Threat to Transitional Kindergarten Roils Calif.

Teacher Doris Lipiz gets to work on listening skills in the pilot transitional kindergarten class at Webster Elementary School in Long Beach, Calif.

—Jamie Rector for Education Week

By Julie Rasicot

California Gov. Jerry Brown's proposal to eliminate funding for transitional kindergarten has created a statewide storm of protest from superintendents, teachers, and preschool advocates, who are urging state lawmakers to reject the idea.

Amid claims by supporters that as many as 125,000 of the state's youngest kindergarten-age children ultimately would be kicked out of school, advocates say the governor's office is reconsidering its proposal to save $223 million by eliminating funding for the program, which is set to get under way next fall.

Meanwhile, more than 100 schools districts are moving ahead with plans to offer the state-mandated program in the fall, and another 20 or so are abandoning or postponing their plans because of...