Early Edge Updates

Governor Newsom’s May Revision for 2025-26 Budget Preserves Key Early Learning and Care Investments, Yet Cuts Critical Services for Families

May 15, 2025 | For Immediate Release

May 15, 2025
For Immediate Release

SACRAMENTO, CA – Early Edge California appreciates Governor Newsom for preserving key Early Learning and Care investments in the May Revision of his proposed 2025-26 state budget, amidst difficult decision-making to balance the state’s estimated $12 billion budget shortfall. We acknowledge the challenges the Governor and the Legislature are facing in reaching a balanced budget and recognize that many of the cuts made in the revision are a response to the impacts of actions happening at the federal level.   

While we are pleased to see continued funding for Cost of Care Plus monthly payments to state-subsidized child care providers, we will continue to uplift the critical need for the timely implementation and funding of a reimbursement single rate structure based on the true cost of care. Additionally, we are concerned to see the May Revision’s suspension of the cost-of-living adjustment for state preschool and child care programs, as it further burdens providers who are facing rising costs in providing care, putting at risk the availability and quality of services that families depend on. During these turbulent times, California is being forced to respond to actions at the federal level in this year’s budget. Proposed cuts to Medi-Cal would devastate the state’s financial stability and impact thousands of low-income children and families, and immigrants alike, who receive essential health services in our state.  

We appreciate the Governor’s continued commitment to delivering a high-quality, universal preschool program to all 4-year-old children in California through the multiyear implementation of Universal Transitional Kindergarten (UTK) with the following inclusions:

• $2.1 billion in Prop 98 funding to reach full expansion of TK implementation by the start of the 2025-26 school year—marking a historic milestone for our state with the creation of the largest universal preschool program in the country.
• $1.2 billion in Prop 98 funding to fund classroom ratio reduction from 12:1 to 10:1 students-to-adults.
• $7.5 million TK Multilingual Learner Supplementary Funding, available through the 2026-27 fiscal year. This is a critical step in the implementation of Early Edge’s co-sponsored bill AB 2268, which exempts TK students from the English language proficiency assessment, to ensure that we are able to secure funding for local educational agencies (LEAs) to support the needs of TK Multilingual lLearners.
• Maintained commitment to reach full implementation of California’s Expanded Learning Opportunities Program (ELOP) with $515.5 million in Prop 98 funding, expanding the implementation of before, after, and summer school instruction and enrichment for TK-6th grade students to an increased number of California LEAs. This investment means families in more than half of the districts in California will now have access to this essential program, regardless of their income.