Overview

• California has opened transitional kindergarten enrollment to every 4-year-old this fall, with statewide participation expected to exceed 200,000 students
• San Francisco Unified has added 16 new TK classrooms but its assignment lottery and uneven facility availability have left many families on waitlists
• The statewide rollout faces an estimated shortfall of 12,000 qualified TK teachers despite new credential programs and college-district partnerships
• State standards requiring bathrooms in every TK classroom have pushed districts to use last year’s $10 billion school construction bond for facility upgrades
• Enrollment shifts toward free public TK have prompted some private preschools to raise prices or close, creating “pre-K deserts” in parts of the state