A girl practices counting to 100 in a transitional kindergarten classroom in Los Angeles. Credit: Lillian Mongeau

A girl practices counting to 100 in a transitional kindergarten classroom in Los Angeles. Credit: Lillian Mongeau, EdSource Today

Greatly expanding transitional kindergarten so that it is available to all four-twelvemonth-olds is listed amidst the acme fiscal priorities of Associates Democrats in the coming yr.

The proposal – part of a larger call to beef up funding for early on education programs in the state – is listed equally one of seven priorities identified in a "budget pattern" for adjacent year prepared by the California Land Associates Democratic Conclave. The blueprint guides the Associates equally information technology works with the governor and the Senate to craft a country upkeep for financial yr 2014-15. The early education portion of the proposal also calls for strengthening early care programs for infants and toddlers. In an era when Democrats do non need Republican support to pass a upkeep, the proposal potentially carries pregnant weight.

"If we are talking nearly wanting to shut the accomplishment gap then the evidence is overwhelming that the best style to do that is early teaching," said Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi, D-Torrance, chair of the Budget Subcommittee on Education Finance. "We but demand to conform our budget priorities to the evidence."

Transitional kindergarten was offered for the first time in nearly every schoolhouse district during the 2012-thirteen schoolhouse year as an actress grade level for children who turn v during the get-go three months of the school year and are too young for traditional kindergarten. When the program is fully implemented next autumn, only about a quarter of the state'southward children will be eligible to participate, based on the current age restrictions.

In contrast, the Democratic Caucus's proposal would open transitional kindergarten to any child who turns 4 past Sept. 1.

TK-profile__54.jpgWhile the proposal is withal in very preliminary stages – there's not fifty-fifty an estimated price tag yet – early teaching advocates say it'south pregnant that early education is being given prominence in early budget discussions. Increasing funding for college education is the only other instruction initiative outlined in the blueprint; no K-12 initiatives are mentioned.

"To have the Assembly Democrats state (early teaching) every bit a priority raises its visibility and underlines the support for this," said Deborah Kong, vice president of policy for Early Edge California, an advancement group for early babyhood initiatives.

Early educational activity suffered badly during the recession, losing $i billion and 100,000 spots for children in publicly funded kid care and preschool programs. Some of those dollars and spots were restored in the 2013-xiv budget, but the state's preschool program for children under 5 from depression-income families is however smaller and less well-funded than it was earlier the recession.

Expanding transitional kindergarten would be a worthwhile investment in the state's hereafter, said Muratsuchi, who calls himself a "true believer" in the power of preschool.

"This fits into our ongoing strategy (of making) more constructive investments in our children with the long-term goal of trying to reduce our prison expenditures," Muratsuchi said.

Research has shown that students who nourish preschool are more probable to graduate from high school and less likely to cease up in jail or on welfare.

Muratsuchi plans to hold hearings on the proposal in early 2014.

Gov. Jerry Dark-brown has not fabricated a argument about the proposal however, though it already faces some Republican opposition.

Assemblywoman Kristin Olsen, R-Modesto, vice-chair of the Upkeep Subcommittee on Education, said expanding transitional kindergarten shouldn't be a budget priority for the state this year. Olsen said she wishes the state could offer the optional pre-kindergarten plan to all 4-yr-olds, but doesn't call up it's fiscally feasible.

"We merely don't have enough money for universal transitional kindergarten in California right now," Olsen said. Before launching such a program, she said, "I would want to encounter (us) rebuild a salubrious reserve of x percent (in the land budget) and (make) a plan to pay off our long-term debt."

Schools are already working on several major new initiatives over the next two years, Olsen said. School leaders must implement a new prepare of learning standards, the Common Core Country Standards, which phone call for new, reckoner-based standardized tests, and re-jigger their budgets to conform with a new state funding system. Adding a universal transitional kindergarten plan on top of that would be too much, Olsen said.

"School leaders are overwhelmed with transitions to new programs," Olsen said. "To put (universal) transitional kindergarten on top as well would be suffocating."

Were California to offer a universal public school program for 4-year-olds it would take a giant step toward qualifying for a federally proposed program to offer grants to states providing public preschool. The federal initiative was originally proposed in President Obama's 2022 upkeep and legislation to create the program has been introduced in Congress by Reps. George Miller, D-Martinez, and Richard Hanna, R-Due north.Y. in the House and Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Ill., in the Senate.

Early Border'due south Kong said she was specially pleased that the Autonomous Caucus'due south budget blueprint included research showing that preschool tin have a big impact on children's academic and economical prospects.

"We've been saying (early pedagogy is important), but everyone expects it from an instruction advocate," Kong said. "It'south who's proverb it (now) that's of import to us."

Lillian Mongeau covers early childhood education. Contact her or follow her @lrmongeau . Subscribe to EdSource's Early on Learning RSS feed .

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