Policy 6170.1 - Transitional Kindergarten
Series: 6000 - Instruction
Policy: 6170.1 - Transitional Kindergarten
Adopted: 09/18/2012
Last Revised: 05/05/2026
Last Reviewed: 05/05/2026
Download Policy 6170.1 - Transitional Kindergarten PDF (English)
Transitional kindergarten
The Board of Education desires to offer a high-quality transitional kindergarten (TK) program for eligible children who do not yet meet the minimum age criterion for kindergarten. The TK program shall assist students in developing the academic, social and emotional skills needed to succeed in kindergarten and beyond.
The district’s TK shall be the first year of a two-year kindergarten program.
The Board encourages ongoing collaboration among district preschool staff, other preschool providers, elementary teachers, administrators, and parents/guardians in the development, implementation, and evaluation of the district’s TK program.
Eligibility
The district’s TK program shall admit children for the 2025-2026 school year, and in each school year thereafter, children who turn four by September 1
A child’s eligibility for TK enrollment shall not impact family eligibility for a preschool or childcare program, including, but not limited to, a Head Start program, a child care center serving children through an alternative payment program, a general child care and development program, a California State Preschool Program (CSPP), a migrant child care and development program, child care and development services for children with special needs, or a program serving children through a CalWORKs Stage 1, Stage 2, or Stage 3 program.
Parents/guardians of eligible children shall be notified of the availability of the TK program and the age, residency, immunization, and any other enrollment requirements. Enrollment in the TK program shall be voluntary.
On a case-by-case basis, a child whose fifth birthday is on or before September 1 may be admitted into the district’s TK program upon request of a child’s parents/guardians, if the Superintendent or designee determines that it is in the child’s best interest.
At any time during the school year, the district may admit into the TK program a child whose fifth birthday is after the date specified for admittance for the applicable year as described above, provided that upon the recommendation of the Superintendent or designee, the Board determines that enrollment in a TK program is in the child’s best interest and the child’s parents/guardians approve.
Prior to such enrollment, the child’s parents/guardians shall be provided information regarding the advantages and disadvantages and any other explanatory information about the effect of early admittance.
Additionally, the district may enroll an early enrollment child in TK whose fourth birthday is between June 3 and September 1, inclusive, preceding the school year during which they are enrolled in TK. The Superintendent or designee shall strive to maintain any classroom that includes an early enrollment child with a classroom enrollment that does not exceed 20 students and an adult-to-student ratio of at least one adult to every 10 students. Additionally, if an early enrollment child is enrolled in TK, the district shall concurrently offer enrollment to the child in the district's CSPP, subject to available space.
Curriculum and Instruction
The district’s TK program shall be based on a modified kindergarten curriculum that is age and developmentally appropriate.
The program shall be aligned with the preschool learning foundations and preschool curriculum frameworks developed by the California Department of Education (CDE). It shall be designed to facilitate students’ development in essential knowledge and skills related to language and literacy, mathematics, physical development, health, visual and performing arts, science, history-social science, English language development and social-emotional development.
Students in TK are not required to be assessed in English listening and speaking for purposes of initial identification as an English learner. However, the district shall conduct the Home Language Survey during enrollment to identify whether the primary or native language of a student is other than English.
The Board shall establish the length of the school day in the district’s TK program, which shall be at least three hours but no more than four hours long, including recess but excluding noon intermission, except for TK students enrolled in expanded learning opportunity programs provided by the district pursuant to Education Code 46120. If the district has adopted an extended day kindergarten, the length of the school day for the TK program may be different than the length of the school day for the kindergarten program either at the same or different school sites. The Superintendent or designee shall annually report to CDE as to whether the district’s TK programs are offered full day, part day, or both.
The Superintendent or designee shall collaborate with parents/guardians and relevant community groups, in accordance with the plan developed for how all children in the attendance area of the district will have access to full-day learning programs the year before kindergarten that meet the needs of parents/guardians, including through partnerships with the district's expanded learning opportunities. This may include the After School Education and Safety Program, CSPP, Head Start programs, and other community-based early learning and care programs.
TK students may be placed in the same classrooms as kindergarten students, when necessary, provided that the instructional program is differentiated to meet the student needs.
TK students may be commingled in the same classroom with four-year-old students from a CSPP program as long as the commingled program meets all of the requirements of each program as well as the following requirements:
- The classroom does not include students enrolled in TK for a second year or students enrolled in a regular kindergarten
- An observation using the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) tool and CLASS Environmental tool are completed for the classroom
- All children enrolled for 10 or more hours per week are evaluated using the Desired Results Developmental Profile, as specified in 5 CCR 18272
- The classroom is taught by a teacher that holds a credential issued by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC) in accordance with Education Code 44065 and 44256
- The classroom is in compliance with the adult-child ratio specified in Education Code 8241
- Contractors of the district report the services, revenues, and expenditures for children in the preschool program in accordance with 5 CCR 18268 except for contractors of the TK program
The district shall maintain an average TK class enrollment of not more than 24 students for each school site, not including students who are continuously enrolled in and meet the minimum day requirement for independent study for more than 14 school days in a school year.
