California to add 11,500 preschool slots forlow-income families’ kidsby June 2015

Thousands of additional transitional kindergarten and childcare slots will be added in California's budget for young children, according to a reported deal between the administration of Gov. Jerry Brown and Democratic lawmakers.

As per the deal taking shape at the Capitol, $264 million will be set aside for many new children's programs, including 11,500 preschool slots for kids of low-income families by June 2015. Another 31,500 preschool slots will be created in subsequent years.

In addition, grant worth$50 million will be issued for preschool programs, while another $69 million will be spent to boost reimbursement rates for early learning, child care providers and more training.

Speaking about the deal, Assemblywoman Shirley Weber (D-San Diego) said, "This is quite a step forward."

The various budget issues dealing with various fields like local government and education were closed out by the Legislature's budget-writing committee on Wednesday night. Legislative leaders and Gov. Brown are expected to announce the final deal soon for the financial year that starts on 1st of July.

However, the deal falls short of Democratic lawmakers' expectations who were initially demanding much more, including transitional kindergarten for all 4-year-old kids, regardless of income of their families.

The Legislature of the Golden State is expected to vote on the plan on coming Sunday, the constitutional deadline to pass the budget.