What to know about Colorado's free preschool for 4-year-olds: Registration starts Jan. 17

Colorado’s new Universal Preschool program begins next fall, with the state paying for up to 15 hours a week of voluntary preschool for children in the year before they are eligible for kindergarten, along with qualifying 3-year-olds.

The program covers education in licensed community-based, school-based or home-based preschool settings that have registered with the state to participate in the program. More than 29,000 slots had been made available from 850 providers, including most of the state’s public-school districts, as of last week, according to state officials, with more providers expected to join as enrollment begins.

Funding for the program is coming from a tax on nicotine products approved by voters in 2020.

Registration for eligible students begins Tuesday, Jan. 17.

Here’s what you need to know:

When and where can I sign up?

Online registration begins Tuesday, Jan. 17 at https://upk.colorado.gov/ and continues indefinitely, with no deadline. Families are encouraged to sign up early because slots with specific providers will fill up, limiting the options for those who sign up later.

Children will begin being matched with providers in mid-February and on a rolling basis after that.

Who is eligible?

All children in Colorado are eligible for the program in the year prior to their eligibility to begin kindergarten, generally those who will be 4 years old before Oct. 1, 2023. Families are entitled to only one school year of the program per child, regardless of when they choose to start their child in kindergarten, unless they meet the standards for qualifying 3-year-olds.

Children who meet certain qualifying criteria are eligible for more hours, up to 30 hours of weekly coverage, based on household income, individual education plans, homelessness status, learning dual languages, and foster or kinship care.

Three-year-olds who meet those criteria are also eligible for up to 10 hours per week in the program. Details on receiving the extra benefits and the required documentation are available on the registration website.

How is this program free to me?

Participating providers will bill and receive payment from the state for each qualifying child they enroll. The initial reimbursement rate is $5,944 for a 4-year-old for the nine-month school year, paid on a quarterly basis.

What if I need more than the 15 free hours each week?

Many preschool and daycare programs offer more than 15 hours of instruction or care each week. The state will pay for up to 15 hours each week for 4-year-olds, with families responsible for the balance by paying out-of-pocket or through additional local, state and federal programs available.

What preschool providers are available to me?

The number of providers will vary as slots fill up, particularly in programs run by local school districts, including Poudre, Thompson and Weld RE-4. They are limited by space and staffing and will not necessarily be able to provide a full 15 hours per week of instruction for 4-year-olds in the first year of the program. Colorado’s previous preschool program for 4-year-olds administered by school districts required 10 hours of instruction each week.

Local coordinating organizations, including the Early Childhood Council of Larimer County, have been established across the state to provide support to providers and families accessing the program.

Larimer County had about 50 providers enrolled in the program earlier this week, according to Christina Taylor, the CEO of the Early Childhood Council of Larimer County. They included preschools, day care centers, in-home day care services and early childhood education programs in local school districts.

“It’s a mixed-delivery system, so families are able to choose the type of program that works for them,” Taylor said.

The state will match children with providers through the application process.

State officials said those with children or siblings already enrolled in a participating program should note that on the application, and it will be taken into account in an effort to provide continuity of care and to keep families and siblings together, where possible.

She urged families to ask providers not already enrolled in the program to sign up so they can claim the tuition credit for eligible children.

Poudre School District offers early childhood education programs at 21 of its elementary schools and seven community sites. An expanded program at Eyestone Elementary School in Wellington next fall will have 10 teachers and 16 paraprofessionals, PSD officials said. PSD is hosting open houses to assist families with the registration process from 1 to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 17, and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday, Jan. 20, at Eyestone, 4001 Wilson Ave., in Wellington.

The Weld RE-4 School District, which serves the Weld County portions of Windsor, Severance and west Greeley, offers preschool programs at three elementary schools.

Thompson School District offers early childhood education programs at 13 locations in and around Loveland and Berthoud. Thompson School District will have an application support night to help families with the registration process from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 18, at Stansbury Elementary School, 407 E. 41nd St., in Loveland.

School district programs might be limited to residents of a particular district. Other providers don’t necessarily have those restrictions, allowing people who live in one community or county to enroll their children in a program in another community or county if that’s more convenient, Taylor said.

What if don’t like the provider selected for my child?

Families can reject the provider they are matched with through the application process but might need to resubmit their application if they do so, depending on when the rejection is completed.

Reporter Kelly Lyell covers education and other topics of interest for the Coloradoan. Contact him at kellylyell@coloradoan.com, twitter.com/KellyLyell or facebook.com/KellyLyell.news. 

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Colorado's free preschool registration opens Jan. 17: What to know