Understanding Houston

Early Childhood Education

Early Childhood Education in Houston

Pre-K and kindergarten enrollment rates rebound in Fort Bend and Montgomery counties after pandemic losses, but Harris County still lags. 

Following sharp declines during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, early childhood education enrollment in Fort Bend and Montgomery counties has not only rebounded but now exceeds pre-pandemic levels. In contrast, Harris County has yet to recover, continuing a decade-long trend of declining enrollment in early education programs.

Why early childhood education matters to Houston

What is early childhood education? Early childhood education refers to the learning period between birth and five years of age. Established research has found the period from birth to five is the most critical for brain development, and early childhood education reaches children at this meaningful point in their cognitive and social development. Student learning during this time period is linked to future academic accomplishments and is especially important for children classified as being English learners, having a learning disability, or being economically disadvantaged.1

Research has shown that high-quality early childhood education programs help children learn language, mathematics, and social skills, with studies showing up to $17 returned in social benefits for every dollar invested in a high-quality pre-K program,2 and that students from low-income households may benefit the most.3 A growing body of research also shows long-term, non-test score benefits, such as a reduction in disciplinary problems in high school and an increase in college attendance.4 However, some pre-K evaluation studies show limited benefit, if any.5, 6 while other studies show that the effects of pre-K fade away over time.7 Most experts agree, however, that if pre-K is provided, quality is integral, as is ensuring that students receive the type of quality education they need to be successful well beyond pre-K.

The more we understand how to increase access to and success in high-quality early childhood education, particularly for historically marginalized communities, the more successful future generations will be academically, socially, and emotionally.

The data

Texas spends about half the national average per child enrolled in pre-K

According to the National Institute for Early Education’s 2025 State of Preschool Yearbook, Texas ranks 37th in state spending, and as of 2025, the national average of spending per pre-K student was nearly double what Texas spends. Through the passage of HB3 in 2019, an estimated $835 million in additional state funding was provided for early childhood education programs.

In 2025, Texas spent $4,395 per child on state pre-K compared with $8,124 nationally, leaving Texas 46% below the national average of all states. Texas ranks 37th among states on this measure, placing it in the lower third nationally. Since 2002, Texas spending per child has declined 26%, while the national figure has increased 13%. Although Texas has consistently spent below the national average, the gap has widened sharply since the early 2010s and reached its widest point in 2025.

Texas spent $4,395 per child in 2024–25—3% less than what it spent in 2020–21 and 46% of the national average in 2024–25.

More than 90% of Houston-area pre-K students are enrolled in full-day programs

Is pre-K free in Houston? Texas, like most states, does not offer universal early childhood education. However, children are eligible for free pre-K programs if they are unable to speak and comprehend English, are economically disadvantaged, are experiencing homelessness, or are in foster care. Children from military families are also eligible for free pre-K programs if they have a parent in active military service or who was killed/injured in service or a parent who received the Star of Texas Award. 

In Texas, pre-kindergarten operates differently by school district as well. Some districts operate their own pre-K programs, while other districts contract with facilities, such as local child care centers, to provide their pre-K programs.

The number of pre-K programs in the three-county area increased to 633 in 2024–25 from 550 in 2015–16. Since the 2015–16 school year, the number of pre-K programs has continued to increase across the Houston region with the largest increase occurring between 2019–20 and 2021–22 when an additional 35 programs were added. The Houston area has had a net-gain of 83 pre-K programs, a 15% increase since 2015–16.

In 2019, Texas passed House Bill 3 (HB3) which primarily focused on school financing, but it also sought changes to the delivery of early education. It required that all prekindergarten programs offered to eligible four-year-olds must be full-day, and program meet the high-quality requirements set by House Bill 4.

In 2025, the Texas legislature passed an $8.5 billion funding package through House Bill 2 that mandates: 1) increased per-student base funding and adjusted the Early Education Allotment (EEA), which provides additional funds to school districts based on the Average Daily Attendance ADA) of students in kindergarten through third-grade; 2) requires districts to prioritize pre-K for 4-year-olds; 3) expanded full-day pre-K eligibility to include children of public school teachers; and 4) introduced Texas Education Freedom Accounts (private school voucher/savings account program).

