Policy 6170.1 - Transitional Kindergarten

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 children in developing the academic, social and emotional skills they need 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 TK program development, implementation, and evaluation.

Eligibility
The district’s TK program shall admit children:
1.    For the 2023-2024 school year whose fifth birthday is between September 2 and April 2
2.    For the 2024-2025 school year whose fifth birthday is between September 2 and June 2
3.    For the 2025-2026 school year and thereafter who turn four by September 1 

A child’s eligibility for TK enrollment shall not impact family eligibility for a preschool or childcare program.

Parents/guardians of eligible children shall be notified of the availability of the TK program and the age, residency, and any other enrollment requirements.  Enrollment in the transitional kindergarten 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 the Superintendent or designee recommends 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.

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 student’s 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.

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 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 develop a plan 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 offerings, the After School Education and Safe Program, the California State Preschool Program (CSPP), Head

Start programs, and other community-based early learning and care programs.

TK students may be placed in the same classroom with four-year old students from a CSPP program if the commingled program meets all the requirements of each program as well as the following requirements:

1. The classroom does not include students enrolled in TK for a second year or students enrolled in a regular kindergarten.
2. An early childhood environment rating scale, as specified in 5 CCR 18281, is completed for the classroom.
3. All children enrolled for 10 or more hours per week are evaluated using the Desired Results Developmental Profile, as specified in 5 CCR 18272.
4. The classroom is taught by a teacher that holds a credential issued by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing in accordance with Education Code 44065 and 44256.
5. The classroom is in compliance with the adult-teacher ratio specified in Education Code 8241.
6. 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.

Staffing
The Superintendent or designee shall ensure that teachers assigned to teaching TK classes possess a teaching credential or permit from the Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC) that authorizes such instruction.

A credentialed teacher who is first assigned to a TK class after July 1, 2015, shall, by August 1, 2023, have at least 24 units in early childhood education and/or child development, comparable professional experience in a preschool setting, and/or a child development teacher permit issued by CTC.

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, development competencies in serving inclusive classrooms and dual language learners.

The district shall, commencing with the 2022-2023 school year, maintain an average of at least one adult for every 12 students for TK classrooms and, contingent upon an appropriation of funding, maintain an average of at least one adult for every 10 students commencing with the 2023-2024 school year.

Continuation to Kindergarten
Students who complete the transitional kindergarten 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. A student shall not attend more than two years in a combination of transitional kindergarten and kindergarten.

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 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.