UPK for FAMILIES
Click the icon for a FAQ page for families and see the Family section for more info. If you still don't see what you need, please contact us! We're here to help!I
UPK for providers
Click the icon for an FAQ page for providers and see the Provider section for more info. If you have additional questions, please contact us or attend Office Hours.
UPK for School Districts
Click the icon for an FAQ page and see the School District section for more info. If you have additional questions, please contact us or attend Office Hours.
UPK NEWS + EVENTS
KEY DATES FOR upk
- UPDATED 2025–26 Universal Preschool Calendar Announcement HERE!
- UPK registration for providers is starting on October 15 and will go until November 8 for the first round of registration. If you are not currently a UPK provider but wish to become one, please reach out to Noreen (nglt@mac.com or at 719-338-7223) to get more information about the registration process. Those who don’t register by November 8 will not be able to take advantage of priority placement for those children who are already attending with you who will be four by October 1, 2025 (but not 5).
- Direct enrollment will continue through the rest of the UPK year. The pages below are from the updated UPK Provider Handbook HERE. Please scroll through or see the full handbook. If you unenroll a child, you will be able to look at children who are in selected status with you and call to see if they are interested. However direct enrollment is ideally set up to make the enrollment process as seamless as possible when you have a family who comes in to tour with you and decides to register. If a family needs to complete an application, you can help them do that right in front of you! As always, if you need more seats open, please reach out to Noreen at nglt@mac.com. You cannot offer a seat that you don’t have in the UPK system.
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October 24 (6 pm) or October 25 (1 pm): Registration for the next Roundtable for Providers is available HERE. Details to join without registering are below.
UPK PROvider PAyment Schedule + Rates
The payment schedule for UPK providers is available HERE.
For payment clarifications, please see the blue box below.
Questions about payments should be submitted through the new platform HERE.
Qualtity Standards + Rulemaking
The 2024-25 Provider Guide is updated frequently and includes step-by-step instructions for many processes that providers need to know. Have a question? Check the provider guide first and then reach out if you still have questions or the processes are not working.
This section contains past UPK Newsletters and UPK Updates (Updates contain information shared by Noreen Landis-Tyson in direct emails, and we are posting it here). Past newsletters are in our Resources section HERE.
- UPK Updates | 10.8.24
- UPK Updates | 9.23.24
- UPK Newsletter | 9.13.24
- UPK Updates | 8.28.24
- UPK Newsletter | 8.26.24
- UPK Newsletter | 6.23.24
- UPK Newsletter | 5.21.24
- UPK Newsletter | 4.24.24
- UPK Newsletter | 4.16.24
- UPK Newsletter | 4.10.24
- UPK Newsletter | 4.1.24
- UPK Colorado FAQs | General
- UPK FAQs | YEAR TWO 2024-25
APPLICATIONS ARE OPEN
All families with eligible children (the year before kindergarten) may register at upk.colorado.gov. All families must complete a new registration for the 2024-25 UPK year. If you have ANY questions about registering, have trouble logging in, or need to make changes at any point, please contact UPK@jointinitiatives.org. Please be sure to complete ONLY ONE application per eligible child. If the family registered as a 3-year-old, they may use the same login created for Year One and then will choose that they are registering for the 2024-25 year.
CHANGES TO APPLICATIONS
Families who need to make changes in their 2024-25 application must contact UPK@jointinitiatives.org so the application can be unlocked. Unlike last year, JI UPK Team members are not permitted to make those changes — only families can do that — but we first have to unlock the application.
See the blue box with expandable sections below for KEY dates!
Any family who is having an issue with accepting or declining should reach out to UPK@jointinitiatives.org for assistance.
IEP REGISTRATION
- Students are matched to programs based on the placement made by their AU (Administrative Unit). Please reach out to your AU for placement updates.
FAQs
Please see the new FAQ pages at the end of the Provider and Family Handbooks in response to your great questions and feedback. These pages include the following new resources:
- UPK Age Eligibility Lookup Tool to better support families in understanding their eligibility based on their child’s birthday and their school districts cutoff date. With additional information about 3-year-old eligibility.
Any children with an August start date who were enrolled by July 31 are being paid in full for August on August 15. This is being referred to as a “pre-payment” as normally UPK is paying in arrears.
