10 Changes to California Early Childhood Education That Impact Early Intervention

The first five years of life are a critical time for learning and development. During this period, children’s brains grow rapidly, making early support especially important for children with disabilities.

The federal special education law, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), provides for early childhood education, often referred to as “early intervention,” through two programs:

• IDEA Part C serves children from birth to age three, often referred to as “infants and toddlers” or Early Start in California.
• IDEA Part B serves children ages 3–5, usually referred to as preschool, and continues to provide special education services through school age.

In recent years, there have been important changes to the way these programs are implemented in California, with additional changes proposed. Here are the 10 key points parents need to know.

6 things that have changed in early childhood education

1. All school districts must now make TK available to all children who will have their fourth birthday by or on September 1 of the school year.
2. Transitional kindergarten (TK) classrooms are now limited to 20 children with a 1:10 adult-to-student ratio.
3. Schools cannot use not being toilet trained as a reason to exclude a child from general education.
4. The Desired Results Developmental Profile (DRDP) is mandatory in public preschools and is used for children with IEPs in higher grades.
5. Preschool/Transitional Kindergarten Learning Foundations (PTKLF) provides state learning standards that are play-based and developmentally appropriate for public preschool and TK classrooms.
6. The Expanded Learning Opportunities Program (ELOP) can provide after-school care for TK programs and is based on income.

4 things that have changed in early intervention

7. Your Regional Center must designate a single point of contact for your transition to IDEA Part B services.
8. Responsibility for Part C is shifting to the Department of Developmental Services (DDS), but SELPAs will still be responsible for services for children with low-incidence disabilities.
9. IDEA Part C eligibility now has a lower bar for determining whether a child has a developmental delay — the child’s delay must be 25% rather than 33%.
10. The federal government has not cut funding for early intervention programs provided by Regional Centers and SELPAs.

To dive deeper into these 10 changes, how they have impacted children with disabilities, and what’s coming up, we spoke with Scott Turner, EdD, the executive director of the East San Gabriel Valley SELPA and lead technical assistance for the California Early Childhood Special Education Network (CalECSE). He also serves on the executive committee for SELPA Administrators of California. We also spoke to Heather Snipes, program support specialist at Supporting Innovative Practices (SIP) in the El Dorado County Office of Education (SIP is housed out of El Dorado and Riverside County offices).

The landscape of preschool for children aged 3–5 has changed dramatically with the advent of universal pre-K in California. The state’s initiative starting in 2021 opened up a new grade in public schools, so now in 2026, all school districts in California must make TK available to all children who will have their fourth birthday by or on September 1 of the school year. The gradual rollout of TK over four years was confusing and often felt exclusionary for children who were left out by later birthdays, but now it encompasses all four-year-olds. Here are a few key points to know:

• Not every school campus has a TK classroom, so sometimes districts place kids at other nearby campuses for one year.
• TK is universally available but not mandatory. Families can still choose other options, including staying home, attending a public preschool program, or enrolling in private preschool.

Why was this change made?

When California launched UPK, in addition to providing greater access to early childhood education, one of the goals was to create more inclusive early learning opportunities by bringing children with and without disabilities together earlier. The hope was that expanding access to general education preschool would create more inclusive placement options for children with IEPs and provide opportunities for early learning that could support children’s development and prevent some developmental delays that might later be identified as a disability.

We followed up with Dr. Turner and Snipes to understand the impact that universal pre-K is having on IDEA Part B and that all-important transition from Part C to Part B. While TK has added another transition for many children — from preschool to TK before kindergarten — it has also created new opportunities for inclusion because every district now has a general education TK classroom that can be considered by the IEP team.

Dr. Turner says, “I think in many ways, it has been beneficial, with now having more inclusive options available on that continuum for districts, because now all districts, all four-year-olds, are offered a general education transitional kindergarten spot, so to speak, and so for our students with IEPs, those are now placements that can be recommended by the IEP team. . . . It is still a work in progress, but it has opened up a lot of options for us to move students more into that general education environment at earlier years and kind of set that trajectory as they move forward into their journey within a district.”

