A new Colorado program is allowing for 15 hours of free preschool in the 2023-2024 school year.
The cutoff date for the first round of applications are closing soon (February 14th). Applicants will be able to find their match by March 17th.
Am I eligible?
According to the Universal Preschool Colorado program (UPK), families in Colorado can receive at least 15 hours per week of free, voluntary preschool for 4 year olds through the Universal Preschool (UPK) Colorado program. 3 year olds with qualifying factors are eligible for 10 free hours per week.
From Chalkbeat Colorado, there are three groups of children who qualify: 4-year-olds, some 3-year-olds who need extra help, and a small number of 5-year-olds who are too young for kindergarten.
The new preschool program is designed for children in the year before they go to kindergarten — children who turn 4 before the state’s Oct. 1 cutoff date. The state will pay for 15 hours a week of preschool for these students at no cost to parents. Some preschool providers may offer only 10 hours a week — for example, a school district that offers K-12 classes only four days a week.
Some 4-year-olds will get 30 hours of free preschool a week, including those from lower-income families, who speak a language besides English at home, are homeless, in foster care, or have disabilities.
The new preschool program will also cover 10 hours a week of preschool for 3-year-olds in these same groups.
What are the qualifying factors?
Families with certain qualifying factors are eligible for more hours stacked on top of the half-day (up to 15 hours) available to every child in the year before they are eligible for kindergarten.
This includes:
- Household Income
- IEP
- Housing status
- Dual language learner
- Foster/Kinship care
You will need to upload documents to show proof of Household Income.
Where can I apply?
You can apply online at https://upk.colorado.gov.
Reminder- there will be an additional application window in the future, so be on the lookout in case you miss it!
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