Among Gov. Newsom’s sweeping budget proposals for early childhood is a one-time investment of $750 million for school districts to expand full-day kindergarten programs by building or renovating classroom space. However, this funding would not likely benefit many low-income communities where the greatest need is more programs for 3- and 4-year-olds, according to a new report.
An analysis by Lee and Fuller of UC Berkeley’s Early Childhood Think Tank shows that most schools in low-income communities already offer full-day kindergarten programs and the schools that only offer part-day kindergarten programs are primarily located in more affluent communities. Specifically, they found that 82 percent of schools serving mostly low-income students already offer full-day kindergarten, while 63 percent of schools serving mostly higher-income students do.