What has changed in practice?

Snipes agrees that high-quality inclusive education is still a work in progress: “We’re seeing high-quality, inclusive early childhood experiences not necessarily translating into early elementary yet. Not to say that it isn’t starting to happen more often.”

She has also seen an impact from training TK and kindergarten teachers together and bringing kindergarten practices into a more play-based model. She says, “Not only are the teachers and the professionals talking more frequently, but the TK settings are much more developmentally appropriate than they may have been when they first started out. They look like an early childhood setting. They’ve got learning areas. They’ve got carpets. They’ve got soft spaces. They’ve got play embedded into lots of parts of the day, as it should [be]. So I think that ideally there would be a smooth trajectory all throughout.”

Snipes’s experience is that “as TK has advanced and things have changed, early childhood specifically is going from a system where preschool was very separate and then TK was very separate from elementary, so there were these three distinct levels in a time where a child needs very consistent routines.”

Snipes has also seen leadership make a greater effort to align preschool, TK, and elementary school — the P–3 continuum — because children benefit from consistent routines and practices across the early years. As she says, “We’re not there yet, but I think we’re going in the right direction.”

Has TK increased inclusion?

The state and federal government monitor inclusion in preschool under IDEA Indicator 6, which measures what percent of preschool students with disabilities received the majority of special education and related services in regular early childhood programs. This indicator is recorded in each IEP and collated.

California changed how it measures this indicator in 2022. When TK was first introduced, many districts counted TK students with kindergarten data. Now, four-year-olds in TK are included under Indicator 6 rather than Indicator 5. With this clearer data, California’s State Board of Education increased its inclusion targets to 45% in 2023–24 (not met — California was at 28%) and 47% in 2024–25 (not yet reported).

We have seen a big improvement in the past three years, from 13% to 18% of students included in a regular education program for more than 10 hours a week with services provided at their preschool. However, the data still indicate a significant challenge, as the percentage of children educated in separate classes remains relatively high despite the launch of UPK.

In the most recently available data, from the 2023–24 school year:

• 34.14% of California children ages 3–5 with an IEP attended a regular education program
• Only 18.2% attended a regular education program for more than 10 hours a week and received services there. Many children attended a regular education program part time and received services elsewhere.
• 43.27% of three- to five-year-olds with an IEP in California attended a separate class (only eight states had a higher percentage — the highest being Idaho with 66% — while in Vermont and Arkansas less than 1% of three- to five-year-olds with an IEP attended a separate class.
• Nationally, 37.96% of children attended a regular education program, while states such as Colorado (91.33%), Kentucky (71.33%), and Nebraska (71.03%) had much higher rates (only six states have lower inclusion rates).

How are families responding?

A recent PPIC report on the UPK rollout concluded that TK is still underutilized by families, with only 70% of eligible families enrolled. Students with disabilities had a slightly higher enrollment rate at 73%. (The 2023–24 school year was the first in which CDE released TK counts by special education status, so we do not yet know whether it is increasing.) Anecdotally, many districts are finding that families with children aged 3–5 under Part B are excited to have TK as one of the many options for public preschool, in addition to California State Public Preschool (CSPP) and Head Start.

In this clip, Snipes talks about the different options and how parents might view this complexity as a wealth of choice:

TK classrooms are now limited to 20 children and an adult-to-child ratio of 1:10. Public preschools such as CSPP often have 24 children in a class, compared to many private/nonprofit or religious preschools, which often have a class size under 10. However, we tend to see these small class sizes only in SDC preschool programs within the public sector.

It is worth noting for parents that federal Head Start guidelines limit classrooms to 17 children (age 3–5) or 20 children (age 4–5) with at least two teachers present, and they often have smaller class sizes. Typically, Early Head Start programs (for children under 3) have adult-to-child ratios at 1:4 and a class size under 10. Head Start programs must ensure that 10% of their children are students with disabilities (with IFSPs or IEPs). This is often accomplished by Head Start referring students for assessment, boosting the state’s Child Find capacity, but can also be accomplished by the program’s ability to waive income requirements for students who have an IFSP or IEP.

