California's Universal PreKindergarten (UPK) Mixed Delivery System, also known as “preschool access for all,” is a statewide initiative to meet the early learning and care needs of 3 and 4-year-old children and their families.
California's vision for UPK is accomplished by bringing together programs across early education and TK-12 settings to address the diverse early learning and care needs of 3- and 4-year-olds and their families, including expanding Transitional Kindergarten (TK) to be available for free to all 4-year-olds by 2025-2026.
By 2025-26, California is set to meet primary UPK objectives in:
1. Providing all families, regardless of income, a free year of voluntary public Pre-K for all 4-year-old children through TK; and,
2. Serve a growing number of 3-year-old children through the CSPP and the mixed delivery system.
While not all providers of UPK will be available free of cost to families, families will be able to choose whether to enroll their 3- and 4-year-old children in quality early learning and care programs and in which program to enroll them.