Inflation-adjusted state spending per child in NC Pre-K declined last year, according to a national report

Enrollment in the state’s public preschool program NC Pre-K increased slightly in 2023 from the previous year, but spending per student declined, according to a report from National Institute for Early Education Research. 

NC Pre-K enrollment still has not fully rebounded after the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 31,000 students were enrolled in NC Pre-K in the 2019-2020 school year, while about 25,700 were enrolled last year, according to NIEER’s data. 

Preschool enrollment in 28 states remains below pre-COVID levels, according to the report.

“State-funded preschool matters,” Steve Barnett, NIEER founder and senior co-director told reporters this week. High-quality preschool experiences produce benefits as children get older, such as increased academic success, increased earnings and employment, and improvements in health and longevity, he said. 

About 21% of the state’s 4-year-olds were enrolled in NC Pre-K in 2023, according to the report. The state spent about $6,672 per student, down $1,178 from the previous year when adjusted for inflation.

In addition to NC Pre-K, 4% of four-year-olds were enrolled in Head Start, and 4% were enrolled in special education programs. 

NC Pre-K met nine of 10 quality measures the institute established, such as the requirement for teachers to have college degrees and specialized training in early childhood education. 

NC Pre-K is for children whose families meet income limits. Military families are exempt from the income restrictions, as are children with developmental disabilities and children who speak limited English. 

In the budget approved last year, the legislature increased class sizes from a teacher-student ratio of 1:9 with a maximum of 18 children to 1:10 with a maximum of 20 children with one teacher and one assistant per classroom. 

Nationally, 35% of 4-year-olds are enrolled in state-provided preschool, according to the report. Nationwide, more than 1.6 million children were enrolled in preschools last year. Sixty preschool programs operated in 44 states and Washington, D.C. Thirty-five state programs have an income requirement.

States’ spending ranged from more than $16,000 per child to about $2,000 per child. Average state funding per child $7,275. 

Hawaii, New Mexico, Colorado, and California plan to offer universal preschool. New Mexico voters made universal preschool a constitutional right in 2022, according to K-12 Dive. 

Despite individual state commitments, “the nation remains very far away from providing a high-quality preschool education to every child at age four, much less at age three,” Barnett said.

NC Pre-K is not open to three-year-olds. 

The program launched in the 2001-2002 school year as an initiative called More at Four. About 10 years later, Republican legislators renamed the program and moved administration from the state Department of Public Instruction to the state Department of Health and Human Services. 

NC Pre-K classrooms are located in public schools, child care centers, and Head Start programs. 

The national report ranks North Carolina 29th for student access, 19th for state spending, and 23rd for all reported spending.