by Karen D’Souza for EdSource
Early childhood advocates, lawmakers and the governor are pushing to gradually expand transitional kindergarten (TK) to all the state’s 4-year-olds. But the moves are raising issues, such as the viability of the child care system and whether expanded TK might be too academic for younger 4-year-olds.
Often described as a bridge between preschool and kindergarten, transitional kindergarten began in California in 2012. The program, often referred to as TK, now serves about 100,000 children, most of whom turn 5 between Sept. 2 and Dec. 2, narrowly missing the cutoff for traditional kindergarten.
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday that he plans to use an unanticipated surplus in the general fund to phase in universal TK as part of his annual May budget revision. Starting in 2022-23, the program would roll out in annual increments, first to children turning 5 by March 2, then in 2023-24 for birthdays by July 2 and finally in 2024-25 for full implementation at an additional annual cost of $2.7 billion.
Meanwhile, two bills in the Legislature capture the spirit of the Master Plan for Early Learning and Care and align with President Joe Biden’s campaign for universal preschool as a way to set children up for success in K-12.
“This is a giant step for California families, moving toward serving all 4-year-olds with quality preschool,” said Bruce Fuller, professor of education and public policy at the University of California at Berkeley. “Gov. Newsom remains keenly focused on a wise investment, despite all the nettlesome challenges he’s faced in the past year.”