Any children with a start date in August who were enrolled after July 31 will be paid for on September 15 – and it will be a full-month payment for August. There MIGHT be a few exceptions for children who were enrolled before August 1 at one provider, and then moved to another provider during August — but the state has not issued a written statement on how those will be handled.If ALL of your children were enrolled before August 1 and started in August, you will NOT receive a September payment as you will have already been paid in August as part of the pre-payment. If your children are split between before August 1 and after August 1, then you will get payment for some children tomorrow (August 15), and payment for the rest on September 15.In May, there will be two payments: One on May 15 for April, and one at the end of May, for May.It is our understanding that enrollments will be pulled on the last day of the month for payment on the 15th of the following month.There will not be any payment this year for children who are in accepted status so if you don’t have children enrolled, get them enrolled.It is not known how the providers with September start dates are being paid, but providers should receive communication from the state or Metrix IQ about that. If not, please submit a support ticket at HERE.The monthly payment amounts for El Paso County are as follows:Part-day program: $480.65 per month over 10 months for enrolled childrenHalf-day program: $606.03 per month over 10 months for enrolled childrenChildren eligible for 30 hours (full-day) and enrolled in a full day or extended day program: $1,076.24 per month over 10 months for enrolled children
The application matching process for UPK has concluded and has shifted to “direct enrollment.“
Families who have a child who will be 4 years old by October 1, 2024* (and not yet 5 by that date) and who are not currently attending with a UPK provider, may go directly to the provider of their choice to determine if there is a seat available and if so, to be directly placed in that seat. If you need assistance, please contact UPK@jointinitiatives.org.
To increase or decrease seats, please contact Noreen at nglt@mac.com. If families need assistance with their applications, please ask them to contact UPK@jointinitiatives.com so that our family navigators can help.
PROVIDER PROFILE SETUP
Providers can still sign up for UPK for the 2024-25 year by completing the 2024-25 setup form available on their provider page at provider.upk.colorado.gov. View the Program Setup Form Guide HERE. Need more assistance? Contact JI’s UPK staff at UPK@jointinitiatives.org or Noreen at nglt@mac.com
ENROLLMENT FOR 3-YEAR-OLDS WITH IEP
In the coming school year, Special Education Administrative Units (AUs) will be responsible for the placement of children eligible for special education. 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. Please do not tell families to choose a specific location; BridgeCare does not allow that option. All children eligible for special education with an IEP will receive funding in accordance with their IEP and will have two ways to apply for state-funded preschool:
- Link sent to the family by their AU.
- Log into upk.colorado.gov
- Families who have a 3- or 4-year-old child (by October 1, 2024*) who has an IEP will register in the UPK system at upk.colorado.gov with the parent’s email tied to their child’s IEP. and mark that the child has an IEP.
- The school district or AU may send the family a link that will pre-populate in the UPK registration the location and program where the district/AU has a seat saved for the child.
- The registration will be sent directly to the School District or Administrative Unit (usually the school district) where the child lives for direct placement into a location and program so that the child may receive appropriate services beginning August 2024.
- The school district or AU may send the family a link that will pre-populate in the UPK registration the location and program where the district/AU has a seat saved for the child.
Families with children who will be three by October 1, 2024, (and not yet 4 by that date) who want to be served by their school district must go directly to their school district to register. These children will no longer 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 as to 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 district HERE.
*Note: Some school districts have kindergarten eligibility dates that are different than October 1st. 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:
- Manitou Springs School District 14 – September 1
- Edison School District 54JT – June 15
- Peyton School District – September 30
Roundtables for Early Childhood Providers
Joint Initiatives offers Roundtables to keep early childhood providers informed about guidance from the Colorado Department of Education (CDEC), provide time for Q+A, and provide expert business consultation and training. Roundtables will be held monthly via a one-hour Zoom session. Roundtables for previous months are in the Resources section at the bottom of the page. You can also access all Roundtable videos for centers, family child care, and school districts on JI’s YouTube channel HERE.
The Zoom link is HERE for joining the Roundtable, and the passcode is UPK if needed. While we will do state updates, this will be an opportunity for you to ask questions and clarify information. Registration HERE is appreciated, but not required.
