More four-year-olds sit in state-funded classrooms than ever. But experts are worried. Not because seats are empty, but because the ones filled vary wildly.
It’s creating a two-tier system. A real haves-and-have-nots dynamic for early education.
The National Institute of Early Education Research (NIEER) ran the numbers for their “State of Preschool: 2025 Year book.” Their assessment?
“If providing high-quality preschool… were a race, some states are near the finish line… a few have yet to leave starting line.”
Some stumble in the middle. It depends entirely on where you live.
The Money Problem
Funding hit an all-time high. Nearly $14.4 billion nationally. But don’t let the headline fool you.
That total is propped up by three heavyweights. California pumped in $4.1 billion. New Jersey added $1.2 billion. New York threw in $1 billion.
Together? They account for 45% of all state Pre-K spending.
While over two dozen states increased budgets, the rate of growth is slowing. Inflation-adjusted, the average spending jump was only $45 per child compared to last year.
Last year’s jump was 16 times that amount. The momentum is dying.
Seven states still treat preschool as a premium good. New Jersey, Oregon, and D.C. spent over $15,00 per child. Six others went over $10,00.
Then there are the seventeen states that actually cut funding, even when you account for inflation. Why? Budget deficits. Or falling enrollment.
Steve Barnett, director of NIEER , isn’t buying the excuse entirely.
“That’s a conscious decision… You have to ask if the declining… is a way to reduce spending… As opposed to working to get parents to enroll their kid.”
New Jersey ran a deficit too. Yet it invested another $100 million. Priority matters more than the balance sheet.
Access Without Excellence
More money doesn’t equal better schools. Only six states met every one of NIEER’s ten quality standards.
These benchmarks aren’t abstract. They’re concrete.
- Max 20 students per class
- Teachers hold bachelor’s degrees
- Staff-to-student ratio of 1:10
Teacher pay and class size eat most of the budget. Barnett says fix those first. Once salaries are fair and rooms aren’t packed, you can pay for curriculum support or health screenings later.
But you can’t fix this with a wave of a magic wand.
Take Alabama and Georgia. They improved slowly. Georgia finally hit all ten benchmarks this year thanks to a $97 million investment that shrunk class sizes and boosted pay.
“It’s a state that lost it and came back… a good sign,” Barnett said.
Georgia proves it’s possible. Just hard.
Who’s In the Room?
Enrollment also peaked. 1.8 million kids in 2024. But half of them live in four states. California. Texas. New York. Florida.
D.C. leads the pack. 94% of their four-year-olds are in state programs. Universal Pre-K helped California catch up.
Twenty states saw fewer kids in their seats. Some blame birth rates.
Maybe.
When you adjust for population percentage, 21 saw a drop anyway. Arizona, Florida, and Wisconsin each lost more than 1,00 students.
Three-year-olds? Still an afterthought.
They make up 9% of enrollment nationally. Up from 5% a decade ago, but still negligible. Illinois and New Jersey are trying to expand access for that group, but mass adoption remains elusive.
“Nine percent is better… but it’s very lumpy,” Barnett said. “It’s still 0% in lots of places.”
The data sits there. Quiet.
Do states want to solve the problem or just manage the optics?
