key takeaway
TK enrollment in California has doubled since 2021-22, with growth across all student groups and high-poverty schools. To ensure all children benefit, the state must address disparities in access for students of color and those from low-income families.
Early childhood education is foundational for young children’s development and their long-term outcomes, and preschool programs provide essential opportunities for 3- and 4-year-olds.1For example, see “Predictor: Access to Preschool,” Urban Institute (webpage), accessed March 1, 2025, https://upward-mobility.urban.org/framework/education/preschool Recognizing the importance of early learning, California policymakers chose in 2021 to embark on a significant expansion of Transitional Kindergarten (TK), a specialized preschool program for 4-year-old children offered at public schools. To ensure this expansion benefits all children, it is crucial to track participation for student groups that have historically faced barriers, namely students of color and those from families with low incomes, as the challenges these students face may continue throughout their education. Given these ongoing patterns of inequity, this report highlights TK enrollment trends from 2021-22, before the age-eligibility expansion began to 2023-24, the second year of expansion and the most recent data available for these student groups.
Enrollment Increased Across All Race and Ethnicity Groups
TK enrollment has grown substantially across all racial and ethnic groups between the 2021-22 and 2023-24 school years. Overall enrollment increased by 101%, from 75,410 to 151,336 students. In 2023-24, TK enrolled 59% of eligible four-year-olds in California. While all student groups experienced significant growth, the percentage growth varied. Multi-racial students experienced the highest percentage growth (130%), followed by Asian students, who also had substantial increases (117%). Latinx students had the highest enrollment number in both years, 42,702 in 2021-22 and 83,362 in 2023-24, reflecting a percentage increase of 95%. American Indian or Alaska Native students had the lowest enrollment numbers (314 in 2021-22 and 571 in 2023-24) and the smallest percentage growth (82%).
Moving forward, the state should track take-up rates among the groups with the lowest percentage growth, including American Indian or Alaska Native, Latinx, and Black students. Additionally, ensuring equitable access to TK will require a focus on understanding and addressing potential barriers to participation among these students.
High-Poverty Elementary Schools Have Significantly Increased Their Enrollment
Elementary schools with higher poverty levels had the largest increases in TK enrollment between 2021-22 and 2023-24. Growth in the number of students varied across schools by their overall share of students eligible for Free and Reduced Price Meals (FRPM), a proxy to identify students from low-income families.2Free and reduced-price meal eligibility (FRPM) is a measure of need based on poverty levels that the state uses as a proxy to identify students from families with low incomes. Children from households with incomes below 185 percent of the federal poverty level are considered eligible. Eligibility is based on household size and income; for example, for the 2024-25 school year, a student in a household composed of three members with an annual income at or below $47,767 would be deemed eligible and counted as low income. Complete household size and income scale: https://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/nu/rs/scales2425.asp Schools in the highest FRPM category (76-100%) grew their enrollment by nearly 30,000 students, compared to about 10,000 students in schools with the lowest share of FRPM-eligible students (0-25%). The differences are primarily because there are far more schools in the highest FRPM category (1,982) than in the lowest (409).
Elementary schools in higher-poverty areas also had a significant increase in new TK programs. The following table displays the number of schools that added new TK programs — those that did not have any TK enrollment in 2021-22 — by FRPM categories. As shown in the table, 387 schools in the 76-100% FRPM category initiated new TK programs compared to 151 in the lowest FRPM category (0-25%). This shows that expansion efforts have primarily supported high-poverty schools by enabling them to establish and offer TK programs.
A higher share of children from low-income families participate in TK. Due to the lack of publicly available data, it is challenging to accurately determine the exact number of low-income children enrolled in TK.3The California Department of Education does not publicly report counts of students eligible for FRPM by grade level. The following table displays the estimated number of students from low-income families in TK, calculated based on the overall proportion of FRPM-eligible students at each elementary school. The estimate reveals that 90,754 children from low-income families are enrolled in TK, representing 64% of total enrollment.4Only schools classified as “public elementary schools” are included in this estimate. The increasing role of TK in supporting low-income families also highlights the need to monitor how families utilize the program and address any potential barriers.
Overall, TK enrollment has expanded significantly, with substantial growth across all racial and ethnic groups and a notable increase in TK programs in high-poverty schools. These trends demonstrate TK’s growing role in providing early learning opportunities to more children. However, more research is needed to understand local challenges. For example, TK uptake rates from 2021-22 to 2023-24 show faster growth in low-poverty schools (79%) compared to high-poverty schools (58%), suggesting potential barriers to access that warrant further investigation to ensure equity.
To build on this significant progress, the state should prioritize equity by addressing disparities in growth and ensuring that all children, particularly those from low-income families and children of color, can benefit from TK. This includes assessing and strengthening how the broader mixed delivery preschool system supports children and their families. By focusing on these areas, the state can continue to expand access to early learning opportunities, ensuring that children from low-income families have the strong foundation they need to succeed in school and beyond.
