A friend recently asked me if it's true that children can attend school for free starting at age three in DC next fall.

To put it simply, yes. However, just because it's free doesn't mean a spot is guaranteed; often, you have to go through a common lottery called My School DC.

So today, I've organized the information focusing on numbers and dates. I've tried to avoid speculation and included only what can be verified from official sources.

First, let's discuss what the DC Universal Pre-K program is. DC significantly expanded Pre-K through the 2008 Pre-K Enhancement and Expansion Amendment Act, abbreviated as the Pre-K Act.

The program is operated by DCPS public schools, public charter schools, and community-based organizations (CBOs) that receive public funding. This means there are more options than you might expect.

There are no income requirements. If you are a DC resident, you are eligible regardless of household income.

The class hours are quite long. The minimum is 6.5 hours a day, five days a week, for a total of 180 days of instruction per year.

The numbers are surprising. According to the NIEER 2025 Yearbook, there were 13,040 children enrolled in DC Pre-K for the 2024-2025 school year.

From the same data, 76% of three-year-olds and 94% of four-year-olds in DC were registered in public Pre-K. This means that three out of four three-year-olds are already attending Pre-K, so not sending your child would actually make you part of the minority.

The DC government spends $27,354 per child. If you think about the cost of private daycare for a year, you'll quickly see why this is such a significant benefit.

For DCPS and CBO programs, the maximum class size for three-and-a-half-year-olds is 16, with a ratio of one teacher for every eight children. Charter schools set their own limits.

So, who can enter PK3? A child must turn three by September 30 of the school year in question.

For example, for the 2027-28 school year PK3, the child must turn three by September 30, 2027. If their birthday is in October, they will have to wait a year, so be sure to check the calendar.

Now, let's talk about the crucial lottery. My School DC is a common application system used by DCPS and most charter schools.

Each child can apply to a maximum of 12 schools and rank them in order of preference. This ranking is very important.

The results are determined by a combination of available spots at each school, a randomly assigned lottery number for the child, and priorities such as siblings or in-boundary status.

The waitlist only remains for schools that have a higher ranking than the assigned school. So, you need to place your truly desired school at the top; if you put a school you think you might get into at the top, you could end up losing out.

Honestly, this is the most common mistake. The lottery is based on luck, but the ranking is a choice, so it's better to approach this logically rather than emotionally.

Now, let's look at the dates. The official My School DC website states that the application deadline for PK3 through 8th grade for the 2027-28 school year is March 1, 2027.

For 9th through 12th grades, the deadline is February 1, 2027. Additionally, the ranking of schools in the application can be modified until 5 PM on March 12, 2027.

The opening date for applications has not been confirmed on the official site at the time of writing this. For reference, the last cycle opened on December 15, 2025, so you should keep an eye out for announcements around December this year.

I also couldn't find confirmed dates for the results announcement and registration deadline. In the last cycle, results were announced at the end of March, and the registration deadline was May 1, so be sure to check the official site for this year's dates.

The information needed for the application is simpler than you might think. You'll need the child's name and date of birth, current school, sibling information, guardian's name, and home address.

However, during the actual registration process, residency verification must be done separately at the school. All documents must match in name and address, so if you have plans to move, it's best to get everything sorted out in advance.

Non-residents are not eligible for the DC Pre-K program. Personally, I believe it's important to enforce these regulations clearly. Since this is a system funded by taxes, it should be operated fairly.

Here's a checklist of what to do next. First, confirm PK3 eligibility based on your child's birthday.

Next, use the School Finder to locate schools in your district and add the open house schedules for charter schools you're interested in to your calendar. Each school has different schedules, so it's a good idea to check them one by one starting now.

Finally, agree on the ranking of the 12 schools with your family in advance. If you wait until the last minute, you're likely to forget one.

If you have any questions, you can call the My School DC hotline at (202) 888-6336 from 8 AM to 5 PM on weekdays. They also provide interpretation support, so it's okay if you're not comfortable with English.

The phrase "Hope is not a strategy" seems particularly fitting here. Free Pre-K is a tremendous opportunity, so if I were you, I would start making a school list right away. Have you already decided on your number one school?