What Denver Families Need to Know About UPK Colorado

Colorado’s statewide UPK program began in the fall of 2023 for the 2023-2024 school year. Also known as UPK Colorado, the program offers families across the state up to 15 hours of funded preschool each week for the 2023-2024 school year between August 2023–May 2024. The program will run every school year with details about specific hours, eligibility, and enrollment being determined annually by CDEC.

Colorado’s UPK tuition support is in addition to DPP’s year-round tuition support. UPK Colorado complements DPP’s proven tuition credit and quality initiative programs. UPK Colorado and DPP can be combined to maximize preschool tuition savings for Denver families.

• Direct Enrollment: Families can directly contact the provider they are interested in. If the provider has available seats in the UPK Colorado portal, providers can inform the family they can enroll their child into the provider’s program and assist the family in completing the UPK application, if necessary. The provider will then connect with DPP to assist with the process in the portal.
• LCO Supported Enrollment: Denver families can reach out to DPP directly (or their Local Coordinating Organization–LCO–if not in Denver). If there are UPK Colorado seats in Denver available, we can place and “accept” the student on the school’s behalf and then coordinate with the provider to finish the enrollment process. Denver families can contact denverupk@dpp.org to enroll this way.

CDEC will soon provide details on how families can enroll in UPK for the 2024-2025 school year. Families using School Choice through Denver Public Schools (DPS) will apply through DPS directly, which opens on January 11, 2024 (visit DPS’ website for more information). 

Here is the tentative schedule CDEC has released regarding enrollment for the 2024-2025 school year as of December 20, 2023: 

• February-March 2024: Pre-registration will be available for families with children currently enrolled with a participating provider, children with siblings currently enrolled with the participating provider, or a family member currently employed by the participating provider. These families will be able to submit an application and directly enroll with their chosen provider. 
• March-July 2024: Families who are looking for a new UPK Colorado preschool provider will have the opportunity to participate in the Family Matching process. This allows families to be “matched” with a “just-right fit” provider based on their top three choices from a wide variety of high-quality, licensed school-based, community-based, and home-based providers participating in UPK Colorado. Families will find a one-stop-shop to browse providers, select top choices, verify eligibility for the program, and submit an application for funding via upk.colorado.gov 
• July-Onwards: As it becomes closer to the 2024-2025 school year, families who have not yet enrolled in UPK Colorado can work directly with a participating provider of choice to enroll as space allows. 

Year-Round: Throughout the enrollment process and school year, children with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) would be supported through direct application registration and enrollment through their Administrative Unit (AU).

Make sure to have a copy of your child’s birth certificate (PDF, digital, photocopy, etc.), which you will need to register your child for UPK. To be eligible for UPK Colorado for the 2023-2024 school year, your child will need to be 4 on or before October 1, 2023.  If you need to obtain a new copy of your child’s birth certificate, you can do so via the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment or the Denver Department of Public Health & Environment.

You will need to provide proof of income with your application if you are applying for additional hours. For information on what documents are accepted, please visit the state’s FAQs.

Certain families may need to provide a waiver for specific school districts in Denver and Canyon City if enrolling a child under 3. Please contact us at denverupk@dpp.org for support with waivers in Denver.

There is currently no enrollment deadline for UPK Colorado for the 2023-2024 school year, however, the program year ends May 2024. While UPK Colorado will not fund summer programming, DPP will. 

Please visit the question above, “How do I enroll for 2024-2025 UPK Colorado?” for information about the application process for the upcoming school year.

• Search for participating providers in the Universal Preschool Portal.
• Once you find a provider, you can enroll for the remainder of the 2023-2024 school year one of the two ways outlined above in “What is the application process for UPK Colorado for the 2023-2024 school year?”
• Families currently enrolled that want to change preschool programs need to contact DPP at denverupk@dpp.org.
• For families wanting to take advantage of both UPK Colorado and DPP tuition credits for the 2023-2024 school year, DPP recommends that you apply for UPK Colorado first. Once enrolled in your preschool of choice, you can then apply for DPP tuition support. Learn more about signing up for DPP tuition support.  

