The State of Colorado supports at least 15 hours of preschool for every four-year-old
Licensed preschool providers can participate in Colorado Universal Preschool (UPK); the program is voluntary for both providers and families. UPK provides up to 15 hours per week of preschool services for children in the year before they are eligible for kindergarten.
Four-year-olds with qualifying factors may be eligible for additional hours of preschool per week. Three-year-olds may also be eligible for UPK if they meet certain qualifying factors.
Providers, see this new UPK Overview and Calendar Tool which includes important information and links related to UPK. As we receive additional information about Quality Standards and CDEC communications, we will update this document so you can access all UPK-related content in one place.
Tools to Promote Your UPK Program to Families
The materials in this shared folder are designed to help providers promote their program to families.
Resources include printable flyers that you can share with families to let them know that you are a participating UPK provider and how they can enroll their child. There are also emails that providers can customize and send to families.
(CDEC also created this multi-lingual marketing toolkit to help providers and partners promote UPK in multiple languages.)
Licensed Providers Can Participate in UPK 
UPK is available for nine months during the school year. The funding for each child’s preschool tuition goes directly to the participating preschool provider.
For information on licensing and professional development, be sure to visit Child Care Innovations at Red Rocks Community College.
For information about Colorado Shines, visit Triad Early Childhood Council.
Providers that can participate in UPK include licensed family child care homes, licensed community-based centers, licensed school district programs, licensed charter school programs, and licensed Head Start programs. Licensed faith-based preschools can participate, but UPK funds cannot be applied during hours of religious programming.
To see the current Universal Preschool Program Rules and Regulations, click HERE.
Preschool providers participating in UPK may serve the number of preschool students allowed for by their current child care license.
UPK Tuition Credit Rates
Participating UPK providers In the Triad Bright Futures region (Jeffco, Clear Creek and Gilpin counties) will receive the following tuition credit payments for the 2025-26 school year:
- Part time slot funds 10 hours per week and providers receive $485 per month in 10 payments (or $4,846.20 for the entire year)*
- Half day slot funds 15 hours per week and providers receive $611 per month in 10 payments (or $6,110.43 for the entire year)*
- Full day slot funds 30 hours per week for qualifying children; providers receive $1,085 per month in 10 payments (or $10,851.27 for the entire year) – Available to children the year before kindergarten with income plus one additional qualifying factor
*Available to children the year before kindergarten (no qualifying factors)
Important Quality Standards Information
The (UPK) quality standards include program requirements in Instructional Practice (IP), Healthy Development (HD), and Family & Community Engagement (FCE).
For updated information about quality standards, please see the newly revised Provider Handbook, pages 64-71. Note this document is live so be sure to consult the table of contents to confirm the correct pages.
Triad Bright Futures Help Desk for Providers
Support for providers to navigate the UPK portal, review rosters, and make requests to CDEC for seat adjustments.
Questions About UPK Payments?
Please email coupkpayments@metrixiq.com or submit a ticket to the Payments Help Desk.
UPK Provider Information
CCCAP & UPK Work Together for Families
Signing up for UPK allows families that participate in CCCAP to get the maximum number of hours of child care each week and reduce or eliminate parent fees!
Understanding Qualifying Factors
Some children may be eligible for more than 15 hours a week of free preschool if they meet income eligibility requirements AND have one additional qualifying factor.
Only currently licensed providers are eligible to participate in UPK. If you do not currently have a license through the state, begin that process today.
To begin the UPK registration process, you will go to provider.upk.colorado.gov. Licensed providers will be able to claim their accounts. To claim your account, you will need the email associated with your license. This is the same email you use to login to Provider Hub.
Once you create and account, you will go through a brief registration process. After your registration has been sent, your LCO will send you a provider participation agreement to sign through the system. After entering your digital signature, you will then be able to manage your provider profile. This profile is how you will be displayed to families as they are searching and applying for the UPK Colorado Program for the 2024-25 school year.
Click here for the UPK Provider Handbook, a resource to help providers understand and navigate Colorado’s UPK system.
Learn more about qualifying factors here.
To check a child’s age eligibility for UPK funding, please click here.
Yes. Children will continue to qualify for the state’s Child Care Assistance Program (CCCAP), Head Start and other funding sources. These programs can be “stacked” on top of the universal preschool hours to provide a child with additional hours per week. Providers participating in UPK are encouraged to blend and braid UPK tuition credits with other available funding sources including Head Start and CCCAP for eligible families.
The initial 15 hours of UPK funding should be applied first to a child’s tuition costs. After that, Head Start or local scholarship dollars are applied. Then, if remaining tuition is owed, the additional UPK rate for qualifying factors is applied. By statute CCCAP is the last funding source applied.
Preschools often provide different hourly attendance options. For the purposes of Colorado Universal Preschool, these are defined as:
- Part-time (10-15 hrs/wk)
- Half-day (15-30 hrs/wk)
- Full-day (30-40 hrs/wk)
- Extended day (40+ hrs/wk)
UPK Tuition Credit Clarification
CDEC wants to highlight to all providers that as part of UPK Colorado a provider may not charge families above the tuition credit for UPK hours.