The Brief

This year, every 4-year-old in California can enter transitional kindergarten at their local school district. But fewer parents know about TK, and that it can be an option for their family, than they did just a few years ago, according to a survey by the Stanford Center on Early Childhood.

Here are some frequently asked questions about this new grade in California’s public school system.

What is transitional kindergarten?

Transitional kindergarten is part of California’s ambitious plan to create the nation’s largest free early education program. The state describes TK as the first of a two-year kindergarten program to prepare children for the rigors of elementary school.

Starting in 2012, some school districts introduced TK on a limited basis to serve a group of children who narrowly missed the cutoff date to enter kindergarten. In 2021, they began accepting more 4-year-olds by expanding the birthday cutoffs each year. Starting this school year, all school districts are required to offer universal access to TK. They must also limit classroom sizes to one adult for every ten students.

How is TK different from other types of preschool?

TK is the only free school option for all 4-year-olds in California. Two other publicly funded preschool programs — Head Start and the California State Preschool Program — prioritize students based on certain criteria, like income and living situation. Private preschools are businesses or nonprofits that are required to comply with local zoning, and health and safety codes. They set their own curriculum.

Does my child have to attend TK?

No. TK and kindergarten are considered optional in California. Children are not mandated to enroll in school until first grade.

How do I know if my kid is eligible for TK?

Students who will turn 4 by Sept. 1 of the school year can enroll.

What do kids learn in TK?

TK is a play-based program, where children learn through play and interaction with each other. Schools are expected to align with the state’s framework, the Preschool/Transitional Kindergarten Learning Foundations, when they set the curriculum for TK. The document lays out the knowledge and skills that 3- to 5-year-old children can acquire, such as focusing attention and collaborating with others, if given the benefits of a high-quality early education.

Parents may find that transitional kindergarten doesn't have as much play as other options.

Erika Vargas, a transitional kindergarten teacher at Global Family Elementary School in Oakland, says a year in TK gives children a “grace period” to learn the routines and expectations of being in school and develop the skills necessary for kindergarten.

“Our goal is to expose them to literature, to develop that love of books, reading, writing and drawing,” she said. “Socially, we want them to learn how to make friends and resolve conflicts.”

Kids also start on basic skills such as learning the alphabet and numbers, but the focus is more on social and emotional development, said Tanya Harris, director of elementary education for the Alameda Unified School District.

Why does California want to make TK universal? 

Gov. Gavin Newsom said the goal of making TK universal is so that “every 4-year-old in California from here on out can start their schooling on the right track, setting them up for success further down the road.”

Experts also say that TK brings students into the K-12 system sooner so that they can acclimate to going to school and feel comfortable in a classroom, while parents benefit from an extra year of free care and education for their children.

When should I start researching transitional kindergarten options for my child?

Many school districts start enrollment in January for the fall and may give priority to school placement for those who enroll early. (Los Angeles Unified begins this process in October.) Also, schools often hold tours and information sessions in the spring. But don’t expect your local school district to reach out to you with a reminder to sign up for your child. Many parents have told us they find out about TK from other parents and do their research into options and deadlines.

What happens if I wait to enroll my child until right before school starts?

Children can enroll in school at any time, but that may limit your options for which school or program your child can enroll in. Some schools may fill up, which means you will have to look at other options.

How can I assess if transitional kindergarten is right for my child?

Since TK may not cover all the child care hours parents need to fit their work schedule, parents must consider if they can make it work logistically and if their child can handle switching from school to an aftercare arrangement.

Some families prefer to keep their child in a program that can provide full-day care, said Kym Johnson, CEO of Bananas, an agency that refers parents to child care options in Alameda County.

On the other hand, some parents want their kids to enter a school environment. “Four-year-olds are at different stages and levels of independence,” Johnson said. “We believe families know what's best for their kids.”

What should I look for in a TK program?

A high-quality TK classroom ought to have ample space for play-based activities, said Hanna Melnick, senior policy advisor for the Learning Policy Institute based in Palo Alto.

“You want to see literacy, math and science activities in the classroom that are thoughtfully planned,” Melnick said. “And you want to make sure that the curriculum and assessments are taking into account the needs of the whole child — their social and emotional needs, their physical development as well as what’s more considered traditional academic development in math and reading.”

