Universal Prekindergarten (UPK) Funding
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Allocations lists and grant award lists are published annually. Districts and grantees refer to these lists to determine their maximum funding amounts.Ìý
The Office of Early Learning'sÌýcalendar of important UPK dates and deadlines for the 2026-2027 school yearÌýlists relevant events and deadlines until the end of the project year, June 2026.Ìý
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Universal Prekindergarten (UPK) for 2026-27 and Beyond: What School Districts Need to Know
This four-page guidance document outlines the major fiscal and programmatic changes enacted in the 2026-2027 state budget for Universal Prekindergarten (UPK) programs. It serves as an informational roadmap for school districts to understand new funding structures, expansion opportunities, and compliance timelines.
Universal Prekindergarten (UPK) for 2026-27 and Beyond
On June 16th, 2026, the Office of Early Learning presented the following webinar, which provided district leaders, UPK administrators, and business officials with key information on changes due to the 26-27 budget, updated per-pupil funding rates, where to locate district allocation amounts, and considerations for expanding UPK programs at the local level.Ìý
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Universal PreK (UPK) 2026-2027 Funding Webinar
Universal PreK (UPK) 2026-2027 Funding Webinar Slides
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UPK Allocations List for 2026-2027
For the 2026–2027 school year, New York State Universal Prekindergarten programs will be funded through a single funding source. To support planning, the Office of Early Learning has developed the 2026–2027 Funding Overview, which summarizes key information related to program funding.
The Office of Early Learning publishes field memos explaining allocations and providing guidance.
Direct Contract Agencies Grant List for 2026-2027
BOCES Targeted Prekindergarten (TPK) Grant
Child Counts Reminder 2026 -2027
Please see the 2026-2027 UPK Child Counts Reporting Guidelines for Reporting UPK Children in the Student Information Repository System (SIRS) memo for important information pertaining to changes in SIRS coding for the 2026-2027 school year.Ìý
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UPK Consolidation Report
The 2024-2025 enacted state budget authorized and directed the Commissioner of Education to conduct a study on the consolidation of all prekindergarten funding streams and further directed the Commissioner to provide recommendations for legislative action necessary and appropriate to streamline the funding processes and programmatic implementation (§17-a of Part A of Chapter 56 of the laws of 2024). In addition, the New York State Board of Regents seeks to provide all eligible four-year-olds with full-day prekindergarten services by 2030, and then expand to full-day for all three-year-olds by 2035. This report is intended to build towards a roadmap to achieving this goal by identifying barriers to this work, including New York State’s complicated prekindergarten (PreK) funding and related laws. Each of the four dedicated Prekindergarten funding sources has varying requirements for quality standards and different mechanisms for data collection and reporting.
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