Spending on preschool programs surpassed $9 billion for the first time in 2019-20 across 44 states that funded preschool and Washington, D.C., according to a separate report by the National Institute for Early Education Research. Leading up to this time period, there was also a shift from parents enrolling their children in private preschools to public ones. By 2019, almost 60% of parents were sending their children to public preschools, an increase of 6.6 percentage points since 2005.
The Northeast and West are considered “high-growth areas,” according to the report. In the Northeast, states enrolled 54% of their children or more in preschool.
