The 2001 Nevada legislative session allocated $3.5 million per year for Fiscal Years (FYs) 2002 and 2003. This initial allocation was for the establishment of a comprehensive early childhood education program across Nevada. Within this legislation, the Nevada State Legislature (Legislature) authorized the Nevada Department of Education (NDE) to offer competitive grants to school districts, charter schools and non-profit organizations to initiate or expand pre-Kindergarten education programs. The Legislature continued its support of the early childhood education programs through 2019 by allocating approximately $3.3M per year. From 2003 through 2015, the Nevada Legislature continued to fund the Nevada Pre-Kindergarten (Pre-K) Education programs, including COW, at the following levels:

2003 allocated $2,595,583for pre-k education program through a competitive grant process and $301,000 toward the statewide Classroom On Wheels (COW) program.

• FYs 2004 and 2005 received a total of $2,896,583 per year.
• During FYs 2006 and 2007, Pre-K programs were funded at $3,032,172 and $3,152,479, respectively.
• During FYs 2008 and 2009, Pre-K programs were funded at $3,251,671 and $3,338,875, respectively.
• Fiscal Years 2010-15 were flat funded at $3,338,875.

In 2015, an increased state investment was awarded as a part of the required state match for the federal Preschool Development Grant (PDG). All State funded pre-Kindergarten seats going forward will follow the quality standards set by PDG and will be known as Nevada Ready! State Pre-K (NR!PK), and will consist of full-day services for 4-year-old children at 200% or below of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL).

In 2019, the 80th legislative session awarded $19M to sustain seats established through the PDG . This also resulted in passage of SB84 which outlines program requirements for Nevada Ready! State Pre-K and enters these requirements into statute. This program follows the quality standards established through the Preschool Development Grant. Legislation also established a set cost per child at $8,410 for all eligible children served.

In 2021 and 2023, the 81st and 82nd legislative session awarded approximately $22M to maintain the current NR! State PreK Seats over the next biennium. For the first 15 years, Nevada State PreK was half day and met 7 out of 10 benchmarks of quality as determined by the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER). In 2015, Nevada received the federal Preschool Development Grant (PDG) to expand the state pre-K program by increasing program quality requirements including providing full day services. This new and improved program became known as Nevada Ready! State Pre-K (NR!PK) and continues to meet 7 out of 10 national benchmarks of quality.