Dale Farran, a professor emeritus at Vanderbilt University, said parents need to look for learning opportunities in the classroom that go beyond basic instruction.

“They need to be up, they need to be exploring, they need to be interacting with each other and with the teacher, and they need to have an environment that facilitates all of that happening,” Farran said.

(Looking for a school in Los Angeles Unified School District? Check out our guide: How to choose a school in Los Angeles)

What should I ask the school about how TK is run?

• What kind of outdoor time do children get and what do those spaces offer?
• How do you incorporate play into the curriculum? 
• Are there bathrooms attached to the classroom? (If not: Is there a bathroom inside the classroom, where are the closest bathrooms and how do the children get there?)
• Where will they eat their lunch and snacks? Will it be in the classroom or the cafeteria? 
• Do you have any special additional programs for TK students, e.g. dual immersion? 
• What kind of after-school care do you offer?
• Can I take a tour?
• Can I talk to the principal and teacher?

What are common challenges parents encounter?

Many parents find that arranging pick-up and drop-off can be a huge challenge depending on their work schedules. The other big challenge is finding before- and after-school care since TK schedules vary in length anywhere from three to five hours a day. The state has provided funding for schools to add after-school care and enrichment classes in art, STEM or sports, but availability varies from school to school. Some programs charge fees while others are free.

Anything else I should consider?

Napping and toilet training. Some 4-year-olds still nap in the afternoon, which is not part of most TK programs. If that’s a problem, then perhaps you could consider how your child could still nap after school or phase out napping.

Another issue some parents worry about is how prepared their child is to use the bathroom on their own. The California Department of Education requires districts to admit all eligible students, regardless of if they’re potty-trained or not, but it varies by district when it comes to addressing the needs of those students.

Marji D. Calbeck, director of elementary support for the Mt. Diablo Unified School District, recommends that parents talk with teachers at the start of the school year about any concerns and even pack their kids an extra change of clothes in case they have an accident. Potty accidents happen in school, she said, noting it’s something educators should be equipped to deal with.

What if my child isn’t ready for TK? What are my other options?

California offers several publicly funded early childhood education programs, to help meet families’ diverse child care needs.

Under the state’s Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK) initiative, income-eligible families can enroll in federal Head Start programs, the California State Preschool Program or subsidized early learning programs such as home-based “family child care” or private preschools.

CSPP offers part-day and full-day options for 3- and 4-year-olds.

Click here to find out whether you meet the income requirement to enroll your child in CSPP.

Where can I find more information?

First, check out LAist's School Game Plan, to better understand what you might want out of your child's education.

The state has set up a comprehensive website with information about TK. To find a program in your area, start with your local school district. You can look up school districts here. You can also explore parent forums or groups on social media. Parents can also search for child care that meets their specific needs via MyChildCarePlan.org, a search tool supported by California’s network of resource and referral agencies.

If there’s a question you have we didn’t include, feel free to reach out to us — Daisy Nguyen or Elly Yu — and we’ll do our best to find answers.

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Illustration by Olivia Hughes/LAist.

Something unusual is happening with only a few days remaining before the U.S. men's national team opens its World Cup campaign against Paraguay: Tickets for the match are not sold out.

Although numbers fluctuate regularly, FIFA's ticketing website still shows 132 tickets left to sell for a game that's set to take place in Los Angeles on Friday. Meanwhile, resale platforms such as StubHub and SeatGeek — and FIFA's own marketplace — also show thousands of tickets on sale.

The number is even higher for Canada's opening match against Bosnia Herzegovina in Toronto on the same day, with 226 tickets left in FIFA's website and a high number of tickets available in resale markets.

That's unusual for high-profile events such as the opening matches of the World Cup — traditionally among the hardest to get tickets in the tournament. This year will feature three hosts in the U.S., Canada and Mexico — but so far only Mexico's opening match against South Africa on Thursday looks to be virtually sold out.

Ticketing experts widely agree on the reason: the prices. FIFA dramatically jacked them up for the tournament — especially for high profile games. The most expensive regular seats for the U.S. opener against Paraguay are priced at $2,735 — more than the final cost for the 2022 World Cup final — while the cheapest are $1,120.

Even President Trump said he wouldn't pay those prices.

"I would certainly like to be there, but I wouldn't pay it either, to be honest with you," Trump told the New York Post in a recent interview.

