Acting on the notion that full-day early education programs are more effective than half-day ones, in recent years the CA Legislature has been nudging school districts to offer full-day kindergarten to all its students. But some districts have run into an obstacle: they don’t have the classroom space they would need to expand the length of time children are in the classroom.
OPSC has tentatively scheduled the first stakeholder meeting to develop the Full-Day Kindergarten Facilities Grant Program for Tuesday, August 28, 2018, at the Department of General Services Offices in West Sacramento. Budget trailer bill AB 1808 provides $100 million for school districts to build new or retrofit existing facilities for the purpose of providing full-day kindergarten classrooms.
The funds will help school districts that are struggling financially and are located in low-income communities. The money will also help districts that need to add classrooms to accommodate increasing kindergarten enrollment. Schools can use the funding to pay design and construction costs, including landscaping and electric upgrades.
