Universal Preschool

Eligibility for UPK is determined based on the Kindergarten eligibility date of the child’s home district.

2025-26 School Year

Children must be 4 years old by October 1, 2025, to be eligible for UPK during the 2025-26 school year, with the following exceptions:

• Edison School District 54JT – Must be 4 years old by June 15, 2025
• Peyton School District – Must be 4 years old by July 1, 2025

All children are eligible for 15 hours per week free (August to May).  If the family chooses to register at a UPK provider for more than 15 hours per week, the family is responsible for the cost of the additional hours at the provider’s published rates.

• Example:  Your child is eligible for 15 hours per week and you choose to register your child in a full-day program at your UPK provider (30 to 40 hours per week).  The first 15 hours per week will be paid to the provider by the state and will be free of charge to the family; the family will pay for the remaining hours each week that are not covered by UPK (between 15 and 25 hours).

Some children are eligible for 30 hours per week free (August to May).  Additional hours are based on a combination of family income and additional eligibility factors.  For more information, please consult the UPK Family Handbook under Eligibility:  Who Is Eligible for Additional Hours?

2025-26 School Year

For the 2025-26 School Year (August 2025 to May 2026), families should register at upk.colorado.gov per the instructions in the Family Handbook HERE. You may browse and choose providers as part of the application process.

2026-27 School Year

1. Follow the instructions HERE to upload your income documentation to the application.
2. Next, submit a help desk ticket at help.upk.colorado.gov stating that you have uploaded your income documentation to your application and are requesting a review of your supplemental hours eligibility. This process can take four to six weeks once submitted. Until eligibility is reviewed, your family is eligible for 15 hours of UPK per week.

If your family has had a change in eligibility factors, follow these steps:

1. Submit a help desk ticket to help.upk.colorado.gov, stating the change in whatever eligibility factor has changed – such as income, housing status (i.e., experiencing homelessness), IEP or incorrect primary language information – and ask to correct the information and re-determine eligibility. 
2. Attach any documentation that supports the requested change. This process can take four to six week once submitted. Until eligibility is reviewed, your family is eligible for 15 hours of UPK.

Children who have an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) can apply for UPK at any time at upk.colorado.gov by answering “yes” to the question in the application about the child having an IEP.  Families of children with IEPs are not able to select a program or a site when submitting their application.  The application goes directly to the school district or Pikes Peak BOCES to work with the family for placement.

All questions about UPK services for children with IEPs should be directed to the child’s home school district.  To find your home school district, please use this School Finder Search Tool.

Families with children who will be three by October 1, 2025 (and not yet four by that date) who want to be served by their school district must go directly to their school district to register.  These children will not be able to register through the UPK system (the exception is 3-year-old children with IEPs – see above).  Availability of seats varies by school district.  Any family who is unsure of their home school district may click HERE to determine their district.  If you need a school district contact for preschool, view the contacts for your home school districts HERE.

Note:  Some school districts have kindergarten eligibility dates that are different than October 1^st.  Eligibility for UPK is determined based on the kindergarten eligibility date of the child’s home school district.  In El Paso County, the following school districts adhere to different eligibility dates:

• Edison School District 54JT – Must be 4 years old by June 15, 2025
• Peyton School District – Must be 4 years old by July 1, 2025

If you need to find an early childhood program for your child, please visit our Finding Quality Child Care page.

Visit our Resources page for a comprehensive Community Resource Directory!

Military families will find additional resources on our Military Families page which includes the information below.

• Home Front Military Care Network >> 

  • HFMN helps service members, veterans and their families navigate support systems through web-based and call-in information and assistance to find the services that are the best fit, and follows alongside these individuals every step of the way. If you are looking for assistance, please call 719-577-7417 to speak with our navigation team.

• The Peterson Air Force Base Airman & Family Readiness Center >>

  • Provides targeted Airman and Family support and services, contributing to the mission readiness, resilience and well-being of the Air Force community. View Brochure>>

  • Facebook @21FSS  or @petersoncommunitysupport

• The Fort Carson Military and Family Support Center

  • As a gateway to the resources you need, the Military and Family Support Center provides information, support and services to help you balance the demands of military life. The Military and Family Support Center is one part of the overall Family Readiness System, which is the network of agencies, programs, services, partnerships and individuals that supports your personal and family life readiness, mobilization and deployment readiness, and mobility and economic readiness.

• Child Care Aware

  • Visit the Child Care Aware website for further information or select your branch of service for more information on eligible programs and assistance.