance zone.

If you are willing to provide transportation for your child, you may consider a site that is not in your school zone. The Out-of-Zone Pre-Kindergarten request questions are embedded within the online registration system. Please note: If a child attends an out-of-zone Pre-K site, the child will then attend Kindergarten at his/her zoned elementary school unless a House Bill 251 School Choice/School Transfer Request has been requested and approved by the district. 

Who May Register a Child to Attend a Public School in Bulloch County?

Because Bulloch County Schools is a public school system for children who reside in Bulloch County, no individual who resides outside the boundaries of Bulloch County may be registered to attend its schools. An exception applies only to children of full-time employees of Bulloch County Schools.  

Only a child’s parent(s) or legal guardian(s) may register him/her for Prekindergarten. Your child does not have to be present for registration.

Are there evening registration times available?

Yes, Bulloch County Schools provides evening registration times prior to the lottery drawings. These are for families who do not have access to the Internet to register online, and who are unable to make a daytime appointment to register at their zoned school. Look for advertised times during the registration period. The school district will host the evening registration at the Bulloch County Board of Education, located at 150 Williams Road, in Statesboro.

Don't Wait. Register during the Annually Announced Registration Window

Register during the designated window. The number of children eligible for Pre-K fluctuates each year. Sites that do not have enough students could risk closure, and the school system does consider out-of-zone registrations for parents who are willing to provide their own transportation. For these reasons, it is best not to miss the designated registration week. Please do not wait to register and assume a site will have enough space for your child.

Children of Multiple Births

Children of multiple births (i.e. twins, triplets, quadruplets, etc.) will be treated as one applicant during the Pre-K lottery. However, each child must be registered online. The enrollment of children of multiple births will not exceed the state allowance without prior approval from Bright from the Start.  

Lottery Drawings & Waiting Lists

Unlike children in Kindergarten through twelfth grade for which we must accommodate each child in Bulloch County who registers for school, Pre-Kindergarten is an optional program and the Georgia Department of Early Learning decides and approves how many sites and student spaces our school system can host.

This does limit the number of children we can register, but we do provide a Pre-K Lottery and waiting lists for our sites and lists of other Pre-K sites in the community.

• May a child remain in the lottery drawing for an out-of-zone spot if the child has received a spot at his or her attendance-zone school? No, the child may not remain on the waiting list. Approval for a child to be included in any Pre-K lottery drawing does not guarantee placement if the child receives placement for a spot at his or her attendance zone school.
• What if I register after the Pre-K lottery drawing? Children who are registered after the Pre-K Lottery drawing will be automatically placed at the bottom of the waiting list for their zoned school and alternate school if indicated. 

Important: complete registration before the deadline

Please Note: To be considered for the school system's lottery drawing and waiting lists for available spaces, the child's online Pre-Kindergarten registration process and documentation must be completed by the announced deadline.

After Pre-K, where will my child attend Kindergarten?

• If my child attends Pre-K at a Bulloch County Schools' Pre-K site that is not in our school attendance zone but at an alternate Pre-K site in the school district, where will my child go to Kindergarten? After the completion of Pre-K, the child must attend Kindergarten at his or her attendance-zone school unless a House Bill 251 School Choice/Transfer Request has been approved. If your Pre-K site is also your zoned elementary school, you do not need to register your child for Kindergarten, he or she will be automatically enrolled in Kindergarten. If your Pre-K site is not at your zoned elementary school, you will need to register for Kindergarten at your zoned elementary school.

School Calendar, School Day & Transportation

Mill Creek Elementary & Brooklet Elementary Pre-K Sites

• Special Note for those in the Mill Creek Elementary and Brooklet Elementary School Attendance Zones
  • Mill Creek Elementary has three classrooms with two at Mill Creek Elementary and one at Statesboro High School.
  • Brooklet Elementary has two classrooms with one at Brooklet Elementary and one at Southeast Bulloch High School.
• Campus assignments to these Pre-K sites are through a random drawing during the Pre-K Lottery Drawing.  Once a parent has accepted a Pre-K placement for a child, there is no option to transfer between the main site and the satellite site. Transportation is provided for  these Pre-K students to the satellite site.

Conditions that result in an automatic placement in Pre-K

• Children who meet the guidelines on this webpage and are children of a Bulloch County Schools full-time employee may obtain automatic placement in a Pre-K classroom. For this to occur, the parent/legal guardian must be a Bulloch County Schools full-time employee during the Pre-K Registration window or have been board-approved as a full-time Bulloch County Schools employee for the upcoming school year by the Pre-K lottery application deadline. Additionally, registration must be completed during the online registration period to be accepted (no exceptions).

• Full-time employees of Bulloch County Schools may submit a Pre-Kindergarten application for their child for a Pre-K location that is zoned for their home address or a Pre-K location that is within the attendance zone of the employee's primary work location (see chart below)*

• Children who receive automatic placement will be distributed among the pre-k classes and/or schools within the attendance zone as needed.  
• Priority is given to students with certain special needs, and six of these students will be selected as automatic placements for the Inclusion Classroom located at Mattie Lively Elementary School before the lottery each year. This classroom has a maximum size of 18 students. Other students with special needs may be considered for automatic placement in any Pre-K classroom before the lottery.
• Students with special needs are considered for automatic placement on a case-by-case basis; not all students will receive automatic placement.  
• If it is determined that a child has received placement in a state-funded Pre-k program by the second state roster reporting deadline, the child will be removed from the waiting list.