Denver Preschool Program is your Denver-area contact for any and all questions related to UPK Colorado. You can reach us at denverupk@dpp.org. Additionally, the state’s UPK Colorado family website has information, and the state has a helpdesk for issues with login details and programming questions, which you can reach by calling 303-866-5233 or emailing cdec@upkcolorado@state.co.us.

All children are eligible to receive UPK Colorado services. If your child has an Individualized Education Program (IEP), partnering with your local school district is essential in ensuring aligned resources. School districts have the responsibility for ensuring a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) in accordance with IDEA and ECEA. Learn more about UPK Colorado and special education on the CDEC’s website. 

In the City of Denver, Denver Public Schools would be your school district: https://www.dpsk12.org/.

If your child does not have an IEP, and you have concern of a potential developmental delay, visit www.cde.state.co.us/cdesped/childfinddirectory for information on next steps.

Providers will be able to sign up for UPK Colorado for the 2024-2025 school year starting in January 2024. Look for more information soon and, if you feel compelled, encourage your current provider to consider UPK Colorado if they are not already participating.

Since 2006, the DPP has helped families living in the City and County of Denver find and pay for quality preschool. DPP tuition credits continue to be available to Denver families and can be added to UPK Colorado funding to increase your tuition savings. You may benefit from added DPP tuition credits if your child:

• Will be attending preschool more than 15 hours/week
• Will be in preschool year-round, including summer months

If your child was born between October 2, 2018 and October 1, 2019, they are eligible for up to 15 hours available to 4-year-olds. If your child was born between October 2, 2019 and October 1, 2020, and meets certain qualifying criteria, they are eligible for the 10 hours available to 3-year-olds.

In the state of Colorado, preschool and kindergarten are voluntary and therefore families have the right to defer enrollment in both based on their child’s needs. The UPK Colorado program is funded through the legislature to cover services for children in the year before they are eligible for kindergarten and qualifying three year old’s only. While your child can still enroll in preschool, their attendance is not funded by UPK Colorado. Children born on or after October 2, 2018 that wish to send their child to preschool in the 2023-2024 school year should contact their desired providers directly to inquire about enrollment outside of UPK Colorado.

Available funding for UPK Colorado covers up to 15 hours a week of preschool programming, with some children being eligible for more support based on need and other funding available (see questions below for more about additional funding). Since many families need more than 15 hours of preschool each week, our funding through DPP, which is paid for by a portion of city sales tax, not only continues to provide needed tuition credits for families with four-year-olds, but now our program has expanded to offer tuition support for three-year-olds at the highest level of financial need.

As UPK Colorado currently stands, it aims to fund up to 15 hours of preschool per week for 4-year-olds* (see next question for more details). Many families–and children–need more than that. The good news is that with DPP as a complement to UPK Colorado, many Denver families are able to receive additional support and have their preschool needs met fully. It’s really a win-win as there are more resources for Denver families and young children.

Three- and four-year-olds who meet one or more of the following criteria will be eligible for additional hours:

• A child who lives in a low-income household (270% of the 2023 Federal Poverty Guidelines)
• A child who is a dual language learner and the native language spoken in the child’s home is a language other than English, or the child’s native language is not English
• A child who has an Individualized Education Plan (IEP)
• A child who is currently in a foster care home or in non-certified kinship care
• A child who is identified as homeless

The above rules apply to eligible four-year-olds, three-year-olds, and children younger than three in a district with a waiver to serve children under three-years-old. For more details, please visit the Rules Advisory Council webpage.

• Apply for UPK Colorado at: upk.colorado.gov 
• Enroll in a participating preschool 
• Apply for DPP tuition credits at dpp.org or by calling 303-595-4377

Note that for families applying for DPS SchoolChoice, you will need to first apply on the DPS SchoolChoice website, prior to applying for UPK Colorado.

To ensure that a UPK Colorado provider is also a DPP provider: 

• Search for UPK Colorado providers on upk.colorado.gov. You can scroll down to the lower left-hand side of the page and select “browse providers.” You can then input your criteria. 

Once you locate providers who are participating in UPK Colorado, then visit DPP’s provider search page at find.dpp.org. Input the provider you are looking for in the “search” bar located on the upper right side of the homepage. If a provider is on both the UPK Colorado site and DPP’s site, it means they offer both UPK Colorado and DPP tuition credits.