Massachusetts

Overview

Massachusetts preschool programs enrolled 28,555 children in 2021-2022, a decrease of 12,939 children from the prior year (the state’s preschool programs included in this report changed). State spending totaled $57,892,749, down $25,536,923 (31%), adjusted for inflation, since last year. State spending per child equaled $2,027 in 2021-2022, up $17 from 2020-2021, adjusted for inflation. Massachusetts met an average of 6 of 10 quality standards benchmarks.

What's New

In December 2022, Massachusetts was awarded a 3-year $36 million ($12 million per year) federal Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five (PDG B–5). In addition to the federal funding, the Commonwealth will provide $3 million each year in matching funds. The additional funding will support new and ongoing work to improve families’ ability to access high-quality programs and services, establish clear career growth pathways for the workforce serving young children, and support high-quality programming. One key focus of the grant will be increasing supports for early education and care programs to deliver to high-quality programming and implement evidence-based curriculums appropriate for young children.

Background

In 2005, Massachusetts established the Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) and since then has supported access to high-quality preschool through multiple grant programs. These include a Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK) grant to support quality, affordability and accessibility available to licensed programs serving 3- and 4-year-olds until 2019. The Inclusive Preschool Learning Environments (IPLE) Grant was also available to programs until 2019 and was designed to support access for preschool-age children with and without disabilities to high quality, inclusive early education and care settings. These programs are no longer included in the report. 

In 2019, EEC launched its Commonwealth Preschool Partnerships Initiative (CPPI), which supports high quality preschool access for children from age 2 years and 9 months until they reach the locally determined kindergarten eligibility age. It is included in this report for the first time. State funding is awarded directly to public school districts that serve as the fiscal and programmatic managers of the grant. Funded school districts are required to subcontract with non-profit organizations from their communities to implement the grant requirements. State funding in the amount of $10 million was used to supplement $8,516,797 in federal funding to support CPPI program implementation in 2021. 

Finally, in 2020, as part of its COVID relief efforts, the state provided direct grants to licensed programs to support ongoing efforts to maintain preschool access by supporting investments in educator salaries. Grant funding was continued for investments in salaries with federal funds in 2021. 

Massachusetts also supports preschool enrollment through the Chapter 70 funding stream, which is the state’s funding formula for K–12 public schools. For the 2021-2022 school year, $47.9 million in state and local funding supported preschool-age children. All children in the state are eligible for the program and are served in public school settings, but local districts can set their own eligibility priorities. Lead teachers are required to have at least a bachelor’s degree and a Preschool through Grade 2 license. 

Massachusetts’ overall support for state-funded preschool, including enrollment and funding for both CPPI and Chapter 70, is depicted in the first two pages of this state profile. The third page focuses solely on CPPI, and the fourth page provides information on Chapter 70.