▶UPK September Roundtable Slides
▶UPK September Roundtable Recording Coming Soon
UPK RESOURCES + SUPPORT
- 2024-25 UPK Provider Guide
- 2024-45 UPK Family Handbook
- Program Setup Form Guide HERE
- 2024-2025 UPK Provider Agreement
- CDEC Website: Click HERE to review the estimated enrollment timeline on the CDEC website.
- Need help determining what programs and seats you would like to offer? Contact the JI UPK staff at upk@jointinitiatives.com or Noreen at nglt@mac.com.
- Need additional support? Contact the JI UPK staff at UPK@jointinitiatives.org or Noreen at nglt@mac.com.
- Have more UPK questions? Contact the CDEC using this short form or call 303-866-5223
family applications
Universal Pre-K (UPK) allows families to choose the right setting for their child, whether in a licensed community-based, school-based, or home-based preschool setting. Families of children in the year before they are eligible for kindergarten and qualifying 3-year-olds are able to apply for UPK for the 2024-25 school year.
IMPORTANT: Families only need to complete ONE UPK application per child for the 2024-25 year. If you need to make changes or are having trouble logging into your original application to make changes, please contact our Foundations team at UPK@jointinitiatives.org for assistance. It is very important that you do NOT create a second application.
JI’s Family Resource Navigators are here to help!
- 719.630.0927 (press 4 for UPK assistance in English; press 5 for Spanish)
- Karla Rivera-Ramirez, (English + Español): 719.960.7336
- Heather Mayheu: 719.684.4326
THREE UPK CATEGORIES FOR CHILDREN REGISTERING:
- Continuity of Care (also known as pre-registration): Children who have Continuity of Care with a UPK provider (child currently attending, sibling currently attending, or has a family member currently employed with a UPK Provider).
- New to UPK: Child who are not currently attending at a UPK provider but would like to attend in the fall of 2024.
- Child with an Individualized Education Plan (IEP).
- If your child does not have an IEP and you need a school district contact for preschool, view the contacts for your home school district HERE.
- To find your home school district, here is a School Finder Search Tool.
upk for providers
Important Provider Updates
Early childhood programs act as the bridge between preschool and kindergarten and are an essential resource for families preparing to navigate this transition. Below are suggestions to help your program implement practices to ensure families have the information they need and that children are ready for this big transition. The most important thing is that children who believe in their own abilities have been found to be more successful in school.
▶ NEW! INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS FOR UPK PROVIDERS
▶Tools to Boost Enrollment and Grow Your Program
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Read full details HERE.
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Check out the strategies in the Marketing Guide.
- Use the following ready-to-go materials from the Provider Marketing Tool Kit to promote the opportunity for families to directly enroll in your Universal Preschool Program(s) and save up to $6,100 per year on high-quality early education and care.
PROVIDER PROFILE SETUP
Providers can still sign up for UPK for the 2024-25 year by completing the 2024-25 setup form available on their provider page at provider.upk.colorado.gov. Need more assistance? Contact JI’s UPK staff at UPK@jointinitiatives.org or Noreen at nglt@mac.com
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The Colorado Department of Early Childhood is excited to share the updated versions of the Business Guides For Early Care And Education Providers:
- Business Guide for Family Child Care Homes (en español)
- Business Guide for Child Care Centers (en español)
Click HERE for the information below in Spanish.
The updated guides offer family child care home providers and child care centers, as well as those interested in expanding or starting new programs, a collection of resources to strengthen their small businesses. Early care and education providers are essential to the children and families they serve, their communities, and our state. The Business Guides were developed and updated, through stakeholder focus groups and feedback, to make the business side of providing early care and education services easier.
The guides are in an easy-to-navigate digital format allowing users to click on hyperlinks to access the most up-to-date information on budgeting, regulatory compliance, and other operational functions of a small business. The guides are “living documents”, which are updated at least annually with new information or resources as they become available. We encourage those accessing the document to always follow the link to ensure they are accessing the most up-to-date version. As they are a compendium of existing resources, the guides will only be in a digital format. You can also access the guides on the Colorado Department of Early Childhood website under the “For Providers” tab by selecting “Support, Resources and Guides”.
What’s new:
- NEW Universal Preschool (UPK) Colorado section: Program requirements, provider application information, and collection of helpful links.
