Transitional Kindergarten in California Is Expanding

By Tanu Henry, Edward Henderson and Lila Brown | California Black Media

Last Wednesday, State Superintendent Tony Thurmond and the California Department of Education announced Transitional Kindergarten (TK) programs are expanding in California.

Now, Thurmond says, TK will be free to all four-year-old children, regardless of family income, over the next few years.

Children born between September 2018, and April 2019 are eligible to register now in TK for the coming 2023–24 school year.

The expansion is part of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s $2.7 billion plan to enroll 400,000 4-year-olds in an additional year of public education. It is expected to be the largest universal preschool program in the country. Benefits of the program will include higher achievement in math and reading throughout elementary school, increased likelihood of graduating from high school and increased likelihood of earning a college degree. 

Author: Wallace