This bill renames "transitional kindergarten" to "transition to kindergarten" and establishes the program in statute by amending RCW 28A.300.072. It is a statutory and procedural change that defines eligible children (those judged to benefit and who are at least four years old by August 31 of the enrollment year), declares the program is not part of the state's statutory basic education (RCW 28A.150.200), and assigns administration and rulemaking authority to the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) under chapter 34.05 RCW. OSPI must adopt minimum rules for eligibility, recruitment, enrollment, assessment (including administering the Washington kindergarten inventory of developing skills at program start and at least once more unless excused), data reporting (each child must receive a statewide student identifier and the program reported as a separate class/course), site readiness, curriculum guidance, site visits, and a prohibition on charging tuition or excluding a child solely because of a disability. The bill also directs OSPI, in collaboration with the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF), to develop statewide best practices and provide technical assistance, and allows programs to be blended or colocated with other early learning programs. The bill makes funding and reporting changes: it directs funding using specified distribution formulas (referencing RCW 28A.150.260 and RCW 28A.160.150–.192), requires transition to kindergarten children be counted as kindergarten for those funding calculations while reported separately, and limits state-funded annual average FTE enrollments beginning in 2025-26 to the amounts set in the omnibus appropriations act. For 2025-26 and 2026-27 OSPI must prioritize funding for programs that operated in 2024-25 and, for 2026-27, also prioritize programs that did not operate in 2024-25 or 2025-26 but filed a notification of intent by June 1, 2025. Certain charter schools are permitted to operate the program immediately or beginning in 2025-26 depending on their authorization under RCW 28A.710.080. The bill is a statutory establishment and implementation framework with procedural, administrative, and funding rules; it does not create criminal penalties. Important referenced details are not included here: the specific contents of the funding distribution formulas, the detailed requirements of the Washington kindergarten inventory statute, the exact provisions of RCW 28A.710.080 regarding charter school authorization, the numeric state-funded FTE limits set in the omnibus appropriations act, and definitions or descriptions of some referenced entities (for example, state-tribal education compact schools and the DCYF regionalized data dashboard). Those specifics are not provided in the extracted facts.

If enacted, the bill makes "transition to kindergarten" an official statewide program run by OSPI, so school districts, permitted charter schools, and state-tribal compact schools that operate it will have to adopt eligibility, recruitment, and enrollment policies, use the state kindergarten assessment at enrollment and later in the year, provide access regardless of disability, and cannot charge tuition to state-funded eligible children. OSPI must write rules, provide guidance and site visits, and work with DCYF on best practices, and programs can be combined with other early learning services; some charter schools may begin offering the program immediately while others can start in 2025-26 depending on their authorization. The money for these classes will come through the state funding formulas and the program is counted as kindergarten for those formulas but is not part of the state’s basic education program, so funding is limited to the annual FTE amounts set in the omnibus appropriations act beginning 2025‑26 and OSPI must prioritize funding for existing programs in 2025‑26 and 2026‑27 (with limited slots for new programs that notify OSPI by June 1, 2025). Practically, OSPI gains new administrative duties, while districts and charter/tribal schools face added operational requirements, potential costs to serve children with disabilities, and reduced local revenue options because tuition is prohibited; key details about exact funding calculations, the FTE cap amount, and specifics of charter authorizations and the kindergarten inventory are not included here and create uncertainty about actual funding levels and who can expand services.