Oklahoma is undoubtedly a nationally recognized leader in early childhood education. Every 4-year-old in in the state has access to a year of high-quality prekindergarten. Meanwhile, many three-year olds from low-income families get access to full-day, year-round preschool, and 3,681 children under the age of three are enrolled in Early Head Start programs. The state’s Early Childhood Four-Year-Old Program, which started in 1980, is now available in 99 percent of school districts, with 74 percent of four year olds enrolled in a state program and enrollment in the program increasingly steadily each year. High quality early childhood education remains a top priority in Oklahoma, with its state program achieving nine quality benchmarks in early childhood education established by the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER). Meanwhile, independent analyses of the program led by researchers from Georgetown University show that that Oklahoma’s universal program improves overall cognitive, academic, and emotional skills. The average annual cost of center-based infant care in the state is $7,480.