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 26.5-4-204 - Colorado universal preschool program - created - eligibility - workforce development plan - program funding - rules

(1)
There is created in the department the Colorado universal preschool program. The department shall administer the preschool program in accordance with this part 2 and shall ensure that, for the 2023-24 school year and school years thereafter, families may enroll their children in preschool providers that receive funding through the preschool program. The purposes of the preschool program are:
(a)
To provide children in Colorado access to voluntary, high-quality, universal preschool services free of charge in the school year before a child enrolls in kindergarten;
(b)
To provide access to additional preschool services in the school year before kindergarten eligibility for children in low-income families and children who lack overall learning readiness due to qualifying factors;
(c)
To provide access to preschool services for children who are three years of age, or in limited circumstances younger than three years of age, and are children with disabilities, are in low-income families, or lack overall learning readiness due to qualifying factors; and
(d)
To establish quality standards for publicly funded preschool providers that promote children's early learning and development, school readiness, and healthy beginnings.
(2)
For the 2023-24 school year and each school year thereafter, subject to the availability and enrollment capacity of preschool providers, parents throughout the state may enroll their children, free of charge, in ten hours per week of publicly funded preschool services for the school year preceding the school year in which the children are eligible to enroll in kindergarten. The department, working with local coordinating organizations, shall identify and recruit preschool providers throughout the state to participate in the Colorado universal preschool program. In identifying and recruiting preschool providers, the department and local coordinating organizations shall, to the extent practicable, establish a mixed delivery system in communities throughout the state that enables parents to select preschool providers for their children from as broad a range as possible within their respective communities.
(3)
(a)
For the 2023-24 school year and for each school year thereafter:
(I)
Subject to the availability and capacity of preschool providers, every child in the state may receive ten hours of preschool services per week, at no charge, during the school year preceding the school year in which the child is eligible to enroll in kindergarten.
(II)
Pursuant to IDEA and ECEA, every child who is three or four years of age and is a child with disabilities must be offered preschool services in accordance with the child's individualized education program.
(III)
Subject to available appropriations, a child who is three years of age, is not eligible to enroll in kindergarten in the next school year, and is in a low-income family or meets at least one qualifying factor may receive the number of hours of preschool services established by department rule.
(IV)
Subject to available appropriations, a community in which a school district operated a district preschool program pursuant to article
28
of title
22
, as it existed prior to July 1, 2023, with a waiver to serve children under three years of age, may continue to provide preschool services for the number of hours established by department rule for the same number of children under three years of age that received preschool services in the 2022-23 school year, so long as each child who receives the preschool services is in a low-income family or meets at least one qualifying factor.
(V)
Subject to available appropriations, a child who is in a low-income family or who meets at least one qualifying factor may receive additional preschool services for the number of hours established by department rule in the school year preceding the school year in which the child is eligible to enroll in kindergarten.
(b)
Notwithstanding any provision of subsection (3)(a) of this section to the contrary:
(I)
The state shall provide to each three- or four-year-old child with a disability whose parent enrolls the child in the preschool program an educational program in accordance with IDEA and ECEA and the child's individualized education program; and
(II)
For a school year in which federal money is provided to the state to fund preschool, other than federal money provided through IDEA, the executive director may allocate said funding to provide the number of hours of preschool services allowed under federal law for all children defined as eligible under federal law.
(4)
(a)
The executive director shall adopt rules to implement the preschool program, which must include:
(I)
The level of income that identifies a family as being low-income for purposes of identifying children who are three years of age or younger and are eligible for preschool services and prioritizing funding for those additional preschool services. The executive director shall, to the extent practicable, ensure that the income eligibility requirements for other publicly funded child care programs are aligned with the income level set pursuant to this subsection (4)(a)(I).
(II)
The qualifying factors that a child must meet to be eligible to receive additional preschool services. The executive director shall ensure that the qualifying factors are reviewed and, as necessary, revised at least every five years. The purpose of the qualifying factors is to identify children who are at risk of entering kindergarten without being ready for school. The qualifying factors must include identification as a dual-language learner or a child with disabilities and may include such other factors as the department may identify.
(III)
The number of hours of preschool services that an eligible child may receive pursuant to subsection (3)(a)(III) or (3)(a)(IV) of this section; except that the number of hours for an eligible child who is a child with disabilities is determined in accordance with IDEA, ECEA, and the child's individualized education program;
(IV)
The number of hours of additional preschool services that an eligible child may receive pursuant to subsection (3)(a)(V) of this section; except that the number of hours for an eligible child who is a child with disabilities are determined in accordance with IDEA, ECEA, and the child's individualized education program;
(V)
Preschool quality standards, as provided in section
26.5-4-205
;
(VI)
The formulas for setting the per-child rates for universal preschool services, for preschool services for children with disabilities, for preschool services for eligible children who are three years of age or younger as described in subsections (3)(a)(III) and (3)(a)(IV) of this section, and for additional preschool services, as provided in section
26.5-4-208
; and
(VII)
Such other rules as are required in this part 2 or as may be necessary to implement the preschool program.
(b)
In adopting rules, the executive director shall, to the extent possible:
(I)
Align all rules pertaining to funding and preschool provider requirements to facilitate combining and coordinating federal, state, preschool program, and child care funding to the greatest extent allowed under state and federal law and regulation; and
(II)
Align preschool quality standards and requirements with the child care licensing requirements and licensing requirements for school district and charter school preschool programs, as provided in part 3 of article
5
of this title 26.5, to reduce conflicts and duplication.
(5)
In developing a plan for recruiting, training, and retaining a well-compensated, well-prepared, high-quality statewide early childhood workforce pursuant to section
26.5-6-101
, the department shall ensure that the plan specifically addresses strategies for building and supporting the preschool workforce, especially with respect to:
(a)
Simplifying the process for attaining credentials, meeting qualifications, and demonstrating professional competencies;
(b)
Minimizing regulatory and administrative barriers to entry, including barriers faced by individuals who speak languages other than English;
(c)
Increasing diversity in the preschool workforce;
(d)
Establishing goals for increasing the qualifications of preschool teachers over time, including strategies for achieving the goal of supporting increased attainment of baccalaureate degrees in early childhood or baccalaureate degrees with supplemental early learning credentials for lead teachers employed by preschool providers; and
(e)
Recruiting, compensating, providing continuing professional development for, and retaining individuals in the preschool workforce, including strategies for achieving the goal of compensating those individuals at a living wage.
(6)
To preserve the general assembly's historic commitment to preschool program funding, the general assembly shall appropriate to the department for the Colorado universal preschool program:
(a)
For the 2023-24 fiscal year, an amount at least equal to the difference between the amount of the state share of total program calculated pursuant to article
54
of title
22
for the 2022-23 budget year, after application of the budget stabilization factor and after any mid-year adjustment, and the amount that the state share of total program, after application of the budget stabilization factor and after any mid-year adjustment, would be for the 2022-23 budget year if calculated without including the statewide preschool program enrollment, as defined in section
22-54-103
, for the 2022-23 budget year and the number of three- and four-year-old pupils with disabilities receiving an educational program under the "Exceptional Children's Educational Act", article
20
of title
22
, for the 2022-23 budget year.
(b)
For the 2024-25 fiscal year, and each fiscal year thereafter, an amount at least equal to the amount described in subsection (6)(a) of this section increased annually by the rate of inflation.
Amended by 2023 Ch. 94,§ 1, eff. 8/7/2023.
Added by 2022 Ch. 123, §3, eff. 7/1/2022.
2023 Ch. 94, was passed without a safety clause. See Colo. Const. art. V, § 1(3).