Early Edge California is proud to co-sponsor AB 22 (McCarty) to expand Universal Transitional Kindergarten to all 4-year-olds.
According to a new study by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC), an overwhelming 70% of Californians support state-funded Pre-K!
- 80% of California parents say attending Pre-K is important to student success in K–12 education.
- 78% of California parents and 68% of Californians say the state government should fund voluntary Pre-K programs for all four-year-olds.
- Today, majorities across regions and racial/ethnic groups say the state should fund voluntary Pre-K programs including:
• 84% of African Americans
• 81% of Latinos
• 63% of Asian Americans
• 57% of whites
Learn more about the PPIC’s findings.
AB 22 will extend universal access to full-day transitional kindergarten (TK) programs to all 4-year-olds statewide at no cost to families. By ensuring that each child in California has access to a year of high-quality Pre-K, this bill sets students up for success in kindergarten and beyond. Specifically, AB 22:
- Builds upon the state’s landmark TK program to phase in full-day, universal pre-kindergarten by providing a year of TK for all 4-year-olds.
- Implements TK quality improvements to address the social-emotional and early academic development of California’s youngest learners.
- Lowers staff to student ratios to enable educators to meaningfully interact with each child.
- Creates a standard curriculum that bridges the gap between preschool and kindergarten.
- Adds capacity to serve more 3-year-olds in California State Preschool (CSPP) and Head Start, as well as infants and toddlers thanks to complementary legislation (SB 50).
- Maintains the parent’s ability to choose whether their 4-year-old remains in CSPP or Head Start, or enrolls in TK.
Author: Assemblymember McCarty
Joint Co-authors: Assemblymembers Aguiar-Curry, Berman, Bonta, Burke, Carrillo, Chiu, Friedman, Eduardo Garcia, Gipson, Gonzalez, Maienschein, Quirk-Silva, Reyes, Luz Rivas, Robert Rivas, Rubio, Santiago, Ting, Valladares, Waldron, Wicks
Principal Co-authors: Senators Dodd, Gonzalez, Limón, Rubio, and Assemblymember Nazarian
Co-authors: Assemblymembers Bloom, Cervantes, Gabriel, Levine, Mayes, Nguyen, Pettrie-Norris, Quirk, Rodriguez, Stone, and Senator Min
Sponsors:
Early Edge California (Sponsor)
Kidango (Sponsor)
California School Employees Association (CSEA) (Sponsor)
San Diego Unified School District (Sponsor)
Support:
AB 22 is a 2021 Priority Bill for the California Legislative Black Caucus.
Supporters:
California Association of Student Councils
Corona Norco Unified School District
Office of the Riverside County Superintendent of Schools
Riverside County Public K-12 School District Superintendents
Sacramento County Office of Education
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond
TechEquity Collaborative
UNITE-LA, Inc.
United Ways of California
Yolo County Office of Education
How You Can Support This Bill: AB 22 Sample Support Letter Note: Deadline to submit is Tuesday, March 30, 2021 at 5:00 pm (PST).
Show Your Support on Social Media:
NEW! Our AB 22 Toolkit contains social posts, graphics, and talking points. Access for more ways to show your support.
To share on social media, click on a below image, then right click to save it. Then share on your page with the hashtag #UniversalTK4All.
Track this bill: To track bills, visit the California Legislative Information Inquiry System. Once you have created an account, you can click on the “My Subscriptions” tab to be notified of any hearings, amendments, and actions taken on AB 22.
For detailed instructions on how to track a bill, please click here.
View ECE Bills: Learn more about the bills that Early Edge California is supporting this year.