Press Release

The Colorado Department of Early Childhood (CDEC) today announced the details surrounding the implementation of quality standards for year one of Universal Preschool (UPK) Colorado, as well as the three phases to create quality standards and aligned supports beyond the inaugural year. During the first year of UPK Colorado in the 2023-24 school year, preschool providers are expected to maintain current quality and licensing practices. CDEC is developing quality standards to begin in Year 2 of the UPK Colorado program.

Colorado’s voter-approved universal preschool program will launch this Fall, and free universal preschool is estimated to save families thousands of dollars every year and will put Colorado’s youngest learners on the path to success. Since launching the application for UPK Colorado this January, over 29,000 families have signed up to participate in the state-funded high-quality, voluntary mixed delivery preschool program available to every child in the year before they are eligible to enter kindergarten.

Families who applied in the first round of Universal Preschool Colorado (UPK) are currently being matched with providers through a mathematical algorithm known as the deferred acceptance algorithm. The Colorado Department of Early Childhood created a video in English and Spanish to explain the matching process.

Free universal preschool is estimated to save families thousands of dollars every year and will put Colorado’s youngest learners on the path to success. Last week, the Colorado Department of Early Childhood (CDEC) announced that from February 17-24, families who have already ranked their selected providers for Universal Preschool (UPK) Colorado in the first round of applications can reopen their initial application and reevaluate their choices of providers to make sure they still have the best providers selected for their needs. The department encourages families to submit their choices by 5:00 PM MT on Friday, February 24.

Since launching the application for Universal Preschool (UPK) Colorado this January, nearly 28,000 families have signed up to participate in the state-funded high-quality, voluntary mixed delivery preschool program available to every child in the year before they are eligible to enter kindergarten.

In partnership with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), the Colorado Department of Early Childhood (CDEC) will distribute Improving Indoor Air Quality grants to address the growing need for filtered indoor air, highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic and the increased frequency of wildfire smoke in Colorado as a result of climate change.

The Colorado Department of Early Childhood (CDEC) has been awarded a $3.9 million 2023 Preschool Development Birth through Five (PDG B-5) Planning Grant by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families. The grant will support innovations that address gaps in the early child care and education system for children ages birth to five and emerging challenges and needs resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

In just over a week, over 250 providers have already signed up to offer more than 12,000 & growing preschool openings for Universal Preschool in Colorado. The Polis administration and the Colorado Department of Early Childhood recently opened the registration process for providers to participate in Universal Preschool (UPK) Colorado, the state-funded high-quality, voluntary mixed delivery preschool program available to every Colorado child in the year before they are eligible to enter kindergarten.

Dr. Kathryn “Kathi” Wells, the Executive Director of the Kempe Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Child Abuse and Neglect and the Section Head for Child Abuse and Neglect in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, has been named the 2022 Ray E. Helfer, MD, Award honoree. Dr. Wells received the award at a reception at the History Colorado Center during the joint Children’s Trust Fund Alliance and Prevent Child Abuse America national membership meeting on Nov. 15.

Dawn Odean will begin her role as CDEC’s Universal Preschool Program Director on August 15, 2022.