Universal Preschool

Universal Preschool offers voluntary preschool to every child the year before they are eligible for kindergarten. 

The Early Childhood Council of Boulder County (ECCBC) serves as Boulder County’s Local Coordinating Organization (LCO).  As your LCO we are your local support for families and child care providers through the Colorado Universal Preschool (UPK) process.

Universal Preschool offers voluntary preschool to every child the year before they are eligible for kindergarten. Families can choose the right setting for their child to attend Universal Preschool, whether it is in a licensed community-based, school-based or home-based preschool setting. The goal of UPK is to create equal access to quality education before kindergarten and help reduce the overall cost of preschool for families.

UPK Resources for Providers:

  • The Colorado Department of Early Childhood has a dedicated webpage for participating child care providers.

    The Provider Handbook can be found here.

  • Registration is open for the 2025/2026 school year.  

    • Applications are accepted through May 15, 2026 for the 2025/2026 school year.

    • To be eligible for the program, children must be 4 years old by October 1st the year they are entering preschool.  

    • 2025/2026 full timeline for providers and families and actions items, click here.

    2026/2027 Registration is open! Register here.

  • Universal Preschool Quality Standards information:

Do you have more questions?

Reach out to us here or call 303-866-5223 (available Monday-Friday from 8am-8pm) if you have any additional questions.