Alabama has once again been recognized as a national leader in preschool quality, earning perfect marks in a new report by the National Institute for Early Education Research.

According to a new report, the state is one of only five in the country to meet all 10 of NIEER's research-based quality benchmarks, reflecting a sustained commitment to strong early learning programs.

Released in late April, the 2024 State of Preschool Yearbook offers a snapshot of preschool enrollment and funding across the country. The report shows Alabama served 24,640 four-year-olds through its First Class Pre-K program during the 2023-2024 school year, a 5% increase from the previous year. That translates to 41% of the state's four-year-old population—an improvement, though still trailing Florida and Georgia, which serve higher percentages.

"Alabama is a national leader in expanding access to preschool while maintaining top quality standards and an exemplar for other states," said W. Steven Barnett, Ph.D., NIEER's senior director and founder. "However, the majority of Alabama's four-year-olds still do not have the opportunity to attend Alabama's First Class Pre-K program, and the program does not serve any three-year-olds. When states put money into quality preschool programs, they are investing in children's futures and can expect to see strong returns on their investments."

Alabama spent $181.6 million on pre-K last year, up nearly $8.7 million from the prior year, adjusted for inflation. The state's per-child spending stood at $7,368, a slight decline of $24. Alabama's program continues to meet NIEER's benchmarks, which cover key indicators such as teacher qualifications, class size, learning standards and ongoing program assessment.

Nationwide, enrollment in state-funded preschool reached a record 1.75 million children, including 37% of four-year-olds and 8% of three-year-olds. Ten states saw enrollment jump more than 20%, led by Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii and Ohio. California and Colorado alone added more than 60,000 children combined, making up the majority of the national increase.

States also ramped up investments, collectively spending more than $13.6 billion in 2023-2024. That includes $257 million in federal COVID-19 relief dollars. Preschool funding rose in all but five states, with six — including Texas and New Jersey — each increasing spending by more than $100 million.

While Alabama leads on quality, federal funding uncertainty continues to shadow future planning.

"Developments at the federal level should be closely monitored as state preschool programs often rely on federal funding including child care block grants, the child care food program and Head Start," said Allison Friedman-Krauss, Ph.D., lead author of the report. "Nationally, half a million children ages 3- and 4 are served by Head Start. While this is far less than state preschool programs serve nationally, in some states most of the public preschool provision is still by Head Start. Some state preschool programs built their programs relying on Head Start funding, teachers and classrooms together with other private providers operating as part of state early childhood systems."

In total, only Alabama, Hawaii, Michigan, Mississippi and Rhode Island met all 10 NIEER benchmarks. Forty-four states and Washington, D.C., now fund some form of preschool program.

The 2024 State of Preschool Yearbook was supported by the Heising-Simons Foundation and the Gates Foundation. The full report and state profiles are available at www.nieer.org.