Arizona

Overview

During the 2022-2023 school year, Arizona preschool enrolled 5,954 children, an increase of 1,144 from the prior year. State spending totaled $20,779,103 and an additional $11,450,342 in federal recovery funds supported the program, up $10,792,365 (50%), adjusted for inflation, since last year. State spending per child (including federal recovery funds) equaled $5,413 in 2022-2023, up $956 from 2021-2022, adjusted for inflation. Arizona met 3 of 10 quality standards benchmarks.

What's New

During 2022-2023, program structured assessments (using CLASS and ERS-3) were re-started after almost 2 years of pause due to the impacts of COVID-19. Minimum classroom threshold scores for CLASS were added to the Quality First Rating Scale; ERS thresholds were already included. Federal COVID-19 relief funds were used to support Quality First (QF) Scholarships by increasing reimbursement rates to the cost of quality, increasing the eligibility threshold to 300% FPL, as well as increasing the number of scholarships available.

In December 2022, Arizona was awarded a three-year ($42 million) federal Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five (PDG B–5) renewal grant. Funds are being used to increase access to high quality early learning programs (birth to age five), build early childhood educator capacity, support family engagement, and increase inclusive settings for children with disabilities.

Background

Arizona began funding preschool programs in 1991 along with supplemental services for preschool, full-day kindergarten, and first through third grade education supported by the federal Early Childhood Block Grant (ECBG) from 1996 until 2010 when that funding ended.

In 2006, Arizona voters earmarked certain tobacco tax revenues for early childhood development and health programs and created the Early Childhood Development and Health Board, known as First Things First (FTF), to oversee those funds. FTF allocates funds to communities based on the birth to age 5 population and percentage of young children in poverty. Volunteer regional councils recommend early childhood strategies to fund, including QF Scholarships serving children birth to age 5 (before kindergarten) living at or below 200% FPL. Programs are eligible to receive QF Scholarships as long as they participate in QIRS and have met at least a three-star rating on the QIRS quality standards. QF Scholarship reimbursement rates vary by program type.

Dramatic decreases in tobacco tax revenues have resulted in a $63.6 million drop as of FY23 (38.6% less than the baseline year of 2008). Despite ongoing decreases in tobacco revenue (10.3% in the past two years alone), FTF’s commitment to QF Scholarships has grown, increasing from $35 million in FY16 to $46.2 million in FY23 in all settings (center-based and home based) and for all ages birth through 5 (before kindergarten). FTF collaborates with the state to meet federal match requirements and preserve about $47 million per year in federal Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) funds. In the 13 years this partnership has been in place, Arizona has been able to leverage $511.7 million in federal subsidy dollars that otherwise would have been lost.

Quality First Scholarships

Access

Total state pre-K enrollment	5,954
School districts that offer state program	82% (Regional Partnership Councils)
Income requirement	200% FPL initially, raised to 300% FPL during school year
Minimum hours of operation	34 hours/month
Operating schedule	Determined locally
Special education enrollment, ages 3 and 4	8,443
Federally funded Head Start enrollment, ages 3 and 4	11,520
State-funded Head Start enrollment, ages 3 and 4	0

Resources

*Pre-K programs may receive additional funds from federal or local sources that are not included in this figure. †Head Start per-child spending includes funding only for 3- and 4-year-olds. ‡K–12 expenditures include capital spending as well as current operating expenditures.