State supports for UPK expansion: fund facilities and ratio implementation, update reimbursement rates, offer curriculum and assessment technical assistance, and expand professional development and inclusive-classroom supports¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · 5 claims (3 for, 2 mixed) · 5 studies (4 associational, 1 review), q2 · 0 of 5 report an effect size · 5 claims rest on one study

Description¶

The report closes with a set of state-level actions to sustain UPK quality as TK expansion finishes. It recommends that "the state can consider funding facilities upgrades and implementation of new adult-to-student ratio requirements, updating reimbursement rates to meet the cost of care for publicly funded preschool and child care programs, offering technical assistance on curriculum and assessments, supporting high-quality professional development for early educators and school leaders, and expanding supports for inclusive classrooms." These respond to survey-reported challenges in facilities, funding, staffing, and developmentally appropriate practice.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Sustained state investment and targeted support, which the report calls "critical to ensuring high-quality early learning opportunities for all young learners in the state."

Constraints¶

• Funding was a particular challenge for small LEAs with low TK enrollment and basic aid districts that do not receive additional funding for TK students.

Target Learners¶

• 4-year-olds enrolled in transitional kindergarten
• income-eligible 3-year-olds in state preschool programs

Target Learning Goals¶

• access to high-quality, developmentally appropriate prekindergarten learning environments

Claims¶

• California school facilities are chronically underfunded, with stark facility-condition and spending disparities [~W]
• LEAs expressed broad interest in technical assistance, with the highest interest in professional learning opportunities [+W]
• Most LEAs projected sufficient TK classroom space by 2025–26, though facilities remained a top implementation challenge for about one fourth of LEAs [+W]
• 88% of LEAs projected sufficient classroom space by full TK expansion in 2025–26, yet facilities remained a top implementation challenge [+W]
• California TK classrooms most commonly used social-emotional and literacy-specific curricula, but about a quarter of LEAs used kindergarten curriculum in TK [~W]

Related Strategies¶

• Use local resources to serve children birth through age 3 to stabilize community providers as 4-year-olds move into TK
• Expand transitional kindergarten and preschool by braiding UPK funds with hiring, culturally responsive curriculum, and community college partnerships
• Target state UPK technical assistance on coaching and mentoring, curriculum and assessment guidance, facilities, multilingual learner supports, and paraprofessional workforce investment

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Wang, V., Melnick, H., Leung-Gagné, M., Parker, S., & Wechsler, M. (2025). California's universal prekindergarten implementation progress, 2023–24. Learning Policy Institute. https://doi.org/10.54300/600.551