Tuition Credit Eligibility

Tuition credits are available to ALL families regardless of income that live within the City and County of Denver and have a 4-year-old enrolled in a participating preschool program in the year before kindergarten. Below are details about all the eligibility requirements for receiving preschool tuition credits from DPP. When you are ready, apply for DPP Tuition Credits online.

You Must Live in Denver

Enrollment in the Denver Preschool Program is open to all families living in Denver. When you apply, you must provide documentation of family residency at a valid Denver address such as a utility bill. A valid Denver address is defined as an address within the City and County of Denver that can be found on the www.denvergov.org website.

Your Child Must Be 4 Years Old

Your child must be 4 years old on or before October 1 of the application school year and the application year must be the child’s last year of preschool before attending kindergarten. When you apply you must provide documentation verifying your child’s age, such as a birth certificate.

If your child does not meet the age requirement but is enrolled in his/her last year of preschool before kindergarten, written acknowledgment is required, and must be signed by the parent and the Director/Principal of the preschool.

Use this chart to determine eligibility for when your child can start receiving tuition support based on their birthdate:

Learn more about preschool for 3-year-olds.

Your Child Must be Enrolled in a Participating Preschool Program

To find out if your preschool participates in DPP, visit our find a preschool search tool and verify the program’s participation. If your program is not listed, please email us at info@dpp.org. We would be happy to reach out to them and tell them about the benefits of signing up to be a DPP preschool partner.

Income Eligibility

ALL Denver families, regardless of income are eligible for tuition credits. To ensure families with the greatest need are able to afford the highest quality early education, tuition credits are distributed on a sliding scale. The sliding scale is based on household income, household size, the length of the day a child attends preschool and the quality rating of the program the child is enrolled in. You can use our Tuition Credit Calculator to see how much tuition credit your family may be eligible for.

Submittal of income verification is optional; if a parent or guardian chooses to not provide verification of income they are choosing the minimum level of financial assistance.

When you apply, if income is reported, verification of one month’s (4 consecutive weeks) gross income is required, for at least one parent/guardian reporting income in the DPP application. If more than one month’s income is submitted, the most recent documents are used for the calculations. You may also complete and sign a DPP Income Affidavit instead. To request an Income Affidavit please email info@dpp.org.

Eligibility for Additional Funding to Cover Up to 100% of Preschool Costs

Depending on your income, you may be eligible for additional preschool tuition support from DPP, in addition to standard tuition credits. To be eligible for this additional support, your child must be:

  • Eligible/approved for standard Denver Preschool Program tuition credits
  • Make less than $51,000 per year for a family of 4.
  • Enrolled as a full- or extended-day student at a community-site preschool
  • Not receiving other public funds (Head Start, CPP/ECARE or CCCAP)

If these statements are true for your family, your child may be eligible for additional funding from the Denver Preschool Program! For more information, please view this page, call 303.595.4377 or email info@dpp.org.

When Can I Apply?

The Denver Preschool Program accepts applications year-round! Apply today to start saving. Start your application here.