Universal early childhood programs are on the rise, with many states and localities working to expand public preschool opportunities. For public preschool investments to realize their potential, jurisdictions must build early childhood systems that families can enroll in—and many do. But not all families can access universal preschool even when it is offered, nor is it necessarily the right choice for every family, depending on the program’s alignment with their needs or goals. 

This brief offers new evidence from the District of Columbia (DC) on the children whose families neither apply to nor enroll in universal preschool, a group we defined as opting out. We estimated the number of children whose families opted out of DC’s universal prekindergarten program and summarized survey and interview data from fifteen parents who opted out to identify why they chose alternative experiences for their child’s 3-year-old year.

Why This Matters

Although free universal early childhood programs enroll a large number of children, they may not be the right choice for every family, but little is known about families who do not seek options within universal preschool programs. Policymakers need insights into who is likely to participate in a universal, publicly funded program and what those who don’t participate would need to ensure they are building the right supply for families seeking options.

What We Found

• Only 11 percent of families with 3-year-olds opted out of DC’s well established, universal public prekindergarten in the 2023–24 school year. That figure dropped to 2 percent for families of 4-year-olds.
• Some families who opted out reported being satisfied with prior arrangements and chose to stay with those as their child began their 3-year-old year.
• Other families who opted out believed that program offerings were a poor fit with their family goals and values, or they experienced application challenges, misaligned timing, or information gaps.

How We Did It

We used US Census data along with 2023–24 school lottery and post-lottery applications and public school enrollment information to estimate the number of children whose families opted out of DC public prekindergarten. We then analyzed survey and interview data from parents who reported neither applying nor enrolling in DC public prekindergarten, to learn about why families might opt out of universal preschool in DC.

This brief is one of four in a series examining the experiences and outcomes of families who do not participate in DC’s common application and lottery for public schools in DC that offer pre-K programs.