California’s K–12 Enrollment Is Down, but Transitional Kindergarten Is Growing Like a Weed

The increase in transitional kindergarten has left many districts unable to meet class size and teacher-student ratio requirements.

Superintendent of Schools Tony Thurmond reads from the book "Red: A Crayon's Story" to second-grade students at Nystrom Elementary School in Richmond, Calif., on May 17, 2022. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Amid a K–12 public school enrollment drop, California’s transitional kindergarten population is doubling in size, but several local districts are struggling to find enough transitional kindergarten teachers to maintain a proper student-teacher ratio.

Recently released data by the state Education Department show that total K–12 enrollment in California public schools for 2023–24 was 5,837,690 students–a decrease of 0.25 percent or 15,000 students from the previous year.