The other two remaining games for the U.S. national have far fewer tickets available, given that prices are well below the ones for the opening match.

Prices have also fallen sharply

There are not only plenty of tickets left to sell — a number of them are also available below FIFA's face value. According to Ticketdata, which tracks prices across the resale platforms, the cheapest pair of tickets for the opening match for the U.S. and Canada was $951 as of Monday morning, while in FIFA's resale platform, tickets were available for as low as $690.

Other games across the 104-match tournament also still have many tickets left to sell — despite FIFA President Gianni Infantino's claim that every match is "already sold out." That's especially the case for lesser well known teams such as the Jordan against Algeria match, which still had hundreds of unsold seats in the FIFA's web site.

Demand for high-profile tickets such as Argentina and Portugal was far higher, however, with many of those games looking largely sold out.

Will the opening matches sell out?

Whether eventually the U.S. and Canada opening matches will sell out is hard to answer. Throughout the sales process, FIFA has closely guarded how many tickets it has actually sold and how many are left to sell, making it virtually impossible to gauge.

In addition, like other teams, FIFA could also sell tickets in other platforms including third-party ones such as SeatGeek, which can further obscure how many tickets are left to sell.

FIFA and organizers, however, are hoping for a surge in excitement that leads to a last-minute rush of sales for the opening matches as well as for those such as Jordan against Algeria that look far from being sold out.

Ben Shields, a senior lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management, says perceptions so far of the tournament have been shaped by how expensive tickets and travel has been for a tournament taking place across an entire continent.

That, he says, "does not seem to sit well with many."

But that could change.

"The hope or bet — for FIFA is that once the matches start — and the greatest players in the world compete for the most prestigious prize of them all, the sport as business lens will fade into the background and the World Cup will be seen and experienced as the enduring global institution that it is," Shields says. "We shall see."
Copyright 2026 NPR

Orange County’s top elected leaders on Tuesday are set to discuss what to do with $3.7 million recovered from the Andrew Do corruption scheme.

Do is now serving a five-year sentence in federal prison after he admitted to accepting bribes in exchange for awarding millions in tax dollars meant to feed needy seniors and people with disabilities in his district.

As part of the plea deal, Do acknowledged taking more than $800,000 in bribes through his two daughters, including a down payment on the house his youngest daughter Rhiannon Do later forfeited to resolve the criminal case. The scheme was first uncovered by LAist.

Federal officials recovered money from seized bank accounts and two properties connected to Do’s scheme — including the Tustin house his daughter bought.

The county Board of Supervisors is expected to publicly discuss plans for the recovered funds as they make decisions on the overall county budget at their meeting Tuesday. Public comment will also be taken.

What to do with the money?

Ahead of Tuesday’s discussion, Do’s successor said the funds should support residents of his former district who were deprived by Do and his alleged co-conspirators.

“For the past five years, every other district in Orange County has benefitted from the same community funds to support their cities, nonprofits, civic projects which strengthens their communities,” Supervisor Janet Nguyen wrote in a mass email to constituents last week. “However, our district went without because Do stole what belonged to our residents.”

“This money was stolen from the First District, and it must come back to the First District,” Nguyen added.

Nguyen was Do’s mentor and former boss more than a decade ago, before the two had a bitter falling out by 2016.

She encouraged residents of her district to send letters to the board and to speak during public comments.

Several county supervisors told LAist they supported a similar approach, one in which the recovered money goes to support the original intended recipients: seniors and people with disabilities in Do’s former district. Some supervisors have since advocated a broader view of how they’d want to use the money, noting that it was meant to address disruptions caused by the pandemic. Now that years have passed since the initial COVID-19 outbreak and lockdowns, some supervisors argue community needs have changed.

“We are so many years on, and the problems that money originally was to address (mostly Covid impacts) are now behind us, that I think we should have a discussion about how and where to spend it,” Supervisor Don Wagner told LAist via text message in March. “The budget is so tight and the needs so great across the county.”

Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento said he’d work toward a fair distribution of the funds to best serve residents, with a focus on current needs.

“We will definitely consider what areas of the County were harmed by Do’s scheme, but we must also remember that the funds were intended for relief efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic, a threat we are no longer facing,” he said in March. “We also need to consider addressing the current needs of residents with any dollars returned to the county.”

