What is UPK?
UPK stands for Universal PreKindergarten and it is an umbrella term that includes the California State Preschool Program (CSPP), TK, as well as Head Start, district and local community-based preschool programs, early learning services for students with disabilities, private pay preschool, and expanded learning options to support access to a full day of services.
While participation in UPK and choice of which program is optional, TK is the only option within the broader UPK frame that will be universally available, and free of cost, for all four-year old children as part of California’s public education system.
California’s goal is to serve more children ages 3-to 4-years-old, statewide, in high-quality preschool programs. California intends to meet this goal through the implementation of universally available TK, as well as investments in other state-funded programs, such as funding to expand the CSPP and other state-subsidized programs that offer a preschool learning experience.
In 2021, legislation was passed that requires any local educational agency (LEA) operating a Kindergarten to also provide a TK program for all 4-year-old children by 2025–26. UTK means that by 2025–26, regardless of background, race, zip code, immigration status, or income level, every child will have access to TK as a quality learning experience the year before Kindergarten.
What prekindergarten programs may parents choose from?
Transitional kindergarten (TK) is a universally accessible and free program for age-eligible four-year-old children (to be available at no-cost to all four-year-old children by the 2025-26 school year) and parents may choose to enroll their children in a TK program or any other prekindergarten program for which the family is eligible including, but not limited to, the California State Preschool Program (CSPP), Head Start, in addition to subsidized programs administered by the California Department of Social Services (CDSS). TK is not mandatory for children. Families who choose to enroll their children in TK remain eligible for subsidized early learning and care programs, including, but not limited to part-day CSPP, and will be able to choose to send their child to those programs, space permitting, as long as the hours of operation do not overlap with the hours of TK. Families may also continue to choose to enroll their children in private preschool or prekindergarten programs or keep their children at home until the age of six, when compulsory education begins.
What is TK?
TK stands for transitional kindergarten and uses a modified kindergarten curriculum that is age and developmentally appropriate and based on California's Preschool Learning Foundations and Frameworks.
When is my child eligible for TK?
- In the 2024–25 school year, children who turn five years old between September 2 and June 2* are eligible for TK.
- In the 2025–26 school year, and in each school year thereafter, children who will turn four years old by September 1* are eligible for TK.
*Inclusive of these dates
