Georgia DECAL: Pre-K enrollment has fallen to about 68,000; state will study causes
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Summary
DECAL presented state data showing licensed capacity at 389,000 but Georgia Pre-K enrollment declining from ~80,000 pre-COVID to ~68,000 in 2025. The commissioner said enrollment patterns, family choices and demographic shifts will be studied; lawmakers asked for follow-up on Head Start counts and how lottery surplus funds are handled.
The state27s early-learning agency told the joint appropriations/judiciary-juvenile subcommittee on Dec. 18 that Georgia27s licensed child-care capacity has grown since 2017 even as Pre-K enrollment has declined.
Commissioner Amy Jacobs (DECAL) said licensed capacity across Georgia now stands at roughly 389,000 seats and licensed programs number about 4,367. DECAL27s most frequently used child-level monitoring shows roughly 336,000 children served in licensed care, and quality-rated programs now number about 3,000 across the state.
Jacobs highlighted a key concern: Georgia Pre-K, a universal program for 4-year-olds funded by lottery dollars, has declined from pre-pandemic counts near 80,000 to about 68,000 this year. "We don't know exactly what's happening," Jacobs told members, noting that the slots remain available and that DECAL will study whether parent choice, shifting work schedules or residential moves are factors.
Lawmakers raised practical budget questions: whether Head Start counts are included in the Pre-K tally (DECAL said blended Head Start/Pre-K children are included where applicable), whether unused Pre-K lottery funding stays in the lottery fund (DECAL said surplus lottery dollars return to the lottery account), and whether start-up classroom funds and their geographic distribution could be documented. DECAL says it has funded startup support (roughly $30,000 per classroom) and added about 100 new classrooms per year under recent appropriations.
DECAL offered to follow up with county-level breakdowns of newly funded classrooms and Head Start reopening information requested by members. The agency framed the drop as part of a national, post-pandemic trend in K-12 enrollment and said it is preparing a targeted study of drivers and geographic variation.
Next steps: DECAL will provide the committee with follow-up numbers on Head Start participation in the Pre-K count, the distribution of startup classrooms by county and a briefing on lottery surplus accounting.