Imperfect Paradise: California's new free public preschool program for 4-year-olds

Norco 80

LAist Studios

True Crime

4.2 • 887 Ratings

🗓️ 14 November 2025

⏱️ 35 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

All four-year-olds in the state of California now have access to a free preschool program in their local school district. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a plan to expand the state’s transitional kindergarten, or TK, program in May 2021, as part of a broader move to create the largest free early education program in the U.S. So what does transitional kindergarten offer kids and what are the challenges in its implementation? In this episode of Imperfect Paradise, we break it down with the LAist education team: Higher Education Reporter Julia Barajas, Senior K-12 Reporter Mariana Dale and Senior Early Childhood Reporter Elly Yu.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	I'm Zach Sherwin, the host of the Crossword Show, and I'm coming to Pasadena on Wednesday,
0:04.3	December 10th to guide two special guests through solving a crossword puzzle live on stage,
0:09.0	unlocking comedy and wordplay rabbit holes as they go. Get tickets now at laus.com slash events.
0:15.7	The stories you need in less than five minutes. Catch the LA report with me, Austin Cross, in the mornings.
0:22.3	Nereida Moreno for the afternoon edition.
0:24.7	And me, Julia Paskin, in the evening,
0:26.7	the L.A. report wherever you get your podcasts.
0:30.1	This is in Perfect Paradise.
0:32.0	I'm your host, Nereida Moreno,
0:33.6	filling in for Antonia Serejido.
0:37.5	Every four-year-old in California now has free access to transitional kindergarten or TK in their local school district.
0:44.8	That means families across the state have a new option, which could potentially save them thousands of dollars a year in child care.
0:52.2	It could also mean an influx of children into the public school system,
0:55.8	which some elementary schools may not be ready for. So why did California decide to expand
1:02.2	preschool through public school instead of through existing spaces? Have districts had enough
1:07.2	time to get ready for this mandate? And what should you know about this TK program,
1:12.2	whether you're a parent or not? Joining us now to break it all down is the LAist education team.
1:20.0	Higher education reporter Julia Barajas, senior K-12 reporter Mariana Dale, and senior
1:25.9	early childhood reporter, L.E.U. Hey, everyone. Hi, Nerita.
1:29.8	Hi. So, Ellie, I'll start with you. You've been covering pre-K education for a while now. How
1:37.0	significant is this transitional kindergarten program in that context? So, as you may know, child care costs in the U.S. are very expensive. It could cost
1:46.4	families up to $20,000 or more a year. So parents, for the longest time, who had kids under five,
	...

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