Changes are in store for transitional kindergarten at Ripon Unified.

Director of Curriculum & Instruction Kathy Coleman announced the new requirements for the program – also known as ‘T-K,’ a school grade serving as a bridge between preschool and kindergarten, providing students with the time to develop fundamental skills to help them succeed in a class setting that’s appropriate to their age and development – for the 2022-2023 school year at the December school board meeting.

Students are currently eligible for T-K when they turn age 5 between Sept. 2 and Dec. 2.

Under Assembly Bill 130, students will have a five-month window for eligibility, from Sept. 2 and Feb. 2 come next school year.

The program extends to seven months for the 2023-2024 school year, with students needing to turn 5 between Sept. 2 and April 2, and nine months that following school year (2024 -2025, from Sept. 2 and June 2).

As far as enrollment, the average T-K class is no more than 24 pupils per site. Next year, however – under AB 130 – the requirements call for averaging at least one adult for every 12 pupils.

Teachers must have 24 units in early childhood education or child development along with professional experience comparable to those 24 units – the child development teacher permit must be issued by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing.