Cal. Educ. Code § 8217 — Program Administration

(a) Notwithstanding any other law, a provider operating a state preschool program within the attendance boundary of a school district or public school, except a charter or magnet school, where at least 80 percent of enrolled pupils are unduplicated pupils, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 42238.02, may enroll two-, three-, and four-year-old children, as defined in Section 8205, in accordance with the enrollment priorities set forth in Sections 8210 and 8211. Any remaining slots may be open to enrollment of any families not otherwise eligible pursuant to Section 8208, subject to both of the following:

(1) Enrollment of eligible two-, three-, and four-year-old children pursuant to this paragraph shall be limited to families that establish residency within, or have a parent or guardian who is employed within, the attendance boundary of the qualifying school district or public school in which the state preschool program is located. Providers shall require proof of residency or employment location as a condition of enrollment.

(2) To the best of their ability, providers shall give first enrollment priority for slots available pursuant to this paragraph to families with the lowest income, and last enrollment priority to families with the highest income.

(b) (1) Notwithstanding the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code) and Section 33308.5, until regulations are filed with the Secretary of State to implement subdivision (a), the department shall implement, interpret, or make specific this section prior to regulatory action on subdivision (a) through management bulletins or similar letters of instruction issued on or before December 1, 2026. These management bulletins or similar letters of instruction shall have the same force and effect as regulations until the adoption of regulations.

(2) The department shall initiate a rulemaking action to implement subdivision (a) on or before December 31, 2027.

(c) For purposes of this section, “magnet school” means an entire school with a focus on a special area of study, such as science, the performing arts, or career education, designed to attract pupils from across the school district who may choose to attend the magnet school instead of their local public school.

(d) This section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2027, and, as of January 1, 2028, is repealed.