Universal Preschool
Colorado
Provider Updates February 2025
Topics
CDEC Office Hours
CDEC Office Hours
Reminders
Reminder- Payment Operation Memo
Please review this memo that formalizes and builds upon the original payment communication that went out in July. This is why, you may notice, it is dated for July 2024.
In it you will find more details and information on payments and reconciliation. These memos are also posted on the CDEC website for future reference.
We will address further payment questions at Provider Office Hours.
Reminder- 2024/2025 Direct Enrollment Selected Status
Due to pre-registration for 25/26 and concurrent 24/25 direct enrollment, the “selected” status under the matched tab is not visible. Instead of viewing students directly by clicking on the selected status you will need to use the filter feature.
First ensure you are in the correct program year and then from your matched tab, click on the Status drop down. Then, click on the box next to “selected”. This is how you will be able to see the students who have selected your program and continue to follow the direct enrollment process for the 24/25 program year.
Status drop down
Click the box to see selected students
The new Help Desk is now live! Parents, providers, and LCOs can now reach the Help Desk team by:
Colorado Universal Preschool Help Desk
Awarded Hours Eligibility for 25-26 family applications
Awarded Hours Eligibility for 25-26 family applications
For the 2025-26 school year, families and providers will receive verification of the child’s awarded hours before each placement phase. The first verification letters were sent out on January 27, 2025. Providers also received confirmation that awarded hours listed on the enrollment report were final on January 27, 2025. The following slides include detailed information regarding family notification and reading your enrollment report.
Please attend any of the Provider Office Hours (mentioned in slides above) for any questions regarding these eligibility awards.
Chart Title
Awarded Hours Eligibility for 25-26 family applications
Before each matching round and biweekly throughout direct enrollment, we will send the communication below to the following groups:
Families eligible for supplemental hours: These are families who submitted their application within the validation window and meet 270% FPL (Federal Poverty Line) income, plus one additional qualifying factor. 270% FPL (Federal Poverty Line) Income plus one additional qualifying factor.
Families ineligible for supplemental hours: These are families who do not meet the 270% FPL (Federal Poverty Line) and/or do not have any other qualifying factors, but have selected at least one full or extended day option.
Eligibility Notification Schedule:
What you need to know:
Chart Title
Awarded Hours Eligibility for 25-26 family applications
Your enrollment report shows initial eligibility details in the "Child Eligibility: Hours per Week" column. To see who received the eligibility letter on 1/27, check the "Application Status Last Updated" date. All applications submitted before 1/24/25 at 10:00 AM have been verified. We are working on adding a column to the report to indicate whether a family has received the eligibility notification. Thank you for your patience as we improve this process.
No matter the order of the numbers of the HPW, the child is eligible for all hours including the highest number listed in the report. These values indicate the number of hours per week the child is eligible for, such as:
HOW DO I SEE WHICH OF MY STUDENTS QUALIFY FOR SUPPLEMENTAL HOURS?
Program Specific Link Update
Program Specific Link Update
The program-specific referral link will bypass the age eligibility requirement when a family fills out the application through that link, so it is important that you pre-screen for age eligibility before sharing the referral link with families.
This also means that, moving forward, please only share your links with families whose children you know are age eligible. If a family registers through the link you share and their child is not age-eligible, the system will not catch this ineligibility and proceed with the application which could cause payment issues in the future. The Universal Preschool team is looking into this issue and resolutions.
You must confirm eligibility, including age eligibility, for all students before enrolling them into your program in the Colorado Universal Preschool provider portal. Colorado Universal Preschool can not pay for age-ineligible children per statute.
25/26 School Year
What’s Next
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2025/2026 School Year
The last pre-registration nightly batch is on February 3rd. Families will accept or decline their match between February 3rd-10th. If you have families who missed the CoC window and you would like to ensure their placement during direct enrollment please contact your LCO to reduce your seats.
Family Matching
*Important Note- At this time, the enrollment form for the 25/26 program year is NOT ready.
Please wait to complete enrollment in the Universal Preschool Portal until you have heard from CDEC that the form is ready. Completing enrollment early, before the new form is ready, could result in you having to complete the form twice. We will send out a message to all providers when the enrollment form is ready for you to complete with a reminder to check age eligibility.
Chart Title
2025/2026 School Year
Non-IEP Direct Enrollment:
Beginning April 1st until the end of the 2025–26 school year direct enrollment for non-IEP families will occur directly through providers.
IEP Registration:
December 2024 through the end of the 2025-26 school year: As families whose children have IEPs submit their applications starting in December, they are assigned to an AU. Starting in January 2025, the AU can place the student into a program using the Program ID through the AU Portal.
March 2025 through the end of the 2025–26 school year: Special Education Administrative Units (AUs) and school districts will request placement of students in accordance with their IEPs and CDEC will support direct upload of those identified placements. Providers will accept matches within 2 weeks of receiving a match; families will have until the start of the school year to accept matches.
How to View and Decline Matches
Chart Title
How to View and Decline Matches
Pro Tip:
Pre-Registration Element
Status Filter
New Record Tag
Location Drop Down
School year drop down
CDEC Decline Reasons
The following types of programmatic preferences were included in the Program Set Up Form. If you checked any of these in your PSUF and choose to decline a match for one of these reasons no further action will be needed for those declines.
CDEC Decline Reasons
The following decline reasons are only available during pre-registration:
CDEC may deny requests for declines.
CDEC Decline Reasons
We also recognize that certain providers may have specific requirements of families in order to participate in their program that are not outlined in the Provider Program Set Up Form.
If you need to request to decline a placement based on a requirement that is not listed in previous slides and not in the Program Set Up Form you must reach out to your LCO for next steps in processing your request to decline.
In order for CDEC to approve a decline based on a reason not listed in your Program Set Up form, and the reason for decline is outlined in your program’s handbook as approved by licensing that is published in your provider profile, your handbook must be submitted to your LCO as part of the CDEC review process.
CDEC Decline Reasons
Edit Seat Count By Type
PROGRAM SEATS: EDIT SEAT COUNTS BY TYPE
25
HOW TO EDIT SEATS BY TYPE
The ability to adjust seats is only to be available during the direct enrollment phase of each school year. Providers have the ability to add to the number of seats by type directly through the provider portal to ensure accurate information is presented to families.
To edit seats by type:
If you do not see the “Edit Seats” functionality, it is not currently enabled - please contact your LCO. If you are interested in removing seats, please work with your LCO as defined in the provider handbook.
*NOTE- For the 25/26 school year during Feb 4 - Feb 9: Providers can adjust seats by adding seats on their own, or by connecting with their LCO to remove seats. If you need support with other seat adjustments please reach out to your LCO.
2. Add Seats
3. Save
1. Select three dots
Provider Resources
Provider Resources
THANK YOU.
Questions?