August 12, 2026
In 2021, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill (AB) 130 as part of the state budget, which gradually expanded Transitional Kindergarten (TK) over four subsequent years. That same year, California established the Expanded Learning Opportunities Program (ELOP) to provide before-and-after school services along with inter-session enrichment programs, prioritizing children with the greatest need. The 2025-26 school year marked the first year of full TK implementation, with TK now available to every four-year-old with a ten-to-one adult-to-child ratio, making California home to the largest universal preschool program in the nation. Building on these milestones, the 2026-27 California State Budget protects the developmental integrity of TK and stabilizes ELOP funding that working families rely on.
This year’s budget clarifies in statute that TK curriculum and instruction must be developmentally appropriate and address the developmental domains in the Preschool/TK Learning Foundations.
Codifying that TK instruction must be developmentally appropriate protects the integrity of the program as it reaches full implementation. It ensures TK classrooms reflect the play-based, age-appropriate practices four-year-olds need to thrive, rather than pushing down academic expectations designed for older children.
The budget stabilizes the ‘Tier 2’ (Rate 2) ELOP rate at a guaranteed $1,800 per pupil (based on TK–6 attendance) for local educational agencies (LEAs) with an unduplicated pupil percentage below 55 percent, and increases ELOP technical assistance funding by $2.5 million ongoing.
Stabilizing the ELOP Rate 2 floor at $1,800 per pupil gives LEAs with lower-concentrations of unduplicated students the funding certainty they need to sustain before- and after-school and inter-session programming. Many working families depend on this programming for safe, enriching care that supports their children’s academic, social, and emotional development beyond the regular school day.
The budget provides $200 million one-time Proposition 98 for Universal PreKindergarten Planning and Implementation Grants to help LEAs plan for and expand access to prekindergarten programs for four-year-olds, and $50 million one-time Proposition 98 for the Universal Preschool Planning Grant Program to support local planning to expand access through California’s mixed-delivery system for three- and four-year-olds.
These planning investments keep momentum behind California’s mixed-delivery expansion for its youngest learners. They give districts and their community-based partners the resources to build the local infrastructure that makes universal preschool and prekindergarten a reality.
The budget provides up to 14 weeks of paid pregnancy disability leave to all LEA employees beginning January 1, 2027, funded in part through the COLA.
Paid pregnancy leave recognizes the needs of educators and their families and strengthens California’s ability to recruit and retain the workforce that makes TK and expanded learning possible.
Early Edge California has been a long-time champion for investments that expand universal access to high-quality Early Learning and Care programs, including TK. Through our advocacy during this year’s and previous budget cycles, we have supported and worked alongside state leadership to ensure that every 4-year-old in California has the opportunity to learn and grow in a developmentally appropriate TK program. We will continue to advocate for the sustained investments in TK so that every child and family has the support they need to grow and thrive.
Click here to read Early Edge California’s final budget statement