Snipes notes that class size is mostly related to funding, but often having students with disabilities does make having 20 kids in a class more doable, as there are usually additional adults. She says, “Six adults in a space can feel perfectly fine as long as those adults really understand their roles and have that time to figure out how to work together in concert.” The focus needs to be on collaboration.

Adding younger four-year-olds to the TK rollout has been problematic for general education teachers who are not used to supporting children through toilet training, and many school buildings are not set up for children who can’t go to the bathroom independently.

While many school districts initially insisted that children in TK had to be toilet trained, the launch of UPK in 2021 extended TK to all children regardless of toileting ability. In any case, this rule cannot apply to a student with a developmental disability, where adaptive personal skills are disability-related.

The DRDP is a standardized assessment that is used by California schools to assess children’s development from early infancy up to kindergarten entry. While the DRDP was originally developed in the 1990s by the Early Education Division and Special Education Division of the California Department of Education (CDE), we now have a newer version, developed in 2025. The DRDP is used in childcare settings that are subsidized by the California Department of Social Services to assess all children and is used for children with disabilities ages 3–5 who have IEPs. (The DRDP is not required for general education students in TK through third grade.)

Beginning July 1, 2026, the DRDP is required for:

• All children enrolled in CSPP for at least 10 hours per week (California Code of Regulations, Title 5, Section 17702)
• Every student with a disability enrolled in CSPP, regardless of the hours per week they attend
• All students aged 3–5 served by local educational agencies (LEAs) with an IEP or IFSP, even in TK and kindergarten

In this clip, Snipes explains how the DRDP can support educators in early childhood settings.

The Preschool Learning Foundations from 2008 have been updated to include learning standards for the new TK grade. This has been a significant move forward because initially TK teachers often adopted a kindergarten curriculum that was not developmentally appropriate. The new TK standards are intended to be play-based and focus on the development of skills through structured play and child-directed exploration.

PTKLF has two age bands — early foundations for 3–4.5 years and later foundations for 4–5.5 years — that track the transition from preschool into TK and kindergarten. The PTKLF covers nine areas of development: approaches to learning, social-emotional development, language and literacy, mathematics, science, physical development, health, history-social science, and visual and performing arts. Together, these domains are designed to support children’s learning through play, exploration, and developmentally appropriate experiences.

Many families have worried that the introduction of TK as an additional grade in most public schools will focus too strongly on academic achievement at such a young age. In this clip, Snipes explains that the development of the new PTKLF has been focused on ensuring that TK is developmentally appropriate and works with children’s natural curiosity. It’s also intended to reflect the diversity of development found in any early childhood education setting.

As California has expanded universal pre-K, more schools are also offering childcare before and after the school day. Through the Expanded Learning Opportunities Program (ELOP), eligible families can access before- and after-school care for TK students. Eligibility is generally based on family income and other priority criteria.

The Master Plan for Early Learning and Care: Making California for All Kids (2020) identified the need for early childhood education to consider childcare as a core component of how the state provides for all children. For children with severe disabilities, childcare provided by CDSS is based on family income through California’s Children with Severe Disabilities (CHAN) program. For other children we are seeing school campuses being utilized to offer the childcare that families need. The Expanded Learning Opportunities Program (ELOP) has allowed schools to offer qualified families after-school care as part of their preschool and TK programs.

On-campus childcare can be a game changer for families. ELOP is often provided on school campuses by third parties, but if the program is publicly funded and uses publicly owned resources, the program must ensure that children with disabilities have access and are not discriminated against due to their disability.

Currently, early intervention services for children from birth to age three under IDEA are provided by two different state agencies. The Department of Developmental Services (DDS) oversees most Part C services provided by Regional Centers because at the time Part C was added to federal legislation in 1986, California already had a system for supporting children with developmental disabilities.

