2023 Colorado Revised Statutes › Title 26.5 - EARLY CHILDHOOD PROGRAMS AND SERVICES (§§ 26.5-1-101 — 26.5-6-103) › Article 4 - CHILD CARE AND EDUCATION (§§ 26.5-4-101 — 26.5-4-403) › Part 2 - COLORADO UNIVERSAL PRESCHOOL PROGRAM (§§ 26.5-4-201 — 26.5-4-211) › Section 26.5-4-202 - Legislative declaration

(1)
(a)
The general assembly finds and declares that:
(I)
Colorado has prioritized early learning through its investments in the Colorado preschool program, established in 1988, and full-day kindergarten, adopted in 2019;
(II)
Since establishing the Colorado preschool program, Colorado has steadily increased its investment in high-quality preschool programming, securing a significant return on investment by improving child outcomes year over year by expanding access to preschool for children in low-income families and those who are at risk of entering kindergarten without being prepared to learn;
(III)
State and national research demonstrate the positive and long- and short-term impacts of high-quality preschool, including improved early literacy, reduced grade retention, decreased probability of developing a significant reading deficiency, improved performance on statewide standards-based assessments, and increased rate of high school graduation;
(IV)
Research demonstrates that economically disadvantaged children derive greater benefits from preschool programs in states that offer universal programs than in states that offer preschool programs specifically for economically disadvantaged children;
(V)
In the 2020 general election, the voters of Colorado approved proposition EE by a nearly two-to-one margin, establishing a dedicated source of funding for statewide, voluntary, universal preschool programming for children in the year preceding kindergarten and for additional preschool programming for children in low-income families and children who are at risk of entering kindergarten without being prepared to learn. With the passage of this measure, Colorado voters in rural, urban, and suburban communities have demonstrated their strong commitment to expanding access to quality preschool for children regardless of their economic circumstances.
(VI)
Creating a statewide mixed delivery system of preschool providers to make preschool programming universally available to children throughout Colorado compounds the benefits for children who are in low-income families and increases the ultimate social and economic benefits of high-quality preschool programming for the state as a whole.
(b)
The general assembly finds, therefore, that it is in the best interests of the state and consistent with the will of the voters of Colorado to establish the Colorado universal preschool program to provide high-quality, voluntary preschool programming through a mixed delivery system for children throughout the state in the year preceding kindergarten enrollment and to provide for additional preschool services for children who are in low-income families or who meet identified qualifying factors.
(2)
(a)
The general assembly further finds and declares that:
(I)
In 2000, the voters approved section 17 of article IX of the state constitution, which requires the general assembly to annually increase, by at least the rate of inflation, the statewide base per pupil funding, as defined by article
54
of title
22
, for public education from preschool through twelfth grade;
(II)
In the 2001-02 fiscal year and in every fiscal year since, the increases to statewide base per pupil funding have automatically applied to funding for preschool services provided by school districts, because the funding for preschool services has been calculated through the school finance formula established in article
54
of title
22
, which applies to funding for public elementary and secondary education;
(III)
To effectively and efficiently provide preschool services through a mixed delivery system of school- and community-based preschool providers, and to ensure that funding calculations account for the unique standards and features of preschool programs, state funding for preschool services, including preschool services for children with disabilities, must be appropriated and allocated separately from the funding for public elementary and secondary education, and, beginning in the 2023-24 fiscal year, the statewide base per pupil funding amount set annually for public elementary and secondary education will no longer apply to funding for preschool services;
(IV)
To continue to meet the intent of section 17 (1) of article IX of the state constitution with regard to funding for preschool services, it is appropriate for the department of early childhood to establish a per-child constitutional compliance rate for the 2023-24 fiscal year that equals the portion of the statewide base per pupil funding amount established for the 2023-24 fiscal year that applies to the number of hours of universal preschool services provided to an eligible child, and to increase the per-child constitutional compliance rate annually by the rate of inflation.
(b)
The general assembly, therefore, declares that, by establishing a per-child constitutional compliance rate and ensuring that the per-child rate that the department annually establishes for universal preschool services and for preschool services provided to children who are three years of age or younger meets or exceeds the per-child constitutional compliance rate, funding for the Colorado universal preschool program substantially complies with the requirements of section 17 (1) of article IX of the state constitution.
(3)
(a)
The general assembly further finds and declares that:
(I)
In approving proposition EE, the voters supported funding for ten hours of high-quality preschool programming for all Colorado children in the year preceding kindergarten enrollment, as well as additional preschool programming for children who are at risk of entering kindergarten without being prepared to learn, including children in low-income families;
(II)
Research demonstrates that participating in high-quality preschool programs helps to ensure that children in low-income families are able to enter kindergarten on par with their peers in higher-income families; and
(III)
For the preschool program to serve children equitably, the state must invest in additional hours of preschool programming for children in low-income families, in addition to funding the ten hours of universal preschool services.
(b)
The general assembly finds, therefore, that it is in the best interests of the state to allocate the amount appropriated for the Colorado universal preschool program to provide adequate funding for both a high-quality universal preschool program and additional preschool programming for children in low-income families.
(4)
The general assembly recognizes the requirement of the federal "Individuals with Disabilities Education Act",
20 U.S.C. sec. 1400
et seq., as amended, to provide educational services to every three- or four-year-old child with a disability, in accordance with the child's individualized education program. The general assembly declares that, for purposes of section 17 of article IX of the state constitution, meeting the obligation of serving all three- and four-year-old children with disabilities through the Colorado universal preschool program is an important element of expanding the availability of preschool programs and may therefore receive funding from the state education fund created in section 17 (4) of article IX of the state constitution.
Amended by 2024 Ch. 236,§ 61, eff. 5/23/2024.
Added by 2022 Ch. 123, §3, eff. 7/1/2022.