In just over a week, over 250 providers have already signed up to offer more than 12,000 & growing preschool openings for Universal Preschool in Colorado

DENVER — The Polis administration and the Colorado Department of Early Childhood recently opened the registration process for providers to participate in Universal Preschool (UPK) Colorado, the state-funded high-quality, voluntary mixed delivery preschool program available to every Colorado child in the year before they are eligible to enter kindergarten.

“Hundreds of high-quality early childhood providers are now one step closer to opening their doors to Colorado kids and families for free, universal preschool. This exciting milestone is part of the bold work we are doing to make universal preschool a reality in Colorado, and we encourage school districts and community preschools to register today,” said Gov. Polis.

“The number of preschools signing up is a positive sign for Colorado’s kids, for families, and for our future. Within days of the portal opening for providers to sign up, there are more than 12,000 openings available for kids in Universal Preschool Colorado based on the number of providers who have already registered, and the signup process is only a week old. We are so encouraged by the response of providers, and can’t wait to see this number continue to grow,” said CDEC Executive Director Dr. Lisa Roy.

Universal Preschool launches in the fall of 2023. All providers who are licensed to support preschool-aged children are able to participate in UPK Colorado and the registration process is simple. To begin the process, providers should contact their Local Coordinating Organization (LCO).

Providers can log in to UPK Colorado with the same email used for Provider Hub, and register to become a participating UPK Colorado provider. In order to participate, providers will need to sign the provider agreement.

Once registered, providers can build out their profiles to advertise their services to their  communities. The family enrollment process launches at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, January 17, 2023.