Building a National Model for Universal Preschool

In 2020, Colorado families found themselves face-to-face with two linked crises — sky-high vaping rates among teens and limited access to quality, affordable preschool.

With 27% of high school students using e-cigarettes, Colorado’s teen vaping rate reached the highest of any state in the country. At the same time, Colorado fell below the national average in providing quality preschool options to kids and families. 

• Only 24% of 4-year-olds and 9% of 3-year-olds were enrolled into public pre-K.
• The Colorado Preschool Program only had funding to serve 40% of eligible children.
• Colorado was ranked 26th nationally in preschool access for 4-year-olds and 39th in state spending per pupil.

Research from the Brookings Institution demonstrated that, more than any other factor, access to quality preschool or high-quality, education-oriented child care best predicted academic success for children from underserved communities. At the same time, early state projections showed that a tax increase on cigarettes, tobacco and nicotine products could generate significant new revenue to expand access to quality preschool.

Research from the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids demonstrated that tobacco tax increases benefit those with low incomes at a greater rate than any other socioeconomic group. Meanwhile, early projections from Colorado’s Legislative Council Staff projected that taxing vaping products at 62% while increasing taxes on cigarettes to $2.64 per pack would significantly increase tax revenues to pay for a universal preschool model in Colorado. 

This funding could propel Colorado from the back of the pack to the forefront of early childhood education in the United States.

Compelled by such promising data, Governor Jared Polis asked members of Gary’s policy arm, Gary Advocacy, to join a special steering committee charged with developing a plan to fund and advocate for a statewide policy solution.

At the end of the 2020 legislative session, Colorado’s policymakers courageously stood up for kids and families to pass House Bill 20-1427, which led to the Proposition EE (Prop EE) referred ballot measure. The measure asked voters in the November 2020 statewide election to approve higher taxes on cigarettes and other tobacco products, and to create a new tax on nicotine products like e-cigarettes.

If approved, the new tax rates would start on January 1, 2021, and gradually increase over seven years. The money raised from these taxes would be exempt from TABOR limits because voters would have approved the change.

Alongside a broad bipartisan coalition of health care and early childhood advocates as well as legislators, Gary helped pass Prop EE with 67.59% of the vote.

But the passage of Prop EE was neither the start nor the end of a community-wide effort to transform Colorado’s early childhood system. Its success was built on decades of Gary’s philanthropic investments and advocacy as well as countless leaders and pioneers who have fought tirelessly for a system of early care and education that is accessible and of the highest quality for every family. Through it all, Gary has been humbled and honored to stand with our partners and stand up for generations of Colorado kids and families.