COLORADO — For the third year in a row, Colorado is postponing quality standards for Universal Preschool (UPK).
The program gives four year olds in Colorado at least 15 hours per week of free preschool. As part of that, the state was supposed to require schools to have quality standards, which include the following:
- a 20 student cap on class sizes
- certain curriculum requirements
- additional teacher training
Those rules were initially supposed to take effect when the program launched in the summer of 2023, but amid challenges with the rollout, they were pushed back to 2024, then to 2025.
Chalkbeat Colorado is now reporting a state advisory committee voted to postpone the requirement again until July, 2026. They report the state is behind on some key tasks that are necessary to put the rules in place.
___

Nine people shot in Denver, at least one dead
The Denver Police Department reported the shooting happened near East Hampden Avenue and South Dayton Street. The area is on the southeast side of the city. Police posted information about the incident to social media just before 1 a.m. Monday. An update was provided just after 5 a.m., adding that at least one person had died.
____
Watch KOAA News5 on your time, anytime with our free streaming app available for your Roku, FireTV, AppleTV and Android TV. Just search KOAA News5, download and start watching.