1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Universal Prekindergarten and Early Childhood Education Act of 2018 . 2. Universal Prekindergarten and Early Childhood Education grant program (a) Program authorization From amounts appropriated under section 3, the Secretary of Education is authorized to award grants, on a competitive basis, to States to pay the Federal share of establishing or expanding full-day prekindergarten programs. (b) State application To receive a grant under this Act, a State shall submit to the Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require. (c) Use of funds A State that receives a grant under this Act shall use such grant funds to establish or expand a prekindergarten program that, at a minimum— (1) is located at a public school in the State; (2) permits each 3- or 4-year-old child in the State to be voluntarily enrolled by the child’s parent, regardless of income, in the program at a school in which the child may be enrolled for kindergarten; (3) is a full-day program that runs the length of the regular school year; (4) is taught by teachers who possess equivalent or similar qualifications to the qualifications of teachers of other grades in the school involved