The Brief

As California expands transitional kindergarten at public schools to all four-year-olds, teachers have run into a more-common predicament: how do you help kids who are not potty-trained?

“It is very normal in the younger grades that those teachers will deal with accidents in the classrooms — it's just been more of a shift to students coming to school that are still in diapers and pull ups. That is a little bit different,” said Mara Harvey, president of the Natomas Teachers' Association in Northern California.

Most children are potty-trained by age 4, according to the Academy of Pediatrics, but that can also vary based on a child’s development. And even if they are potty-trained, accidents and regressions can still happen.

Teachers — unlike staff at childcare centers — typically can’t directly help a child go to the bathroom, or change their pullups or clothes. It’s not in the purview of their job descriptions, Harvey explained.

“As teachers, we don't have specific training. And I know that a lot of people think like, “oh, it's just changing a diaper, right? But we are not in a position to have any kind of contact with a student that would allow us to change a diaper … that is not part of our jobs,” she said.

What does the state require?

The California Department of Education requires districts to admit all eligible students, regardless of if they’re potty-trained or not, but leaves it up to districts on how to best address the needs of those students. The agency created a toileting tool kit for districts.

At some districts, aides and nurses can help assist kids, but at Harvey’s district, there isn’t staff trained to help (except for students who have Individualized Education Programs). When a child has an accident, or needs to change a pullup, the schools will call their parents, she said.

“For teachers, it's really just that they need direction and support as to who is responsible for this,” Harvey said.

So what can parents of TK students expect when it comes to toileting assistance for their children? Bottom line: Ask your school or district. 

At Rowland Unified School District, health assistants, instructional aides, and personal care assistants are trained to help students use the restroom or help if they have an accident.

“So everybody has at least a health assistant and most everyone has one of the other two. And sometimes parents prefer to come themselves because there's parents that stay at home or closeby to the school,” said Annette Ramirez, director of student services in the Rowland Unified School District.

Coming up with a support plan 

She said teachers ask parents of young students to bring an extra set of clothes, and other supplies, like pullups or wipes. If a student has an accident, they typically call the parents, but the staff on site can also help. She said teachers are often talking about what a student needs at back-to-school-nights or at conferences.

“We have a strong line of communication between school and home. And that is the first most important line to make sure that the children are safe and secure at the school site and feel good about themselves,” she said.

At Long Beach Unified, “teachers are not required to assist with toileting needs, [but] have the option to volunteer,” said a spokesperson. The district also has paraprofessionals, instructional aides and health techs who are among the staff trained in changing students.

What are teachers told?

The California Department of Education’s guidance says “[d]istricts, schools, and programs may also need to analyze current duty statements for teachers and staff and engage in bargaining with union representatives about which jobs will include direct toileting support activities such as assisting a child with changing clothing or cleaning themselves.”

At Los Angeles Unified School District, teachers, like in many other school districts, provide verbal assistance.

“Let's say there’s an accident, so we verbally talk through it with them… “Here’s a change of clothes....Change, wipe yourself. Here’s the front of your pants,’” explained Dean Tagawa, the head of LAUSD’s Early Childhood Education Division. “Meanwhile, we're reaching out to the family if they need to come and help.”

Prevention is also key. Parents should ask teachers about how often kids get bathroom breaks. Tagawa said especially toward the beginning of the year, breaks might be every 15-20 minutes.

Learning from friends might also benefit kids in getting potty-trained. “When kids go together and they see other children going and learning how to toilet train, it makes it easier for them to have a model … A lot of times it takes them, a week or two weeks to become fully potty trained,” Tagawa said.

Democrats had an overwhelming comeback on election night, recapturing both the House and Senate and shattering expectations in some longtime GOP strongholds. Democrats also had strong showing in gubernatorial races across the nation.

President Donald Trump has said he will accept results and blamed GOP candidates for their own losses.

House of Representatives

Senate

Governors

California state leaders will be able to put away more money when its economy is booming.

On Tuesday, 60% of voters supported Proposition 2, which seeks to shore up the state’s reserves for an economic downturn, with 40% of voters opposing the measure. With 46% of votes counted, The Associated Press declared the measure had passed.

California’s booming stock market is bringing in billions of dollars in unexpected tax revenue.

Prop. 2, or the Save for California’s Future Act, aims to shore up the state’s rainy day fund by allowing state leaders to save up to 20% of the state’s general fund tax revenue, up from the current ceiling of 10%.

The state will also be required to save more when revenue is growing faster, and allow state lawmakers to use some of it to pay down California’s $20 billion in federal unemployment insurance debt.

Supporters say saving more now would help the state weather a future economic downturn.

California has been stuck in a boom-or-bust state budget cycle because its tax revenue depends heavily on wealthy residents’ stock market earnings. Some economists have warned the current economic boom may not last, and the state could face deeper budget uncertainties due to federal budget cuts and potential tax filing delays triggered by natural disasters.

Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic legislators spearheaded Prop. 2, which is also endorsed by labor unions, chambers of commerce and a coalition of advocates for healthcare, housing and transit.

“If you don’t have a rainy day fund, then what happens is you get forced to contemplate cuts to core essential services,” said Assembly Budget Chair Jesse Gabriel, an Encino Democrat.

But opponents, including most Republican lawmakers, say saving more would only embolden legislators to spend more. The state should refund taxpayers during a good year, not set the money aside, they argue.

“When they say we’re here for fiscal responsibility, it’s like the devil offering a Bible study. Don’t buy it,” said Assemblymember Carl DeMaio, a San Diego Republican.

California leaders and voters have historically established reserves several times, but always quickly withdrew all the funds during budget crises. In 2014, voters approved a law that required the state to save more aggressively and made it harder to withdraw money.

The law requires the state to set aside 1.5% of its general fund revenue and any spikes in capital gains tax revenue each year for reserves and paying down debts. State lawmakers are allowed to withdraw up to half the balance from the reserves when the governor declares and the Legislature ratifies a budget emergency, unless they’ve already done that the previous year and the emergency remains. There are no limits on what lawmakers can spend the money on.

Prop. 2 would keep those rules and allow the state to save more. Critics say state leaders have too much leeway in spending the money.

David Crane, a former economic adviser to former Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, said the rules let “governors bake in spending based on optimistic forecasts, knowing they can always dip into reserves if revenue falls short.”

This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.

President Donald Trump has congratulated Democrats for their string of victories but maintains that the midterm elections are not a referendum on him.

“The Democrats did a good job. They fought hard,” he said in a phone interview with Fox News.

Several Trump-backed candidates lost in places that he won easily in 2024. But he blamed the candidates themselves, not policies of his that voters have looked on unfavorably, like the economy and Iran war.

“I don’t view it as a hit on me,” he said. “We’ve had the greatest two years in the history of the presidency.”

Ask us a question

Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins conceded to Democrat Troy Jackson early Wednesday, ending her race for a sixth term. The Associated Press has not yet called the race.

“For every family doing everything they can and wondering when somebody is going to do something for them, you have gotten me into this and you’re going to have someone who is fighting for you in Washington, D.C.,” Jackson told the crowd at an election night party in Portland.

Jackson, a former Maine Senate president, took over as the Democratic nominee in July after primary winner Graham Platner dropped out. He was tasked with defeating the longtime incumbent after a chaotic primary season that left the Democrats in disarray and briefly without a candidate.

“It has been the honor of my life to serve the people of Maine in the United States Senate. I’m proud of all I have been able to accomplish for our state and for our country in the past 30 years,” Collins said in a statement after calling Jackson to concede.

Democrats had seen the race as a top opportunity to flip a Republican-held seat. Maine has supported Democrats for president since 1992, and Collins was running for reelection at a moment when President Donald Trump is deeply unpopular.

But Democrats’ bid to flip the seat hit setbacks. Party leaders in Washington initially backed Maine Gov. Janet Mills to run against Collins, only to see her fall flat while facing Platner in the primary. Platner overcame a wave of controversies, including the revelation of a tattoo recognized as a Nazi symbol, to win the nomination, only to drop out in July after facing an allegation of sexual assault that he denied.

Jackson was chosen as a replacement nominee during an emergency convention, and he had roughly 100 days to barnstorm the state trying to drum up support for his bid against one of the Senate’s most influential members.

Collins, who is the sole remaining Republican lawmaker in Congress from New England, stressed her ability to deliver for Maine. She tried to distance herself from Trump, saying during a debate that she is “not exactly his favorite senator.”

Although Collins has shown a willingness to buck her own party and Trump, Jackson and other Democrats portrayed her as beholden to him and criticized her for caving to his wishes. Jackson hammered Collins on her vote to confirm Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, a Trump nominee who eventually helped overturn constitutional protections for abortion. Collins, who supports abortion rights, has said she didn’t regret her vote.

It could take a few days or longer before the winner is known, as Maine is one of two states with ranked choice voting. Collins and Jackson are the only candidates on the ballot, but write-in candidates could keep either from reaching 50% of the vote, in which case a ranked count would take place.

Collins was first elected 30 years ago

Collins, 73, was first elected in 1996 and is one of the most well-known figures in Maine politics. She grew up in the northern Maine city of Caribou where her family owns a sixth-generation lumber business. Collins worked for former Republican Sen. William Cohen for many years, starting when Cohen served in the U.S. House of Representatives, and would later succeed him in the Senate.

She has long touted her independence from Trump and her party. She has said she didn’t vote for Trump in 2016, and she voted to convict the president after his 2021 impeachment over his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

When Vice President JD Vance made trips to Maine, Collins did not appear with him. Vance told the crowd at a May rally that he sometimes gets frustrated with the senator and wishes she were more partisan.

Collins has been a top target of Democrats before. She won handily in 2020 during a year that Democrats won the presidential race and both U.S. House seats in Maine.

During this year’s race, Collins touted her longevity in the Senate and her status as a key player in powerful committees and budget negotiations. She said those aspects of her service remain critically important for Mainers.

“It has been 92 years since a Maine senator was chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, the most powerful committee in the Senate,” Collins told reporters. “When I took over last year, I realized I had a once-in-a-century opportunity to help the state of Maine and pursue national priorities as well.”

Collins has also tried to highlight Jackson’s temperament. Her campaign criticized Jackson for telling her to “shut up” during a debate.

Jackson became the nominee during a time of crisis for Democrats

Jackson, 58, initially ran for the Democratic nomination for governor and lost. He then won the nominating convention for Senate in July.

It made for a rushed start to the campaign for Jackson, a fifth-generation logger from rural far northern Maine. Since then, he has held events at churches, union halls and bars to tout issues such as workers’ rights and fighting the high costs of housing and healthcare.

He has long had support among progressive Mainers, as he worked as independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign leader in Maine. At times, his campaign rhetoric is reminiscent of Sanders, who joined Jackson for rallies in October.

“In the end, if you work hard, you should be able to build a decent life,” Jackson said at a campaign event near Portland in September. “But that’s not the reality right now.”

He criticized Collins as not doing enough to stop Trump. Jackson noted she voted to advance Trump’s signature tax cut and budget legislation out of committee, before she was a “no” vote on its final passage.

“Sen. Collins is like an arsonist who helps set the fire and then she wants credit for bringing a cup of water to put it out,” he said.