Oregon

Overview

During the 2023-2024 school year, Oregon preschool enrolled 12,597 children, an increase of 877 from the prior year. State spending totaled $234,774,788, up $46,644,445 (25%), adjusted for inflation, since last year. State spending per child equaled $18,637 in 2023-2024, up $2,585 from 2022-2023, adjusted for inflation. Oregon met an average of 7.6 of 10 quality standards benchmarks.

What's New

On July 1, 2023, the Oregon Early Learning Division (ELD), which oversees the Oregon Prenatal to Kindergarten (OPK) program and Preschool Promise (PSP), transitioned out of the Department of Education and became its own department, the Department of Early Learning and Care (DELC).

During the 2023-24 school year, both OPK and PSP amended their grant terms to allow programs to enter into two-year grants. The two-year grants provide families across the state with more stability and reduced stress knowing that their children can have continuity of services at a family preferred provider for two years. This change resulted in a significant increase in enrollment compared to previous years.

Also in 2023, the Oregon Legislature passed House Bill 5013 which allocated funds for the specific purpose to retain qualified staff for OPK, PSP, and Healthy Families Oregon. DELC was instructed to allocate up to $25.6 million of its 2023-25 OPK budget, $16.7 million of its 2023-25 PSP budget, and $2.8 million of its 2023-25 Healthy Families Oregon budget to increases to provider rates by 7% over current service level funding for each of these programs.

Background

Oregon has two state-funded preschool programs: the Oregon Prenatal to Kindergarten (OPK) program (formerly the Oregon Pre-Kindergarten program), established in 1987, and Preschool Promise, launched in 2016.

OPK provides comprehensive child and family development services for 3- and 4-year-old children from low-income families and is funded using the state general fund and Early Learning Account to serve additional Head Start-eligible children. Funding is awarded through a competitive process to all grantees. OPK includes Region X, Region XI, and Region XII Head Start grantees, and, even though most of the funding goes to Head Start grantees, there are six non-affiliated organizations that receive OPK funding. OPK programs must follow federal Head Start Performance Standards and the Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework. Eligibility for OPK also follows federal Head Start requirements.

Preschool Promise is a mixed-delivery program for children from families with incomes up to 200% FPL. The mixed-delivery model includes public schools, child care centers, family child care homes, Head Start/OPK, Relief Nurseries, Education Service Districts, and other community-based organizations. While funding for Preschool Promise was initially administered through Early Learning Hubs, grantees received grants directly from DELC. Preschool Promise programs are required to participate in Spark, Oregon’s quality recognition and improvement system.