Universal Preschool Colorado

The Colorado Universal Preschool Program was created in the statute under HB 22-1295. The Colorado Department of Early Childhood (CDEC) Launched UPK in the 2023-24 school year, offering a minimum of part-time (10 hours/week) or half-day (15 hours/week) of high-quality, voluntary preschool to every Colorado child in the year before they are eligible to enter kindergarten. Families can choose any participating licensed provider in the state. Additional state-funded hours will be available based on child or family circumstances that may impact kindergarten readiness.

UPK is housed within CDEC, along with other early childhood and family support programs. To ensure that the program is responsive to the varying needs of communities across Colorado, CDEC has appointed Local Coordinating Organizations (LCOs) to support the program at a local level.

Some children will qualify for additional hours of preschool under the UPK program based on qualifying factors. Families may also qualify for CCCAP, Head Start, or another state, federal, or locally funded child care programs. Families may also utilize a “private pay” option in coordination with their provider, to supplement Universal Preschool and other funded programs in which they might be interested.

The Colorado Universal Preschool Program (UPK) will be delivered through a mixed delivery model, meaning that families can choose to send their child to any licensed preschool, whether school-based, community-based, or home-based, that is participating in UPK. When applying for UPK, families will be able to see participating preschools in their community and indicate their preferences.

A local coordinating organization (LCO) is a community agency or organization that is responsible for supporting access to and equitable delivery of early childhood and family support programs in the community. The LCO’s role is to foster partnerships and create alignment to ensure the equitable provision of early childhood and family support programs. The LCO will establish and implement a comprehensive, locally driven plan to achieve these goals.

Throughout the process of developing recommendations and drafting the legislation that established the UPK program, stakeholders raised concerns that early childhood programs were operating in silos, and that local communities were best situated to address local needs. The LCO structure will ensure that there is a local center of gravity for early childhood programs that is responsible for coordinating resources, assisting families, strengthening community choices, and meeting accountability standards. Local leadership is particularly important to engage and support providers so that families have access to a wide range of choices within the mixed delivery framework.

Eligible entities submitted applications to CDEC that included evidence of their capacity to support families, providers, and the broader early childhood community. Applicants also submitted letters of support from community members and partners. These applications were reviewed by a panel of early childhood experts, and 32 LCOs were selected.

LCOs are responsible for assisting families in applying for UPK slots, matching families with appropriate providers, supporting a variety of providers to participate in UPK, and equitably distributing the UPK resources available in their community.

All Colorado Children are eligible for UPK in the year before they become eligible for kindergarten. Children who are three years of age, or younger in districts that have a waiver to serve children under three, will also be eligible for UPK hours if they meet at least one qualifying factor and household income is below 270% of the federal poverty guidelines. These children will be served by school districts.

Qualifying factors are child or family circumstances identified by CDEC as having the potential to impact a child’s learning. The qualifying factors adopted in CDEC Rule are as follows:

For 4 year old’s:

Any child in the year before they are eligible for kindergarten who is low income (household income below 270% of the federal poverty guidelines) AND has a qualifying factor is eligible for additional hours of free preschool, pending eligibility confirmation.

For 3 year old’s:

Only 3-year-olds with a household income below 270% of the federal poverty guidelines or who have one or more of the qualifying factors listed above are eligible to enroll in the program for part-time preschool services in the school district where the family lives.

Qualifying Factors:

• The child is a dual-language learner and the native language spoken in the child’s home is a language other than English, or the child’s native language is not English.

• The child has an Individualized Education Program (IEP).

• The child is currently in the custody of a state-supervised and county-administered foster care home or in non-certified kinship care.

• The child is identified as homeless.

• Household income is below 100% of the federal poverty guidelines.

Families can choose part-time (10 hours/week), or half-day (15 hours/week) of state-funded preschool in the year before the child is eligible for kindergarten. Some children will be eligible for additional UPK hours bringing them to a full day (30 hours) if they have at least one qualifying factor and household income is below 270% of the federal poverty guidelines. UPK eligibility is independent of a child’s eligibility for CCCAP, Head Start, or local preschool program funding, so families may layer these hours on top of their UPK allocation. LCOs can help families to navigate the combination of different funding sources for a child’s care. Families are also welcome to work with providers to arrange additional self-funded hours as required.

While LCOs will strive to ensure that every family who wants to participate in UPK is served, enrollment will depend on the availability of a participating provider to meet the child’s needs and available funding.

CDEC is developing a family application portal that will allow families to express preferences for provider type, hours, and location. Families will also be able to supply the information required to check eligibility for additional hours through this portal. This information will be used to match families with a participating provider as well as to determine their child’s eligibility for additional state-funded preschool hours. Certain weighted factors, like the continuity of care, having a sibling in a center, and others, will be considered when determining the match.

Families that are already served by a provider, have another child in the provider’s care, or are employed by the provider will be given preference in their first choice of that provider.

Yes. UPK is designed to be layered with CCCAP, Head Start, and local funding programs. LCOs are expected to support families in the process of blending and braiding state funding to augment the provision of additional services for children.

Families will be able to use the single application portal to apply for the part-time (10 hours/week) preschool programming if the child meets at least one qualifying factor and household income is below 270% of the federal poverty guidelines. Children three years of age who meet the eligibility requirements will be served by their local school district or may be served by a community-based provider if such provider contracts with the school district.

No. Services that are currently provided under CPP will be replaced by equivalent provisions under the UPK program from 2023-24 with the goal of unifying state funding under one funding source. CPP will continue to run as normal for the 2022-23 school year.

UPK is open to all licensed providers that have entered into an agreement with CDEC. This includes school-based, community-based, and family childcare home providers. Providers will need to utilize a curriculum that meets the standards set by CDEC through a rulemaking process. A resource bank will be made available to help providers with curriculum planning and delivery.

CDEC is committed to supporting families in choosing the most appropriate preschool setting for their children. This could be a school-based preschool classroom, a child care center in the community, or a home-based child care provider.

Visit the new website for the Colorado Department of Early Childhood and stay connected by receiving the CDEC monthly newsletter. Sign up to receive it.

Attend one of CCECC’s monthly meetings where we share local updates about our UPK implementation efforts and progress. Contact Sarah Romack at sromack@ccecc.org to receive an invitation.