- Updated CCCAP section: Program requirements, application process, and links to Provider Handbooks.
- Updated Head Start Suite of Services section: Program overview, eligibility information, and benefits.
- Human Resources: Health insurance, retirement, and the Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI) program.
- Updated Time-limited Grant opportunities.
- Other business-related topics.
For each topic in the guides, we include key points family child care home and child care center providers should know or consider as small business owners. The topic sections include links to more information and resources if providers are interested in researching a topic in more detail.
Please forward this information to anyone who might be interested in the updated Business Guides for Early Care and Education Providers! If you are interested in a presentation on the guides or have any questions, please contact Marika Padilla at: Marika.Padilla@state.co.us.
These guides were developed pursuant to Colorado Shines Brighter Strategy 5.1.5.
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The payment schedule for UPK providers is available HERE.
For payment clarification, please see the next section.
Questions about payments should be submitted through the new platform HERE.
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New! Visit the new Colorado Department of Early Childhood CCCAP web page! This page has been updated to include new information and links to the recently developed CCCAP/Universal Preschool resources.
Are you a CCCAP (Colorado Child Care Assistance Program) provider and have questions about how CCCAP integrates with UPK? Contact Noreen Landis-Tyson at nglt@mac.com and plan to attend a future town hall where stacking, blending and braiding of funds will be discussed. More to come!
upk for school districts
Early childhood programs at school district locations across our community act as the bridge between preschool and kindergarten and are an essential resource for families preparing to navigate this transition.
▶ 2024-25 AU Technical Guide
▶ 2024-25 UPK Provider Guide
Resources + Rulemaking
UPK ROUNDTABLES
All Roundtable videos for centers, family child care, and school districts are available for viewing on JI’s YouTube channel HERE.
AUGUST ROUNDTABLE | Slide Deck HERE
JUNE ROUNDTABLE | Slide Deck HERE
MARCH ROUNDTABLE | Slide Deck HERE
FEBRUARY ROUNDTABLE | Slide Deck HERE
JANUARY ROUNDTABLE | Slide Deck HERE
resources
UPK Newsletters
- UPK Newsletter | 3.19.24
- UPK Newsletter | 3.8.24 IMPORTANT CLARIFICATIONS
- UPK Newsletter | 3.4.24
- UPK Newsletter | 2.28.24
- UPK Colorado FAQs
Curious about the meaning of the statuses in BridgeCare? Here are the definitions of the most commonly used statuses.
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upk quality standards
DRAFT QUALITY STANDARDS
The Colorado Department of Early Childhood (CDEC) has released the Universal Preschool (UPK) Colorado Quality Standards designed to ensure that preschool services are both high quality to prepare children for kindergarten and accessible throughout the state across various provider types and program settings, including school-based, community-based, and home-based settings. The proposed UPK Quality Standards reflect statutory requirements, incorporate findings from comprehensive reviews of 26 national and Colorado-specific standards, and include input and feedback from Families, Providers, School Districts, Early Childhood Councils, and Early Childhood Community Members.
To recap, the Rules Advisory Council (RAC) met on February 8, 2024, and voted in favor of the Department promulgating the proposed Colorado Universal Preschool Program (UPK) Quality Standards rules with suggested revisions from the RAC. These revisions included: 1) removing the ratios and groups sizes from rule section 4.109(A)(2), to align with the ratios and group sizes established in the Child Care Licensing rules; and 2) revising the professional development requirements to more closely align with the number of required hours and competency areas of the Child Care Licensing rules, and amend the frequency of one-time trainings in rule section 4.114. The recommendation for revisions to the professional development requirements were more of a concept rather than proposed rule language.
On March 28, 2024, the Executive Director adopted the proposed Quality Standards rules (Adopted Redline | Adopted Clean) for the Colorado Universal Preschool Program (UPK). The adopted UPK Quality Standards rules will presumably become effective on May 30, 2024.
- Complete Rule Folder
- Quality Standards Crosswalks (previously released in Spring 2023)
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Planning, Info + Input Process
Interested in how the Community Plan was developed? The process included planning sessions, input/info sessions, and a special Town Hall. We are grateful to our early childhood community for investing their time and efforts! To revisit any of the notes, feedback, or recordings, download the Community Planning Summary.