Tuition Credit FAQs

  • Tuition credits are available to families that live within the City and County of Denver and have a 4-year-old enrolled in a participating preschool program in the year before kindergarten.
  • Monthly tuition support is available on a sliding scale. The amount of support a family receives is based on 1) the family’s income 2) the quality rating of the preschool and 3) the length of day the child attends.
  • Preschools are rated for quality on a scale from 1 to 5. Families with lower incomes who choose higher quality programs receive a greater amount of tuition support.
  • Depending on your income and other qualifications, you may be eligible for additional funding (in addition to the standard DPP tuition credits) that covers up to 100% of your tuition costs. Learn more here: https://dpp.org/dpp-scholarship/
  • During the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 school year, the typical child will receive $788 per month in tuition support (tier 1 earning less than $25,750 per year for a family of 4), and attended a level 4 quality program for a full school day.
  • Nearly two-thirds of participating children live in families earning less than 185 percent of the Federal Poverty Level
  • Parents/caregivers can sign up for tuition support anytime after their child is enrolled in a participating preschool. Visit our Sign Up page for more information.

To complete the DPP application, you will need to provide proof of: 1) your child’s age 2) your current address within in the City and County of Denver and 3) monthly income.

  • No. However, if you do not, you will automatically receive the lowest tuition credit for your household size and the quality rating of your chosen preschool.
  • Personal information in the application that is collected includes family contact information and address, proof of child’s age, child’s gender and family’s income.  We also collect information about the school the child is attending and the length of day they attend. We do not collect personal information such as social security numbers or citizenship status for any family member.
  • We will never sell or rent personal information to third parties for their use. We may however use the information we collect for DPP purposes only.
  • No. The Denver Preschool Program enrolls students regardless of their immigration status and without discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, color, national origin or religion.
  • DPP pays the preschool directly on the child’s behalf after the preschool submits its monthly attendance report. Please ask your preschool if it credits your account before or after it receives your tuition credit from DPP. Depending on the timing, you may pay in full and then receive a partial refund in the amount of your tuition credit, or you may pay the remaining balance after the tuition credit is deducted.

Generally, however, the amount of your monthly DPP tuition credit can be lowered in any given month if one or more of the following circumstances occurs:

  • Your child is absent for 11 or more days.
  • Your child has excessive late drop-off or early pick-ups.
  • Your child enrolls in DPP after the start of the month.
  • Your child leaves DPP before the end of the month.
  • When a child leaves a participating program for another, the tuition credits will follow. However, since tuition credits are partially determined by the preschool quality rating, if your child switches to a school with a lower or higher rating, or the school they currently attend is assigned a new rating, your tuition credit may change.
  • If your family moves outside of the City and County of Denver, you can no longer receive tuition support.
  • Yes. Qualified, faith-based providers agree to separate their religious instruction from their general curriculum so that tax dollars are not used to support religious instruction.
  • Yes. If you’d like to participate in the Denver Preschool Program at a Denver Public Schools (DPS) location, please complete the DPS parent application which is available on the DPS website or at your child’s DPS school. The Denver Preschool Program application is included as part of the DPS application process.

Tuition credits are valid for one school year only.