By Will Cornelius
The Surveyor

Beginning this fall, all Colorado children within a year of starting kindergarten will be able to attend preschool part-time at no cost to their parents.

Approved by voters through Proposition EE in November 2020, the program covers the cost of up to 15 hours of preschool per week for all Colorado children. Families with low income or a child with an individualized education program can qualify for additional hours per week. Other qualifying factors include children in foster care, dual-language learners, or homelessness.

The statewide program is universal and open to all Colorado children in the year before they start kindergarten. Based on the qualifying factors, some three-year-old children may be eligible for state-funded preschool hours too.

Proposition EE was approved by Coloradans 68%-32% at the end of 2020. It raised the excise tax on tobacco products and directed the revenue toward funding universal preschool. The early childhood education initiative was a major policy objective Gov. Jared Polis promised when he was first elected in 2018.

“With this bill, families in Colorado with four-year-olds will have access to free preschool in the fall of 2023, saving them money and preparing kids for success,” Polis said when he signed HB22-1295 in 2022. The bill created the Colorado Department of Early Childhood (CDEC) and the framework for universal state-funded preschool.

The program started at the beginning of this year, with parents submitting applications and being matched with a list of their preferred preschool providers. In Larimer County, this is done through the Early Childhood Council of Larimer County (ECCLC). The ECCLC covers all of Larimer County, including the three school districts, Poudre RE-1, Thompson R2-J and Estes Park R-3.

Last month the CDEC reported that nearly 19,000 families had accepted the preschool provider they were initially matched with. The department expects another 15,000 families to be matched in the next round.

This year is the first year that universal preschool will be available to all families in Colorado. State officials expect only about half of Colorado four-year-olds to participate in the program, around 31,000.

An analysis by Chalkbeat, a nonprofit news organization focused on covering public education, estimated that there are over 56,000 preschool seats available in Colorado this fall. But some counties may have fewer seats than preschoolers. Chalkbeat estimated in Larimer County there could be 3,880 four-year-olds but only 3,006 preschool seats.

Logan Mansanarez at the ECCLC said there are roughly 2,500 spots available from more than 100 providers in Larimer County.

Last Friday, Gov. Polis signed a pair of bills that will assist with launching universal preschool later this year. A one-time bonus payment for early childhood care providers participating in the state-funded universal preschool program has been made possible by SB23-269. Another bill, HB23-1290, will ask voters this November to allow the state to keep excess revenue raised from the excise tax on tobacco products for universal preschool.

To find participating preschool organizations in Larimer County, visit https://www.larimerchildcare.org/welcome. There are currently nine preschool providers in Berthoud’s 80513-zip code.