Pre-K is typically offered as a full-day or half-day program. High-quality pre-K for the full day has added benefits over a shorter-day program, particularly for low-income children. Students from low-income families who attended a full-day pre-K program had higher scores on readiness assessments and better attendance. 

Fort Bend saw the largest gains in full-day pre-K enrollment immediately following the passage of HB3 in 2019, increasing by 56 percentage points from 19% in 2018–19 to 75% in 2019–20, and reaching 100% in 2024–25. Full-day pre-K enrollment has also increased in Harris and Montgomery counties. In the 2024–25 school year, Fort Bend County had 100% full-day pre-K enrollment, and Montgomery and Harris counties had 88%.

In Fort Bend County, 100% of pre-K students are enrolled in full-day programs.

Pre-kindergarten enrollment in Fort Bend and Montgomery counties rebound from pandemic losses while continuing to lag in Harris County

Students who attend pre-K can join a public program or a private program. Among 3- and 4-year-olds enrolled in pre-K, 58% in both Fort Bend and Harris County and 43% in Montgomery County attend a public program, according to 2024 American Community Survey data.

A study from the Houston Education Research Consortium (HERC) found that while families considered many factors in deciding whether to enroll their children in pre-K, the distance of the program is among the most influential.

Pre-K enrollment in public schools in the three-county region reached a decade low in 2020–21, the first full year of the pandemic, when there were 37,600 students enrolled. In 2025–26, the three-county region enrolled 46,570 students, still 4% below pre-pandemic levels in 2019–20 and 3% below from a decade ago, indicating regional recovery remains incomplete.

Individual county trends diverge: Fort Bend reached 4,144 students, up 39% from 2019–20 (pre-pandemic) and 76% from 2015–16, while Montgomery reached 3,812, up 26% and 48%, respectively. Harris County enrolled 38,614 students but remained 9% below 2019–20 and 10% below 2015–16, making it the main driver of the region’s slower recovery.

According to the 2025 State of Preschool Yearbook released by the National Institute for Early Education Research, Texas ranks 16th in pre-K access for three-year-olds and 12th in pre-K access for four-year-olds among the 50 states. The report also cites that 11% of three-year-olds and 52% of four-year-olds living in the state were enrolled in public pre-K programs in 2024–25. This is above the national rate of 9% of three-year-olds and 37% of four-year-olds.

Pre-K enrollment by program/age shows that Pre-K 4 continues to account for the vast majority of enrollment, but Pre-K 3 has become a growing part of the mix. In Houston’s three-county region, Pre-K 3 enrollment reached 5,939 in 2024–25, up 9% from 2019–20 and 34% from 2014–15. Pre-K 4 enrollment reached 39,837, up 2% from 2019–20 but roughly flat compared with 2014–15. As a result, Pre-K 3 represented 13% of total Pre-K enrollment in 2024–25.

The trendline shows a sharp pandemic-era drop in both programs in 2020–21, followed by steady recovery. Pre-K 3 enrollment is up 7% in Harris County since 2019–20. Fort Bend County began offering pre-K to three-year-olds in 2020–21, enrolling slightly over 80 students that year, while Montgomery County has had no three-year-olds in pre-K since 2018–19.

Pre-K 4 enrollment in Harris County is down about 2% since 2019–20 and down 10% compared to a decade ago. The suburban counties show stronger Pre-K 4 growth since 2019–20, increasing 34% in Fort Bend County and 14% in Montgomery County. Pre-K 4 enrollment in Fort Bend and Montgomery counties is up 81% and 175% in the last decade, respectively.

The lack of high-quality, affordable programs available to families is a lost opportunity as a report on HISD schools by the Kinder Institute’s Houston Education Research Consortium (HERC) found that “students who received two years of pre-K education had a greater likelihood of school readiness than those who only got one.”

One way to measure if early education is reaching the intended population is to compare the number of first-grade students who would have been identified as eligible to attend pre-K with the number of students who actually attended pre-K two school years prior. For example, first graders in 2024–25 would have attended pre–K as four-year-olds in 2022–23.

