California adds a new grade for 4-year-olds this fall — but parents still don’t know about it

This fall, California will make transitional kindergarten available for all 4-year-olds.

But fewer parents know about the program than they did just a few years ago, according to new surveys conducted by the Stanford Center on Early Childhood.

In 2021, California launched an ambitious plan to make transitional kindergarten (TK) available for all 4-year-olds by the 2025-26 school year, creating a brand new grade level. Since then, districts began accepting more 4-year-olds by expanding the birthday cutoffs each year.

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A few years ago, surveys showed 83% of parents with children under 6 had heard about the program. But new surveys done this past winter show that number is down to 65%.

“ There was a lot more messaging about it when it was a brand new policy,” said Abigail Stewart-Kahn, managing director at the Stanford Center on Early Childhood.

She added that parents with children under 6 years old are a “decentralized market” that can be hard to reach — some parents have kids at home, while others have children at daycare or with families.

“There’s no first grade teacher to tell them about second grade,” she said. That’s why she said every new school year, there’s a need for “another big splashy set of messages.”

Want to learn more about TK?

• Read our guide to transitional kindergarten.
• Learn more about what it takes to build a TK classroom.
• Here's one reason there aren't more TK teachers.
• Here's why TK is a big choice for many parents.
• Get ready for a new school year.