In California, children who are at least five years old and have completed one year of kindergarten in a public or private school in California or any other state can be admitted to the first grade of an elementary school. It is a local decision, with parental input, whether a six-year-old student will be enrolled in kindergarten or first grade. Children who turn five years old on or before September 1st of the school year are eligible to enroll in kindergarten in California. However, under new state legislation, starting in 2022-23, the birth date cut-off for Transitional Kindergarten (TK) enrollment will be pushed back two months each year for four years. The net result is that as of September 1, 2025, all 4-year-olds will be eligible to enroll in a transitional kindergarten program. Currently, California does not mandate kindergarten, but a bill approved by the state Senate in 2022 could make it mandatory for all California children to attend kindergarten before going to first grade, beginning in the 2024-25 school year.