Where Have all the Preschoolers Gone New UC Berkeley Study Asks

A study by UC Berkeley raises questions about California Governor Gavin Newsom’s $2.7 billion transitional kindergarten (TK) program, which aims to provide free, high-quality early education to every 4-year-old in the state by the 2025-26 school year. While TK enrollment has surged from 75,000 to over 150,000, the study suggests this growth might be drawing students away from established community preschools. The study, titled “Tracking Progress, Achieving Fairness,” found that TK’s expansion could be impacting other publicly funded preschool programs, such as the California State Preschool Program and Head Start, as well as tuition-charging preschools.