Staffing
The Superintendent or designee shall ensure that teachers assigned to teach in TK classes possess a teaching credential or permit from the CTC that authorizes such instruction.
The Superintendent or designee may provide professional development as needed to ensure that TK teachers are knowledgeable about the standards and effective instructional methods for teaching young children, including, but not limited to, developing competencies in serving inclusive classrooms and dual language learners.
The district shall maintain an average of at least one adult for every 10 students commencing with the 2025-26 school year, contingent upon an appropriation of funding.
Continuation to Kindergarten
Students who complete the TK program shall be eligible to continue in kindergarten the following school year. Parents/guardians of such students shall not be required to submit a Kindergarten Continuance Form for kindergarten attendance.
However, whenever children who would otherwise be age eligible for kindergarten are enrolled in TK, the Superintendent or designee shall obtain a Kindergarten Continuance Form signed by the parent/guardian near the end of the TK year consenting to the child’s enrollment in kindergarten the following year.
A student shall not attend more than two years in kindergarten or a combination of TK and kindergarten.
Assessment
The Superintendent or designee may develop or identify appropriate formal and/or informal assessment of TK students’ development and progress. The Superintendent or designee shall monitor and regularly report to the Board regarding program implementation, the progress of students in meeting related academic standards, and student preparedness for future education.
Legal References
Policy Reference Disclaimer:
These references are not intended to be part of the policy itself, nor do they indicate the basis or authority for the Board to enact this policy. Instead, they are provided as additional resources for those interested in the subject matter of the policy.
Legal References:
STATE
5 CCR 18000-18308 Early Learning and Care Programs
5 CCR 80067-80067.3 Prekindergarten-3 Early Childhood Education Specialist Instruction Credential
EDUCATION CODE
17375 California Preschool, Transitional Kindergarten, and Full-Day Kindergarten Facilities Grant Program
313 English Language Proficiency Assessment
33050 Waiver authority and exceptions
37202 Equal time in all schools
44065 Issuance of and functions requiring credentials
44256 Authorization for teaching credentials
44258.9 County superintendent review of teacher assignment
44300 Emergency permits
46111 Kindergarten; hours of attendance
46114-46119 Minimum school day; kindergarten
46120 Expanded learning opportunities
46300 Method of computing average daily attendance
48000 Minimum age of admission for kindergarten; transitional kindergarten
48000.15 Early enrollment in transitional kindergarten
48002 Evidence of minimum age required to enter kindergarten or first grade
48003 Kindergarten annual report
48010 Minimum age of admission to first grade
48011 Promotion/retention following one year of kindergarten
48200 Compulsory attendance
8203.3 Development of pre-kindergarten learning development guidelines
8207 California State Preschool Program administration
8241 Staffing ratios for center-based program
8281.5 California Prekindergarten Planning and Implementation Grant Program
8970-8974 Early primary program, including extended-day kindergarten
MANAGEMENT RESOURCES
Approval of Regulations Authorizing the New PK-3 Early Childhood Education Specialist Instruction Credential, Coded Correspondence 24-03, March 2024
CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION COMMUNICATION
Interim Guidance on Transitional Kindergarten Students and English Language Proficiency Testing, June 2024
CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION PUBLICATIONS
Proposed Tools and Process for the Early identification of Developmental Delays and Learning Disabilities, October 2023
Universal Prekindergarten FAQs
Implementation of the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) and CLASS Environment and Removal of the Environment Rating Scale for the California State Preschool Program (CSPP), Early Education Division Management Bulletin 23-10, December 2023
Transitional Kindergarten FAQs
Desired Results Developmental Profile: A Developmental Continuum from Early Infancy up to Kindergarten Entry, 2015
California Preschool Curriculum Framework, Vol. 1, 2010
California Preschool Curriculum Framework, Vol. 2, 2011
California Preschool Curriculum Framework, Vol. 3, 2013
California Preschool Learning Foundations, Vol. 1, 2008
California Preschool Learning Foundations, Vol. 2, 2010
California Preschool Learning Foundations, Vol. 3, 2012
CSBA PUBLICATIONS
Advancing Universal Transitional Kindergarten, April 2022
The Importance of Early Childhood Education Programs, September 2019
WEBSITES
Universal PreKindergarten, California’s Great Start https://express.adobe.com/page/OZrg3IsP1GE8b/
California Office of Administrative Law https://oal.ca.gov/
CSBA District and County Office of Education Legal Services https://legalservices.csba.org/
Transitional Kindergarten California http://www.tkcalifornia.org/
California Kindergarten Association https://californiakindergartenassociation.org/
Commission on Teacher Credentialing http://www.ctc.ca.gov/
CSBA http://www.csba.org/
California Department of Education http://www.cde.ca.gov/