Using the 2024–25 first-grade student data to determine pre-K eligibility, about 70% of eligible four-year-olds in Harris County were enrolled in a public pre-K program 2 years before (2022–23). In Montgomery County, 71% of eligible first-graders attended pre-K, and in Fort Bend that number was 45%. Following double-digit declines in pre-K enrollment during the pandemic, first-graders across the region and state are more likely to have attended pre-K in recent years,

Houston’s three-county region has a higher rate of pre-K English-language learners compared to the state

Because of eligibility requirements, almost all public pre-kindergarten students at Texas public schools are classified as economically disadvantaged. In the 2024–25 school year, 81% of Texas students enrolled in public pre-K programs were classified as economically disadvantaged.

In the 2025–26 school year, 86% of students enrolled in Houston’s three-county area public pre-K programs were classified as economically disadvantaged, about 5 percentage points higher compared to the state. Additionally, 54% of the region’s pre-K public school students were English language learners (14 points higher than the state), and 6% were served by special education programs (on par with the state). Since 2019–20, the proportion of pre-K students classified as economically disadvantaged has fallen by 10 percentage points in Fort Bend, while the proportion of English-Language Learners has increased by 6 points in Harris County. The proportion of pre-K students in special education programs has increased 2–3% across all geographies.

Across Texas, the majority (60%) of children enrolled in pre-K programs are Hispanic. Black and white children each comprise 15% , and 5% of students are Asian American and 3% are multiracial.

A similar pattern exists regionally, but with considerable variations across counties, reflecting their respective racial/ethnic compositions. Given the extent to which race/ethnicity correlates with income and that pre-K programs are targeted to reach economically disadvantaged students, in 2025–26 within the three-county area, 59% of pre-K students are Hispanic, 22% are Black, 9% are white, 7% are Asian American, and 2% are multiracial. Consistent with the overall demographic composition of the counties, Montgomery County has a significantly higher share of white children enrolled in pre-K (23%), and Fort Bend County sees a much higher percentage of Asian American students (22%).

Kindergarten enrollment dips in Harris County but climbs in Fort Bend and Montgomery counties

Just as pre-K has been shown to have benefits to the child, so has kindergarten. Students who attend high-quality kindergarten enjoy a variety of academic and social-emotional boosts. According to established research, “the years from birth to age 5 are viewed as a critical period for developing the foundations for thinking, behaving, and emotional well-being.” Furthermore, providing high-quality education prior to students starting the first grade has substantial medium- and long-term benefits. Students are less likely to repeat a grade and are more prepared academically as they get older.

In Texas, children who are five years old on or before September 1 are eligible, but not required, to attend kindergarten. Kindergarten at a Texas public school may be provided for half a day or a full day at the discretion of the district’s school board.

Nearly 70,000 Houston-area students were enrolled in kindergarten in 2025–26, down 16% from the number enrolled in 2014–15. While current enrollment is about 11% lower than pre-pandemic, the number of Houston-area kindergarteners has been experiencing a steady decline over the last decade, driven primarily by lower enrollment in Harris County. Kindergarten enrollment in Harris County is down 14% since the pandemic and down 22% since 2014–15. Harris County’s decline in kindergarten enrollment mirrors the statewide trend, where we have seen a 9–10% decline since the pandemic and 2014–15.

However, kindergarten enrollment in Fort Bend and Montgomery counties has seen the opposite trend where kindergarten enrollment has steadily grown, not only recovering from pandemic-era losses but also surpassing pre-pandemic levels. From 2014–15 to 2025–26, Fort Bend saw a 10% increase and Montgomery experienced a 14% jump. Notably, this upward trend in enrollment aligns with the population growth these counties have experienced during the same period.

As of 2025–26, Harris County has fewer kindergarteners than it did in 2020–21—continuing a decade-long trend of decline.

Kindergarten students in the Houston area come from diverse backgrounds

In the 2024–25 school year, of the 72,779kindergarteners enrolled in Harris, Fort Bend, and Montgomery counties’ public schools, 65% were considered economically disadvantaged, with Harris County’s rate being the highest at 70%. About 38% of students enrolled in the three-county region were classified as English language learners (ELLs) and 12% were provided with special education services.

Fort Bend and Montgomery counties have a lower percentage of students who are economically disadvantaged and who are ELLs compared to Harris County. Between 2019–20 and 2024–25, the percentage of kindergarten students in each of these categories has increased in each county and the state overall. The share of economically disadvantaged and ELL kindergarteners each increased by about 4–8 percentage points in Fort Bend and Montgomery counties.

