by the El Reportero staff
California’s rapid expansion of transitional kindergarten (TK) has delivered free pre-kindergarten access to 4-year-olds statewide, but the policy is also disrupting the private child care sector, contributing to preschool closures, reduced options for families with younger children and growing instability for small providers across the state.
While state leaders present TK as a milestone in early education, many child care operators say the rollout has weakened the fragile private preschool system that for decades carried much of the burden of caring for young children. The consequences are now visible in shrinking enrollment, shuttered centers and worsening shortages for infant and toddler care.
In Los Angeles County alone, 167 preschools closed between 2020 and 2024, according to a University of California, Berkeley report. Researchers attributed part of that decline to the expansion of TK, which redirected thousands of 4-year-olds from private preschools into public schools. Similar patterns are emerging elsewhere, particularly in urban and suburban areas where private centers relied on older preschoolers to remain financially viable.
Private child care providers face strict regulations, rising labor and insurance costs, and typically depend on 4-year-old enrollment to subsidize the higher costs of caring for infants and toddlers. When that age group is absorbed into public schools, providers lose a key source of revenue, making mixed-age programs difficult to sustain. Some operators say the shift has also reduced staffing stability, as teachers trained for preschool classrooms leave for higher-paying, more secure positions in school districts. This turnover, they say, further disrupts continuity of care for young children.
In Elk Grove, preschool owner Frisha Moore says enrollment of 4-year-olds at her center has collapsed since TK became universally available. Two classrooms now sit empty. Despite offering full-day care, Moore cannot compete with a free public option that lasts only part of the day. She has cut staff and combined age groups to keep the center open, but says the financial pressure is constant and the margin for error has disappeared.
The closures are reducing access to infant and toddler care, already the scarcest and most expensive segment of the child care market. As centers shut down or scale back, families face longer waitlists, fewer nearby options and higher costs. In some counties, parents now wait months to secure licensed care for babies and toddlers, forcing some to reduce work hours or rely on informal care arrangements that may lack oversight or stability.
State officials acknowledge TK has disrupted the existing market but point to declining birth rates as another factor. Child care advocates argue the scale and speed of the rollout accelerated financial pressure on private providers still recovering from pandemic-related losses, pushing some into closure before alternative support systems were in place.
Critics also note that the benefits of TK are unevenly distributed. Enrollment growth has been strongest in wealthier areas, while low-income communities continue to face long waitlists for subsidized child care. Families with flexible schedules are more able to take advantage of TK, while parents who rely on extended hours offered by private centers often find public school schedules incompatible with full-time work.
Geographic challenges have also emerged. School districts must offer TK seats but not necessarily at neighborhood schools, forcing some families to travel farther. Limited after-school care slots further limit access for working parents, especially those in service and shift-based jobs.
Advocates are urging the state to expand subsidies, stabilize reimbursement rates and create partnerships between school districts and private providers to prevent further closures. Without policy changes, they warn, California risks expanding access for 4-year-olds while deepening the child care crisis for infants and toddlers.
