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The past few years, California has been all about the ABCs, 1-2-3s and the wheels on the bus, investing more than $5 billion in early childhood education.

But kindergarten, a staple of elementary schools for more than a century, remains optional. Despite nearly a half dozen legislative attempts to require it, California is one of 32 states that doesn鈥檛 mandate that all 5-year-olds attend school.

That might change next year. Legislators plan to introduce a new bill to require kindergarten and they鈥檙e confident that it will meet a better fate than its predecessors, which either died in committee or were vetoed, largely due to the cost.

鈥淜ids need to be around other kids, they need to be learning. It matters,鈥� said Patricia Lozano, executive director of Early Edge California, which advocates for early childhood education. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 see why California can鈥檛 make this happen.鈥�

The data, advocates say, Children who attend kindergarten have higher test scores in math and reading in third grade and beyond and higher high school graduation rates. They鈥檙e also less likely to be suspended or drop out later in their school careers.

Why some parents opt out

While California requires all school districts to offer kindergarten, it doesn鈥檛 require families to enroll their children. Most do, but about 5% a year opt out. The reasons vary: some families believe their children aren鈥檛 ready for the rigors of school, and others are happy with their children鈥檚 current arrangement, whether it鈥檚 a preschool, day care or staying home with family.

Latino families are the to send their children to kindergarten, data shows. Lozano said there鈥檚 a variety of reasons for this: they either don鈥檛 know about it due to a language barrier; they鈥檙e afraid to register their children in school due to immigration concerns; parents are working so hard they鈥檝e missed notices from the school district; or some combination of all three. Regardless, schools need to improve their outreach to that community, she said.

Cecelia Kiss, a bilingual kindergarten teacher in the Sacramento City Unified School District, said she recently had a student whose mother was deported, and the child was unable to attend school because there was no one available to drive her. Even though the child loved school and the family placed a high value on education, it was logistically impossible to get the child to school. It took several weeks for the school and family to make transportation arrangements.

鈥淔or Latinos, education is so important. We want to give our kids the best we can,鈥� said Kiss, who is also the parent of a kindergartner. 鈥淏ut sometimes we can鈥檛 do everything. We rely on kind teachers to care for our children, to help them learn, to help them be prepared for first grade.鈥�

said that the fact that kindergarten isn鈥檛 mandatory discourages already disadvantaged families from enrolling their children. In her experience, Latino families have tremendous respect for the public school system and if the system tells them kindergarten is optional, and therefore not a priority, 鈥渢hey listen to that.鈥�

That鈥檚 why she鈥檚 proposed two previous bills to make kindergarten mandatory. The state should be unequivocal in its message to families that early childhood education is essential for students鈥� success in school and life, she said. The state鈥檚 already to all 4-year-olds, expanded state-funded preschool and added more slots to its subsidized child care program. Bolstering kindergarten should be next, she said.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction agrees. He said this month that making kindergarten mandatory for 2026, and he pledged to support any bill that addresses it. Several legislators said they鈥檇 consider sponsoring one.

鈥楴ot an urgent need鈥�

Both of Rubio鈥檚 previous kindergarten bills died 鈥� in the Senate Appropriations Committee and when Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed it. In his veto note, he said he supports early education generally but the state hadn鈥檛 budgeted the cost, estimated to be $268 million annually.

鈥淲hile the author’s intent is laudable 鈥� it is important to remain disciplined when it comes to spending, particularly spending that is ongoing,鈥� Newsom wrote.

Plenty of groups supported the bills, including the California Teachers Association 鈥� the state鈥檚 largest teachers union 鈥� and a slew of school districts. But it had a few opponents, namely the Homeschool Association of California. The group鈥檚 opposition was not based on the merits of kindergarten itself, but on the state鈥檚 ability to strip rights from parents.

鈥淢ost kids are already going to kindergarten. But some parents have good reasons for keeping their kids at home,鈥� said Jamie Heston, a member of the group鈥檚 board. 鈥淧arents want the choice to decide what鈥檚 best for their individual child.鈥�

The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association hasn鈥檛 taken a position on the issue, but generally opposes new initiatives that cost money — including mandatory kindergarten. That stance isn鈥檛 likely to change if a kindergarten bill resurfaces, the group鈥檚 vice president Susan Shelley said this week.

鈥淔rom a budgetary point of view, there鈥檚 a lot of pressure this year to keep spending under control,鈥� Shelley said. 鈥淭his would not be a one-time cost. It would be ongoing. And there鈥檚 not an urgent need to expand kindergarten, compared to other more pressing needs facing the state right now.鈥�

Bruce Fuller, an education professor at UC Berkeley who studies early childhood education, said the Legislature should focus on more pressing needs facing the under-6 crowd. Those include how the rollout of transitional kindergarten has led to the closure of many preschools, leaving many 3-year-olds without a place to go. Also, Head Start is struggling with funding and other obstacles imposed by the Trump administration, including attempts to bar families who are not citizens. And even though California has expanded access to state-funded preschool, not enough families know they鈥檙e eligible.

鈥淣ot that many families opt out of kindergarten, so it鈥檚 not a huge need,鈥� Fuller said. 鈥淭here are more immediate concerns.鈥�

Learning gaps among students

Still, Rubio is confident that a kindergarten bill has a good chance of passing this year, largely because the Legislature has seen since it last voted on a聽 kindergarten bill in 2024. Twenty-seven new senators and Assembly members were elected last fall.

For Rubio, whose parents immigrated from Mexico, the issue is personal. Although she did well in school, her twin brother did not. At an early age, he was wrongly placed in special education, fell behind and struggled throughout his time in school, eventually dropping out. Rubio believes he would have fared better if he had a high-quality early childhood education.

She鈥檚 also an elementary school teacher who鈥檚 seen the gap between students who鈥檝e been to preschool, TK and kindergarten, versus those who had never enrolled in school at all until first grade. Children who鈥檝e been to kindergarten know how to hold a pencil, write their names, count to 20, take turns and maybe even read or do basic math, she said. Those who haven鈥檛 lag far behind their peers and some never catch up, she said.

鈥淚 have very vivid memories of my students just breaking down crying at the end of the year because they couldn’t do a test. They didn’t know the answers, and that’s so heartbreaking to see,鈥� said Rubio, who鈥檚 on leave from her job teaching at Monrovia Unified in Los Angeles County. 鈥淚t鈥檚 hard on them, and it鈥檚 hard on the teachers because those children need a lot of extra help.鈥�

Lozano said she thinks the bill will pass eventually. The initiative would cost money, but the state would save money in the long run if more students succeeded in school and graduated.

鈥淚t took us 20 years to get TK. It takes time to change minds, change policies,鈥� Lozano said. 鈥淭here are so many benefits to kindergarten, especially for the kids who need it the most. We believe the benefits outweigh the costs.鈥�

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