Sarah Tully, EdSource

Teacher Silvia Leon hugs a preschool student before he gets his graduation certificate in Los Angeles Unified School District on June 3, 2015.

Sarah Tully, EdSource

Teacher Silvia Leon hugs a preschool educatee before he gets his graduation certificate in Los Angeles Unified School District on June 3, 2015.

The Los Angeles Unified School District board expanded its transitional kindergarten plan to include more than 4-yr-olds by approving money for it in the district budget.

On Tuesday, the board unanimously voted for the budget that included $xiv.3 million to brainstorm transitional kindergarten for children who turn 5 later on Dec. 2. The new classes will eventually supercede popular preschool classes in the Schoolhouse Readiness Language Development Program, which had been slated for elimination.

The state'southward largest school district is awaiting Gov. Jerry Dark-brown's signature of a state police alter to allow the expanded program.

The country Legislature added linguistic communication to a "trailer bill" – fastened to the country budget – that would let schools to enroll younger iv-year-olds in transitional kindergarten. The electric current transitional kindergarten is designed for children who plow five between Sept. 2 and Dec. 2 – a plan started in 2010 when lawmakers moved up the birthday deadline to Sept. 1 to starting time regular kindergarten.

During Tuesday's coming together, Los Angeles Unified board and staff members briefly mentioned the transitional kindergarten plan, too known every bit TK, during discussions almost the $7.8 billion operating budget for the 646,000-student district.

"The transitional kindergarten is going to assistance united states serve more kids more efficiently and hopefully have better outcomes," said Bennett Kayser, a lath member whose last meeting was Tuesday. He was voted out of function in a May election.

Board member Monica Ratliff, who proposed that the district push button for the law change, praised Superintendent Ramon Cortines for his leadership in saving spaces for young children with the transitional kindergarten plan. Cortines, who has served as district superintendent twice before and was brought in again in October for an acting term, said Tuesday he plans to stay in the chore for another six months.

"That TK expansion concept would not be coming forward without your management mode," Ratliff said.

In March, district officials proposed the emptying of the School Readiness preschool that serves 13,968 children as a way to save almost $xvi meg in the general fund.

Commune lobbyists then pushed for the state law change to enroll younger four-yr-olds in transitional kindergarten, allowing the district to collect country money for the students later on they turn five. The district will use its ain funds to pay for the students' schooling starting in the fall until their 5th birthdays.

The transitional kindergarten expansion classes will serve 2,800 children in 117 schools starting next school year. The rest of the classes will begin in 2016-17. The current transitional kindergarten classes, for children with fall birthdays, enroll 10,200 students.

Under the expansion, the children will get a full-day transitional kindergarten program, instead of a half day in the preschool.

Some preschool teachers said they had concerns about the transitional kindergarten plan partly considering of the long school twenty-four hours without naps. Silvia Leon, a instructor who has led protests against the preschool cuts, said the district must course a job strength to develop the new program.

"Equally information technology currently stands, there are numerous flaws that must be changed," Leon said in an email. "At that place are countless ambiguous mandates and components that demand description."

Kim Pattillo Brownson, director of educational equity for the Advancement Projection and an external representative on the district'due south Early Childhood Education and Parent Engagement Ad Hoc Committee, also called for a job strength.

"Expanded TK is an innovative idea with great potential but we owe it to our kids to make sure nosotros get the model right and aid the Commune to launch as thoughtfully as possible," Pattillo Brownson said in an e-mail.

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