Utah

Overview

During the 2022-2023 school year, Utah preschool enrolled 1,987 children, a decrease of 826 from the prior year. State spending totaled $6,154,997, down $467,663 (7%), adjusted for inflation, since last year. State spending per child equaled $3,098 in 2022-2023, up $743 from 2021-2022, adjusted for inflation. Utah met 5 of 10 quality standards benchmarks.

What's New

The number of children served by the School Readiness Grant program in 2022-2023 decreased because of increased costs to provide high-quality preschool services and some previous grantees no longer participating in the grant program. 

At the end of summer 2022, COVID-19 relief funding was used to provide a one-time $2,000 retention bonus to early educators.

In 2022-2023, Utah implemented a $4.8 million Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five (PDG B–5) renewal grant. The funding was used to update Utah’s statewide early childhood needs assessment, establish and extend technology to increase parent and family engagement in early childhood programs, and increase training and coaching for early educators.

Background

In 2016, the High-Quality School Readiness Expansion (HQSR-E) grant program was established to expand access to high-quality school readiness programs for eligible children. The HQSR-E grant program provided grant funds to LEAs and private providers with existing early education programs deemed high-quality, as determined by the ECERS-3 tool and additional quality rating criteria. School readiness programs were eligible to apply for HQSR-E funding if they provided services to economically disadvantaged 4-year-old children, could illustrate how funds would be used to expand their preschool programs, and were deemed high-quality based on the criteria noted above. The HQSR-E program ended in June 2019 but was replaced by the Expanded Student Access to High Quality School Readiness (ESA) grant program. 

With the passing of SB 166 in 2019, the School Readiness Board governs both the Becoming High-Quality (BHQ) and ESA grant programs for both public and private providers. The BHQ program provides funding to help existing preschool programs increase program quality to later qualify for ESA grant funding. The ESA program allows high-quality preschool programs to expand access and provide seats to eligible students. An eligible student is one who is economically disadvantaged and whose parent or guardian reports they also have experienced at least one risk factor (e.g., mother is 18 or younger, parents with a low reading ability, exposure to substance abuse) or a student that is an English Learner. 

SB166 also codified Utah’s UPSTART Program, which provides a home-based, technology-delivered kindergarten readiness program to children throughout the state and prioritizes children from low-income families. The program includes an annual independent evaluation contracted by the Utah State Board of Education (USBE).

In May 2020, the new Utah Core Standards: Early Learning (Ages 3-5) were approved by the Utah State Board of Education (USBE). USBE staff collaborated with other agencies and early childhood professionals to provide professional learning during the 2020-2021 school year to encourage and assist with the implementation of the new standards starting in the 2021-2022 school year.

Expanded Student Access to High Quality School Readiness Programs (ESA)

Access

Total state pre-K enrollment	1,987
School districts that offer state program	41% (counties)
Income requirement	185% FPL
Minimum hours of operation	Determined locally
Operating schedule	Determined locally
Special education enrollment, ages 3 and 4	6,793
Federally funded Head Start enrollment, ages 3 and 4	4,590
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.