Universal Preschool in California: Supporting Effective Implementation

March 18, 2026
10 – 11:30 a.m. PT

Last fall, California crossed a historic milestone: for the first time, every 4-year-old in the state is eligible to attend publicly funded preschool.

The 2025–26 year marks the historic first full year of universal transitional kindergarten, a school-based preschool program now open to all 4-year-olds. At the same time, state policymakers have affirmed their commitment to maintaining a mixed delivery system, in which early learning is provided through a combination of public schools and community-based preschools, child care providers, and family child care homes serving children from birth to age 5.

California has made meaningful progress toward making preschool universal, but realizing the full promise of the state’s mixed delivery system will depend on how well state and local agencies align their efforts across this diverse system.

This briefing shared research from the Learning Policy Institute on who is enrolling in publicly funded prekindergarten programs, as well as how cities and districts are aligning their preschool and child care programs at the local level. Practitioners, researchers, and policymakers highlighted successes and challenges in increasing access to high-quality early learning within California’s mixed delivery system.

The briefing then highlighted lessons learned from Colorado on universal prekindergarten expansion. Like California, Colorado has recently opened its prekindergarten program to all 4-year-olds, offering programs in a large and diverse mixed delivery system that includes both private providers and school districts. In October, Early Edge California’s Early Learning Tour visited Colorado, which offered firsthand insight into the state’s approach to early childhood governance. Speakers reflected on those experiences and discussed potential implications for California.

This event was designed for California state legislators and staff, school and district leaders, and others working to build a robust early learning system in California.

Speakers

• Mia Bonta, California Assemblymember, District 18
• Cheri Doria, Director of Early Childhood Education, Lindsay Unified School District
• Mirel Herrera, Senior Policy Analyst, Early Edge California
• Patricia Lozano, Executive Director, Early Edge California
• Hanna Melnick, Senior Policy Advisor and Director of Early Learning Policy, Learning Policy Institute
• Ingrid X. Mezquita, Executive Director, San Francisco Department of Early Childhood
• Alejandra S. Albarran Moses, Early Childhood Strategic Initiatives Program Manager, Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services
• Al Muratsuchi, California Assemblymember, District 66
• Lisa R. Roy, Executive Director, Colorado Department of Early Childhood
• Victoria Wang, Researcher and Policy Advisor, Learning Policy Institute