In the 2024–25 school year, the majority of kindergarteners in Texas public schools were Hispanic (53%), followed by white students (24%).

Across Houston’s three-county area, 52% of kindergarteners enrolled in the 2025–26 school year were Hispanic, 18% were white, and 18% were Black. Fort Bend County had the largest percentage of Asian American kindergarteners (20%), while Montgomery County had the largest share of white kindergarteners (39%). Harris County has the highest percentage of Hispanic kindergarteners in the region at 56%.

Kindergarten readiness rates rebound post-pandemic

Some kindergartners enrolled in the Texas public school system are assessed on the Commissioner’s List of Reading Instruments, an inventory of the skills necessary for continued literacy development. Students must pass all required assessment domains to be considered “kindergarten ready.” Most Texas kindergarteners in the 2024–25 school year were assessed for kinder readiness (95%), and about half (51%) were classified as “kinder ready.”

More than 90% of Houston-area kindergarten students were assessed for readiness in 2024–25. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, kindergarten readiness assessment rates were historically lowest in Montgomery County (31% in 2019–20) compared to Harris County (90%) and Fort Bend County (96%). However, during the first full school year after the pandemic (2021–22), assessment rates soared by 65 percentage points in Montgomery County as rates declined in Fort Bend and remained flat in Harris counties and statewide. Since then, regional (except for Fort Bend) and statewide assessment rates have surpassed pre-pandemic levels.

Houston’s three-county region saw kinder-readiness rates spike from 46% in 2019–20 to 68% the following year, well above the Texas average of 61%, before falling back to 57% in 2024-25. That current rate is 10 percentage points above pre-pandemic (2019–20) levels, whereas Texas overall is now two percentage points below its pre-pandemic baseline.

At the county level, the most striking pattern is Montgomery County’s stability: it showed almost no pandemic-era spike in readiness rates (likely the result of dramatic one-year increase in assessment rates) and has hovered between 53% and 57% since 2017–18. By contrast, readiness rates in Fort Bend and Harris counties both surged roughly 25 percentage points in 2020-21, then dropped sharply. Fort Bend’s 2024–25 rate (57%) is only modestly above its pre-pandemic level, while Harris (also 57%) remains 12 points higher than 2019–20, the largest sustained gain of any geography. Compared to Texas, all three counties now outperform the statewide rate of 51%.

Just over half (57%) of Houston-area students entering kindergarten are considered “ready.”

Read about educational attainment, academic outcomes, and post-secondary education in Houston

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Resources

References:

  1. Burger, Kaspar. “How Does Early Childhood Care and Education Affect Cognitive Development? An International Review of the Effects of Early Interventions for Children from Different Social Backgrounds.” Early Childhood Research Quarterly 25, no. 2 (2010): 140–65. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2009.11.001
  2. Meloy, Beth, Madelyn Gardner, and Linda Darling-Hammond. “Untangling the Evidence on Preschool Effectiveness.” Learning Policy Institute, Palo Alto (2019). https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/sites/default/files/product-files/Untangling_Evidence_Preschool_Effectiveness_REPORT.pdf
  3. Lee, Valerie E., and David T. Burkam. Inequality at the starting gate: Social background differences in achievement as children begin school. Washington, D.C.: Economic Policy Institute, 2002.
  4. Gray-Lobe, Guthrie, Parag A. Pathak, Christopher R. Walters. “The Long-Term Effects of Universal Preschool in Boston” National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series. (2021). https://www.nber.org/papers/w28756
  5. Pages, R., Lukes, D. J., Bailey, D. H., & Duncan, G. J. (2020). Elusive longer-run impacts of head start: Replications within and across cohorts. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 42(4), 471-492.
  6. Stevens, K. B., & English, E. (2016). Does pre-K work? The research on ten early childhood programs—and what it tells us. American Enterprise Institute, 1-53. Retrieved from https://www.aei.org/research-products/report/does-pre-k-work-the-research-on-ten-early-childhood-programs-and-what-it-tells-us/
  7. Lipsey, M. W., Farran, D. C., & Hofer, K. G. (2015). A Randomized Control Trial of a Statewide Voluntary Prekindergarten Program on Children’s Skills and Behaviors through Third Grade. Research Report. Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University, Peabody Research Institute.