GUILDERLAND — Families living in the Guilderland school district with children who will be 4 years old next year can now register for free schooling.

The Universal Pre-Kindergarten program, known as UPK, for the 2024-25 school year is for children who have birth dates between Dec. 2, 2019 and Dec. 1, 2020.

The free program is funded by the state but placement is limited.

Registration for the program will run from March 1 to 26.

All eligible Guilderland families must apply during the registration period and participate in a lottery to secure a state-funded space.

Guilderland has been allotted more money by the state than it has been able to use for pre-kindergarten because it does not have the means to run the program in-house and so relies on outside partners with limited spaces, usually in the neighborhood of 100 total.

The school superintendent, Marie Wiles, has spoken of the need for the state to make selection for the limited spaces dependent on income but currently anyone who lives in the district with a child the right age has an equally random chance in the lottery.

Applications may be submitted by email at , by fax at 518-456-1152, or in person at the district office at 8 School Road in Guilderland Center.

These four programs have partnered with the school district:

— All Saints Catholic Academy at 10 Rosemont St. in Albany;

— Christ the King Early Childhood Center at 20 Sumter Ave. in Guilderland;

— Lynnwood Reformed Church Preschool, run by the YMCA, at 3714 Carman Road in Guilderland; and

— St. Madeleine Sophie School at 3510 Carman Road in Guilderland.

Current enrollment in one of these four programs does not guarantee a state-funded UPK spot; if awarded a spot, it may not be with the current childcare provider.

 Families are responsible for transportation to and from the UPK program.

The UPK program is open to families of any faith or no faith. Religious instruction, if offered, will take place after the 8 a.m.-to-1 p.m. program hours funded through the school district.

Care before or after those hours will not be paid for by the school district. The cost of wraparound services will be determined by the program where the child is enrolled and payment arrangements are to be made directly with that school.

More information is available on the school district’s website.