2019

The State of Preschool 2019 annual report finds leaders in state-funded preschool include both “Red” and “Blue” states, indicating preschool is one of few bipartisan issues. More children than ever were served in state-funded preschool during the 2018-2019 school year.

However, increases from last year were small, leaving too many children behind. The current economic crisis threatens further advances in state preschool enrollment, funding, and quality. Support from the federal government is needed to help sustain current funding and enrollment levels and prevent the backslide seen after the Great Recession.

This report, based on data from the 2018-2019 academic year, shows just 34 percent of 4-year-olds and almost 6 percent of 3-year-olds were enrolled in state-funded preschool, little change over the last few years. State spending per child was flat since last year after adjusting for inflation. However, seven states made policy changes to gain an additional benchmark for minimum quality standards.

Yearbook Contents

• Full Report
• Executive Summary
• Pre-K Administration Special Report
• What Qualifies as a State Preschool Program?
• Roadmap to State Profile Pages
• Methodology
• Complete 2019 Survey Data
• National Press Release / en español

State Profiles

Click a state to view its profile.

American Samoa

Guam

Northern Mariana Islands

Palau

Puerto Rico

Virgin Islands

Radio Resources

Audio of Dr. Steven Barnett and Dr. Allison Friedman-Krauss discussing 2019 State of Preschool report.

Text outline of audio.

Complete 2019 Survey Data

• State Survey Data: 2018-2019
• Head Start Data: 2018-2019
• U.S. Census Population Data: July 2018
• Pre-K Special Education Enrollment Data: Fall 2018

Suggested Citation: Friedman-Krauss, A. H., Barnett, W. S., Garver, K. A., Hodges, K. S., Weisenfeld, G. G. & Gardiner, B. A. (2020). The State of Preschool 2019: State Preschool Yearbook. New Brunswick, NJ: National Institute for Early Education Research.