|
| To: |
Local Educational Agencies |
| From: |
Preschool California |
| Subject: |
State Will Provide Funding for Transitional Kindergarten |
| Date: |
May 21, 2012 |
School Districts Providing TK
Will Receive Full ADA
Recently,
Preschool California has received questions from districts regarding the impact
of Gov. Brown’s budget proposals on funding for transitional kindergarten (TK).
We would like to clarify that under any current scenario, whether it is under
the law as laid out by SB 1381, or under the governor’s proposal in the May
Revision, school districts that provide TK will receive full ADA funding.
According
to the Brown Administration’s trailer bill, school districts can choose to
provide a two-year kindergarten experience such as transitional kindergarten,
and those that do so will continue to receive a full year of ADA funding for the
children no longer eligible for kindergarten, i.e. those born between September
and December.[i]
This
has been echoed in bulletins from School Services of California, the California
School Boards Association (CSBA), the Association of California School
Administrators (ACSA) and School Innovations and Advocacy (SI&A), and in
conversations with the Department of Finance and the California Department of
Education.
School Services, CSBA, ACSA, SI&A:
Funding Provided for TK Under Governor’s Proposal
School Services: In a Fiscal Report
informational update, School Services noted that “Early admissions criteria for
kindergarten will continue to be governed by existing statutes (Education Code
Section [E.C.] 48000(b)), which call for students to be admitted to
kindergarten "on a case-by-case basis," after the "governing
board has determined that admittance to kindergarten is in the best interests
of the child." So if a district has a process for meeting this criteria,
it can voluntarily continue to provide a TK program, since students would still
be authorized to attend two years of funded kindergarten under the Governor's
proposal, and under existing statutory criteria.”[ii]
CSBA: And in a May 15 State Budget
Alert about the May Revision, CSBA stated, “Gov. Brown’s proposal to eliminate
the mandate to provide transitional kindergarten would remain the same as in
the January budget proposal. The difference between January and his May
Revision is simply in the assumptions on how to score savings at the state
level. The administration is assuming more school districts would opt to
provide a two-year kindergarten program where funding would still be provided.”
ACSA: Additionally, ACSA’s
Governmental Relations department has distributed an alert saying that “The
proposed legislative bill language clarifies the governor’s intent by allowing
a parent/guardian who is granted approval for early admission, to enroll their
child at the beginning of the school year and allow the school district to receive
a full years worth of ADA funding for the child. The governor is proposing to
give districts the authority to admit children who turn five after the cutoff
dates at the beginning of the school year and receive ADA funding for these
students for the entire school year. The governor also clarifies that children
spending more than one year in kindergarten must have a kindergarten
continuance form signed by the parent/guardian.”[iii]
School Innovations
and Advocacy (SI&A):
Finally, SI&A’s May 17 Cabinet Report reported that education consultants and advocates who closely monitor the
ever-shifting political landscape mostly are advising districts to follow the
law and to plan for some form of transitional kindergarten. ”We continue to
advise districts that the legislature is unlikely to implement the elimination
of the transitional kindergarten requirement,” said Barrett Snider, a
legislative advocate and director of government and public affairs at School
Innovations & Advocacy (SI&A is corporate host of the Cabinet Report). “The governor cannot
“blue pencil” transitional kindergarten funding. That money is based upon
average daily attendance and is provided as a continuous appropriation, rather
than as an appropriation in the budget act. Schools are virtually certain to
receive funding for transitional kindergarten attendance going forward.” [iv]
State Legislature: TK Remains
the Law
The
Kindergarten Readiness Act remains the law, and more than 200 districts across
the state are preparing to implement TK this fall.[v]
As
Senator Joe Simitian said after the release of the May Revision, “It’s
important for parents and school districts to remember that this is just a
proposal. Transitional kindergarten is the law. Any changes to that law must be
approved by the Legislature.”
Additionally, Assemblymember Susan Bonilla noted after the May Revision release
that both houses of the Legislature have already rejected the governor’s
proposal to eliminate TK. “The state Legislature has already spoken and
affirmed that transitional kindergarten will remain the law. The governor needs
to understand transitional kindergarten is here to stay and that we stand
firmly behind the Kindergarten Readiness Act,” Assemblymember Bonilla said.
“There are no new cost savings here, so presenting this proposal as part of an
evolving budget process is simply false.”
May Revision Budget Proposal:
Districts Will Continue to Receive Funding for TK
In the
Administration’s May Revision, very little has changed from the January
proposal. The trailer bill language remains the same, which means that
districts that choose to provide TK will still receive full ADA funding.
The
only change is what would be done with the actual “savings” from TK. The May
Revision would use $91.5 million to
offset cuts to part-day state preschool. Instead of allowing districts to keep
that money, the Administration proposes to give it to part-day state preschool.
Preschool
California
disputes what the Administration is calling “savings” from eliminating TK
because they are predicated upon school districts choosing to deny these
children access to school, resulting in lower district revenues and more budget
cuts and job losses.
Additional Implementation
Information: Documentation Required to Provide TK This Fall
There
have been questions regarding documentation required to provide TK, which
varies under the current law and the governor’s proposal.
|
Under
Current Law
|
Under
Governor’s Proposal
|
|
No
new paperwork required for students with birthdays between Nov. 1 and Dec. 2
|
Early
admission form required for students with birthdays between Nov. 1 and Dec. 2
|
|
Continuance
form required for students with
birthdays between Sept. 1 and Oct. 31
|
Continuance
form also required for students with birthdays between Sept. 1 through Dec.
2
|
What’s Next for TK
The
constitutional deadline for the Legislature to pass the budget bill is June 15,
and the start of the new fiscal year is July 1. Both houses of the Legislature
have voted to reject the governor’s proposal to cut TK. Since the May Revision,
legislators, school districts, educators and parents have reaffirmed their
commitment to ensuring TK remains law.[vi]
Districts who are working on TK implementation should continue to do so.
Both the law and the governor’s proposal would allow districts to be fully
funded for TK with ADA.
Resources for Teachers and Administrators: Preschool California stands ready to support
districts in TK implementation. This month, it is holding a series of TK
Webinars on May 22 and May 29 on classroom configuration, assessment and
observation. For dial-in and other information, visit www.tkcalifornia.org.
These are part of a series of monthly calls that provide information on
building effective TK instructional strategies. This summer, Preschool
California will launch significant updates to its www.tkcalifornia.org website for teachers and administrators, including
expert-vetted content on teaching strategies and a roadmap for administrators.
[i] California Department of Finance. Omnibus Education
Trailer Bill, Sec. 14. 46300 and Sec. 15 48000.
www.dof.ca.gov/budgeting/trailer_bill_language/education/documents/%5B401-409,%20413-416,%20423,%20427-429,%20432,%20443%5D%20Omnibus%20Education%20Trailer%20Bill.pdf
[iii] Association of California School Administrators,
Governmental Relations. Transitional Kindergarten and Kindergarten.
http://www.preschoolcalifornia.org/resources/resource-files/acsa-tk-kindergarten-status.pdf
[iv] SIA Cabinet Report. May budget still seeks to make
kindergarten readiness optional. http://www.siacabinetreport.com/articles/viewarticle.aspx?article=2367
[v] Map: California School Districts Implementing
Transitional Kindergarten.
http://www.preschoolcalifornia.org/our-issues/transitional-kindergarten/map.html
|