Millions more haven’t been recovered, at least yet

The amount of taxpayer money recovered so far is less than half of the $7.9 million Andrew Do admitted was diverted from specific meal contracts.

In a lawsuit seeking to recover funds, the county alleges the total amount lost in the scheme was even larger: $13.25 million. The county’s suit — scheduled for trial in November 2027 — covers all of the money Do gave to two nonprofits accused in the scheme, Viet America Society and Hand to Hand Relief Organization.

That leaves more than $4 million — and possibly much more — not yet recovered.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office noted they have an ongoing criminal case against Do’s alleged co-conspirator Peter Pham.

“Assuming we obtain a conviction in that matter, we would expect to seek restitution,” the spokesperson, Ciaran McEvoy, said.

Pham left the country on a flight to Taiwan in late 2024 and remains a fugitive, according to McEvoy. The case against him also includes charges against another alleged co-conspirator, Thanh Huong Nguyen, who led the Hand to Hand nonprofit.

Fans of the U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team swelled the stadium at the Great Park in Irvine on Monday to watch players practice for the first time since arriving at the training facility they’ll call home for the first round of the 2026 World Cup.

“Seeing them play right now… it was really cool to see how they play and how they practice,” said Mila Ran, who came with her mother from nearby Mission Viejo.

“This whole time she’s saying, 'I want to go shoot, I want to go play,'” said Mila’s mother, Farah Ran.

They were among about 6,000 people who won free entry to the practice in a lottery that received more than 30,000 entries, according to Irvine officials.

Fans got to the venue early.

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The team’s biggest stars — Christian Pulisic, Antonee Robinson and others — showed off their ball handling skills, honed over years of play on U.S. youth fields and overseas in professional leagues. Fans yelled, waved U.S. flags, held up homemade signs, and did the wave several times.

The U.S. Men's National Team at their only open-to-the-public practice session in Irvine.

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After the roughly 45-minute practice, some players walked to the sidelines to take selfies with fans and sign autographs.

The players know it’s going to take more than this, however, to live up to expectations during the World Cup.

US men's national team player Tim Ream signs an autograph for a fan.

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“To be in a position to train in front of these people today… is such a unique opportunity and one that none of us take for granted,” said backup goalie Matt Freese before the practice. “We’re working as hard as we can, as focused as we can to leave the next generation inspired."

The U.S. men’s team and their training staff will use the Great Park facility over the next several weeks as the team plays Paraguay on Friday, Australia on June 19, and Turkey on June 25 in group play at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood.

Jury selection began Monday for the trial of the man accused of igniting a fire that led to the deadly and destructive Palisades Fire, which killed 12 people and destroyed thousands of structures.

Jonathan Rinderknecht is charged with one count of destruction of property by means of fire, one count of arson affecting property used in interstate commerce and one count of setting timber afire. He could face up to 45 years in federal prison.

How we got here

Prosecutors allege Rinderknecht set brush alight near a popular hiking trail in the Santa Monica Mountains on New Year’s Day, starting the Lachman Fire. Firefighters initially thought they put out the fire, but it remained smouldering underground for several days. High winds then brought the embers to the surface, sparking the Palisades Fire, which burned more than 23,000 acres.

What prosecutors say

In a court filing in April, prosecutors allege Rinderknecht displayed “extreme anger, indignation, and frustration” because he had to spend New Year's Eve alone. After driving around for Uber, Rinderknecht hiked up a popular trail and set chaparral alight in a clearing, according to prosecutors.

“He then started calling 911 multiple times, hiked down the hill, and fled the area in his car before firefighters arrived. Defendant returned to the area after he saw fire trucks arriving and then took videos of the firefighting efforts,” prosecutors wrote.

The filing also states that Rinderknecht threatened to burn down his sister’s home.

Prosecutors are expected to argue that Rinderknecht started the smaller blaze knowing it could turn into a bigger inferno.

U.S. District Court Judge Anne Hwang has previously expressed the government’s position could confuse jurors.

What the defense says

Defense attorney Steve Haney previously told reporters that prosecutors were trying to blame Rinderknecht for a fire that started days before the Palisades Fire.

"Well what about what happened between Jan. 1 and Jan. 7?" he asked. "Jonathan wasn't out there with a fire hose putting that fire out at the Lachman location, the Fire Department was. So why are they blaming him for whatever the Fire Department didn't do?"