Children who do not qualify for Regional Center services but have low-incidence disabilities, such as children who are d/Deaf or hard of hearing or children who are blind or have low vision, are served by their local education authorities through the SELPA. At the same time, regular childcare for children aged 0–3 is governed by CDSS. The system is coordinated through the State Interagency Coordinating Council (ICC) on Early Intervention.

In both the Regional Center and the SELPA system, children’s and families’ needs are assessed in an Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP), but the associated regulations and processes are often distinct.

In 2019, the Master Plan for Early Learning and Care was developed and recognized inequities in the way the IDEA Part C is implemented and how services are provided. Coordination between Regional Centers and school districts is inconsistent, and families frequently fall through the gap as Regional Center services end; the school district isn’t ready, and the child loses services right at a developmentally critical moment. This transition is one of the most stressful and confusing for families of young children to face.

Clearly, some change was needed, especially focused on the transition. This led to the Part C to B for CA Kids workgroup, formed under Senate Bill 75, to streamline the transition process.

Snipes tells us, “The thought process is that families are served more as part of Part C, so moving that into the educational space could potentially remove some of that familial support that’s there and . . . just the fact that in Part C they are truly babies, and it is a different type of support that’s necessary.”

In this clip, Dr. Turner explains the process that led the state to change how the Part C to Part B transition is organized:

Senate Bill 163, which passed in July 2026, shifts the responsibility as the lead agency for IDEA Part C to DDS, but children with solely visual, hearing, and severe orthopedic impairments will still be served by SELPAs.

Dr. Turner reinforces that while DDS will be the lead agency, “[SELPAs] don’t anticipate any changes to funding. That’s been clear. We don’t anticipate any changes to programming, so I strongly believe you’re still going to see solely low-incidence programs operated by SELPAs, school districts, and county offices. I think it’s going to be positive for California kids, and I think there’s still going to be collaboration between CDE and DDS in many ways . . . and those legacy programs will continue to duly serve infants through Regional Centers. I’m not anticipating a lot of shifts there.”

One of the goals of SB 163 is to make the transition from Part C to Part B more consistent and easier for families to navigate. Regional Centers and local school districts are now each required to designate a named point of contact responsible for coordinating that transition. Regional Centers are also responsible for assessing toddlers moving out of Part C who may be eligible for CSPP and making referrals when appropriate.

The law also requires families to receive specific, standardized information about:

• The difference between Part B and Part C services
• The process and timeline for transition from Part C to Part B
• Local Part B programs available in their community
• Options after age three

If your child is under age three and receiving Regional Center early intervention services, you should be provided with this information and dedicated points of contact. DDS is authorized to issue directives to both Regional Centers and schools to implement these provisions while regulations are being developed, with a deadline of June 30, 2029, for final regulations. Snipes also notes that because many public preschool programs are now serving children as young as 30 months, some children may experience their Part C to Part B transition while already enrolled in preschool:

“With TK age getting lower and lower, and now all four-year-olds being admitted into TK, it caused preschools to also push the age down. That age limit has always been there for preschools to bring in kids who are two-and-a-half years old. . . . You’re getting kids who are still receiving Part C services because they’re not yet three years old, and so there’s this weird little time where you have a two-year-old who’s not quite three who’s still receiving those services, and then there has to be another assessment or there has to be another transition once they’re three years old to get them into those Part B services. I think that's why we’re seeing that little blip in an additional assessment, because we’ve got more young two-year-olds in preschool settings.”

For two years in a row, the White House and the US Department of Education have proposed merging all the IDEA state grants together. Currently, the federal government gives all the states funding for Part B Section 611, Part B Section 619, and Part C of IDEA. The funding doesn’t anywhere near cover the cost of these programs, contributing roughly 10% of special education spending. The grants are not based on the actual number of IEPs but on the number of children with disabilities in the 1990s — with some adjustments for population levels and children living below the poverty level.

We asked our experts about the effect of merging the grants, and while neither could foresee a reduction in services, they expressed their concerns based on their experience of funding often being directed to K-12 schools, while early intervention tends to be neglected. Dr. Turner and Snipes share this viewpoint: