Report

California’s Universal Prekindergarten Implementation Progress, 2023–24

Published

June 12, 2025

By Victoria Wang Melanie Leung-Gagné Hanna Melnick Shaakira Parker Marjorie Wechsler

A teacher assists preschool students with a task.

REPORT

California made a historic commitment to early childhood education in 2021 by providing universal prekindergarten (UPK) for all 4-year-olds by 2025–26 and expanding access for income-eligible 3-year-olds. California’s UPK initiative includes multiple early learning programs, including transitional kindergarten (TK), the California State Preschool Program (CSPP), Head Start, and other early learning programs such as private preschools and family child care. The state’s largest new investment in UPK is the expansion of TK, a free, district-based prekindergarten program, which is scheduled to expand to all 4-year-olds by the 2025–26 school year. California has also continued to invest in CSPP, a state-funded preschool program for children from families with low incomes and children with special needs.

The state’s investments in UPK present an opportunity for local education agencies (LEAs) to plan and implement early education programming that aligns with research-based elements of high-quality preschool. If implemented with quality, California’s UPK initiative holds potentially significant benefits for California’s young learners.

To support UPK expansion, California’s legislature and administration established the Universal Prekindergarten Planning and Implementation Grant, which allocated a total of $500 million to all LEAs serving kindergarteners—this includes school districts, charter schools, and county offices of education. LEAs could use the funds to support TK and CSPP, as well as to strengthen partnerships among prekindergarten providers.

The California Department of Education surveyed all grant recipients in August 2024 about their UPK programs. This report provides an update on UPK implementation across the state through an analysis of survey responses from 1,506 LEAs—excluding county offices of education—which represent almost all (98%) public school districts and two thirds (69%) of charter schools that serve elementary grades. Findings provide insights into LEAs’ progress in universal TK expansion, including access to TK, TK classroom models, facility needs, instruction and assessment, strategies to support student needs, staffing, and professional development. Findings additionally shed light on LEA progress in UPK implementation outside of TK expansion, including service delivery models for non-TK programs, CSPP and Head Start staffing, professional development for school leaders, funding challenges, and technical assistance needs.

Key Takeaways

TK continues to expand quickly. In the 2023–24 school year, almost all LEAs (94%) offered TK. Among LEAs with a TK program, 85% offered TK at all elementary sites, compared to 81% of LEAs in 2022–23. Forty-one percent of districts expanded TK faster than legislatively required through early-admittance TK, which allows children to enroll before the legislatively determined age eligibility.
In addition to TK, many LEAs continue to offer programs such as the California State Preschool Program (CSPP), Head Start, and other early learning programs. One fourth (25%) of LEAs reported offering CSPP classrooms, 5% reported operating at least one Head Start classroom, and 18% operated another early learning program, such as locally funded or district-funded preschool.
Most LEAs offered full-day TK and expanded learning programs to extend the TK day. Eighty-four percent of LEAs offered full-day TK (defined as more than 4 hours) in 2023–24, a slight increase from 82% of LEAs in 2022–23. Eighty-seven percent of LEAs provided an expanded learning option to extend the school day and year, a slight (1%) increase from the prior year.
Most LEAs reported having enough classroom space to meet projected TK enrollment by full expansion in 2025–26, but many LEAs still reported facilities as a top challenge in UPK implementation. Eighty-eight percent of LEAs reported having sufficient classroom space by 2025–26, an increase from 82% the prior year. The LEAs that did not have sufficient classroom space reported needing a total of 488 additional classrooms, or about half of what LEAs reported needing in 2022–23. However, in an open-ended question on UPK challenges, LEAs continued to flag difficulties in developing age-appropriate classroom spaces, bathrooms, play structures, and outdoor learning spaces.
LEA staffing shortages have improved for TK classrooms when compared to the 2022–23 school year. Only 1% of TK lead teacher positions were vacant at the beginning of the 2023–24 school year, similar to the 2022–23 vacancy rate. Additionally, the vacancy rate for TK assistant teachers at the beginning of 2023–24 was 3%, notably less than the 12% vacancy rate at the beginning of the 2022–23 school year.
Most LEAs have enough lead teachers to meet TK teacher requirements that will go into effect in 2025–26, although some report challenges with finding candidates who meet requirements. By 2025–26, all TK classes receiving state funding will be required to staff lead teachers with 24 units of early childhood coursework, a Child Development Teacher Permit, or equivalent experience, as well as a Multiple Subjects or PK–3 ECE Specialist credential. Most LEAs (91%) reported that they would have enough TK lead teachers who meet these requirements; however, in open-ended responses, some LEAs—particularly those in rural areas—expressed difficulty finding and retaining qualified candidates.
LEAs continue to face staffing challenges for state preschool and Head Start classrooms. At the beginning of 2023–24, LEAs reported a 5% and 11% vacancy rate for CSPP and Head Start teachers, respectively, an increase from 2022–23 vacancy rates.
Small LEAs face unique challenges in TK implementation. While small LEAs were more likely than medium and large LEAs to have expanded TK to all elementary sites and provide full-day TK, findings suggest that small LEAs may benefit from targeted support and resources related to providing transportation, access to expanded learning, coaching, and developmentally appropriate curricula.
Funding underscored LEAs’ challenges throughout TK expansion. In open-ended responses, LEAs noted that insufficient funding impacted their ability to update facilities, find qualified staff, acquire developmentally appropriate instructional resources, and meet upcoming adult-to-student ratio requirements for TK classrooms. Funding was a particular challenge for small LEAs with low TK enrollment and basic aid districts that do not receive additional funding for TK students.
LEAs continue to need technical assistance across a range of topics regarding UPK implementation. The most common technical assistance needs were related to implementing developmentally appropriate learning environments through facilities or play-based learning; professional learning opportunities such as coaching and mentoring, early childhood knowledge for school leaders, and professional development on children’s literacy, language, math, and science development; strategies to increase UPK awareness and enrollment among families; and modifying district data systems to support access to UPK data across community and elementary settings.

Overall, UPK expansion in California—particularly universal TK—continues to progress quickly and well. LEAs have made promising progress in TK expansion, and many continue to offer preschool programs other than TK. However, the survey data highlight continued challenges related to facilities, staffing, developmentally appropriate practices and resources, and funding. As California moves forward with UPK expansion, the state can consider funding facilities upgrades and implementation of new adult-to-student ratio requirements, updating reimbursement rates to meet the cost of care for publicly funded preschool and child care programs, offering technical assistance on curriculum and assessments, supporting high-quality professional development for early educators and school leaders, and expanding supports for inclusive classrooms. California’s continued investment and targeted support will be critical to ensuring high-quality early learning opportunities for all young learners in the state.

California's Universal Prekindergarten Implementation Progress, 2023–24 by Victoria Wang, Hanna Melnick, Melanie Leung-Gagné, Shaakira Parker, and Marjorie Wechsler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

This research was supported by the Ballmer Group, Heising-Simons Foundation, and Kelson Foundation. Core operating support for LPI is provided by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, Heising-Simons Foundation, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Raikes Foundation, Sandler Foundation, Skyline Foundation, and MacKenzie Scott. We are grateful to them for their generous support. The ideas voiced here are those of the authors and not those of funders.