July 30, 2026
The 2026-27 California State Budget included several changes to the California State Preschool Program (CSPP), including key provisions for expanding family eligibility.
The Neighborhood School Eligibility provision, which Early Edge proposed and championed in 2022 and which was established that same year in the state budget act, authorized CSPP providers to enroll preschool children who lived within the boundaries of public schools that enrolled at least 80% free or reduced-price meal (FRPM)-eligible students, regardless of family income only after enrolling higher-priority preschool children. Modeled after the National School Lunch Program’s Community Eligibility Program, the provision recognized that schools enrolling a high percentage of under-resourced students were part of a larger, under-resourced community, and therefore offered universal access to all children within that school’s boundary.
The 2026 enacted state budget changed the law in two significant ways:
This latest change recognizes a school or district’s poverty concentration as the qualifying factor, expanding access for many families across the state, especially in under-resourced communities.
The law is in effect now. Budget bills become operative upon the Governor’s signature, so providers and families may begin enjoying the expansion of the law immediately.
Since these changes affect family eligibility, it’s also equally important to note that there have been no substantial changes to existing CSPP enrollment priorities, which are as follows:
Priority: One
Children: At-risk children
Priority: Two
Children: Children with exceptional needs
Priority: Three
Children: Children not enrolled in state-funded Transitional Kindergarten (TK)
Priority: Four
Children: Children of employees of local educational agencies (LEAs), with lowest-income families enrolled first
Priority: Five
Children: Eligible two-year-old children, to the extent the contractor has elected to offer services
Priority: Six
Children: Children from families whose incomes do not exceed 15% of the income eligibility threshold
Under the newly revised Neighborhood Eligibility provision, after all higher-priority children have secured a spot, children in areas of a qualifying school or school district with a UPP of 80 percent or higher may be enrolled without regard to income.
Through new changes to this provision, tens of thousands of additional 3- and 4-year-old children across the state are now eligible for CSPP.
Based on 2025-26 reported data, over 250 school districts in California, including some of the state’s largest such as LAUSD, meet the 80% UPP criteria under the expanded CSPP eligibility provision. That means every 3- and 4-year-old child living within those district boundaries is now eligible for CSPP, in addition to children living within the boundaries of any individual school site that meets the 80% UPP threshold.
Early Edge was the first to propose Neighborhood School Eligibility in 2022, which was enacted in the State budget that year with AB 185 (2022), and has worked to expand the provision ever since. The expansion is tied directly with our work to expand access to quality early learning experiences for 3- and 4-year-olds and help ensure families have access to programs that meet their unique needs.
Click here to read Early Edge California’s final budget statement. You can read changes to the law on the state preschool program here.