Advocates Criticize California Governor For Defunding Transitional Kindergarten

The San Francisco Examiner (1/18, Crawford) reports, "Kindergarten teachers and advocates for early education are protesting Gov. Jerry Brown's proposal to defund" the state's nascent "transitional kindergarten" program, which "would serve children whose fifth birthdays come after a new cutoff date for entry. 'It's balancing the budget on the backs of these kindergartners and their families,' said state Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, a member of the Senate Education Committee." The piece explains that the program was established by a 2010 law which is scheduled to take effect this year, but adds that "in a budget proposal released last week, Brown called for the elimination of per-pupil funding for students who would have been in transitional kindergarten."