AB 22 (McCarty) is a two-year bill that originally extended universal access to full-day transitional kindergarten (TK) programs to all 4-year-olds statewide at no cost to families. The Governor’s 2021-22 Budget implemented Universal TK expansion and lower student to teacher ratios in TK, the major proposals of AB 22. For more information, view AB 130 in the Budget Bills section. Learn more about TK.
AB 22 Update – June 2022
On June 13, 2022, the bill was amended to reflect the inclusion of UTK in the state budget in 2021 and now focuses on ensuring that California collects the necessary student and workforce data to understand the impact of California’s historic investment in universal transitional kindergarten (TK).
Specifically, AB 22 would now require:
- the collection of student enrollment in TK programs separate from kindergarten enrollment in the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS);
- LEAs to report TK staffing data through CALPADS annually; and
- LEA-based CSPP providers to report staffing data through CALPADS.
With the oncoming expansion of TK, it is critical the state collect data on how many students are enrolling in TK, as well as basic demographic information about these students. Currently, TK students are collected and recorded by CALPADS as kindergarteners. This blending of TK and kindergarten students makes it difficult for the state to use the data in meaningful ways. The addition of data on the teacher workforce serving in CSPP classrooms will help the state get a better picture of its early learning workforce and use the data to inform policy.