Gov. Pritzker Announces 5,150 New Preschool Seats Through Smart Start Initiative

OAK LAWN- Today, Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) announced the addition of 5,150 publicly funded preschool seats as the result of the fiscal year 2025 Early Childhood Block Grants. The grants mark the second year of Governor JB Pritzker’s Smart Start Illinois plan, which aims to expand access to early childhood education by increasing the number of preschool seats available to working families. A total of 11,000 seats have been added under Governor Pritzker’s leadership.

“This is another historic step forward for early childhood education in Illinois, bringing us 5,150 seats closer to our goal of Universal Pre-K,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “Every Illinois child deserves our full investment starting in their earliest years. Smart Start Illinois will put our children on the path to growth and opportunity while making our communities stronger, healthier, and more connected.”

"When we educate our children, we set off a domino effect – education leads to opportunity which leads to prosperity which leads to stability. That’s why Smart Start Illinois remains a priority in our administration," said Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton. "In the past year alone, Smart Start has added over 5,000 preschool seats. That's more than 5,000 children and working families' lives changed for the better."

“Access to high-quality early childhood education can make a lifetime of difference for children and their families,” said State Superintendent of Education Dr. Tony Sanders. “Research shows that children who attend quality preschool programs are 25% more likely to graduate high school and 60% less likely to need remedial education. The Smart Start Initiative is laying the foundation for every child in Illinois to succeed, from their earliest years through their school career and beyond.”

Gov. Pritzker’s Smart Start Illinois initiative, which was launched in FY 2024, aims to eliminate gaps in access to preschool by expanding high-quality, publicly funded preschool programs to serve at least 80% of all low-income 3- and 4-year-olds in every community across Illinois.

The success of Smart Start in FY 2025 builds on the progress made in Year 1 of the initiative, which expanded publicly funded preschool programs to serve an additional 5,800 low-income children.

The initiative prioritizes awarding funding to grantees in identified preschool deserts. The FY 2025 Early Childhood Block Grants awarded $32.2 million to 91 grantees administering half-day Preschool for All (PFA) and full-day Preschool for All Expansion (PFAE) programs, as well as Prevention Initiative services, which provide children aged 0-3 and their families with comprehensive support services.

Early Childhood Block Grants in FY 2025 include:

In addition to expanding programs, ISBE will award grants to further support the quality of early childhood programs, including funding to boost compensation for early childhood educators. ISBE will provide quality improvement grants to home visiting programs and PFA and PFAE programs in good standing to encourage competitive wages and reduce the pay gap for early childhood teachers outside of K-12 school districts.

The grants described above provide funding for programs outside of Chicago. State statute requires ISBE to first award 37% -- $27.75 million in FY 2025 -- of the total Early Childhood Block Grant appropriation to Chicago Public Schools to administer locally to fund access to preschool and early care programs in Chicago.

Visit ISBE’s Early Childhood webpage for more information about the Early Childhood Block Grants.

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