In California how old does ones child have to be to go to pre school?

I think it depends on the preschool’s criteria.

I know here there is a preschool that the only criteria is that the child has to be potty trained.

My oldest son has a November birthday, started pre-school when he was two and turned three a couple of months later. I think @WestRiverrat is correct, it depends on the school. We went to a parent participation program that was part of our local school district and as long as he was three by December 1st, he didn’t even have to be potty trained. This was in Southern California.

@SuperMouse Since he is so young will he have to continue doing pre-school repeatedly? Or is he free to move on to kindergarten?

@whitecarnations my son went to pre-school for two years – he was four at the end of his last year. The program we were in had a kindergarten option and since he would be 5 by December 1st I was able to put him in it. He went to that year of kindergarten but because his birthday was so late and because he is a boy (and boys mature more slowly than girls), I put him in our neighborhood school for a second year of kindergarten. I knew parents who didn’t have that option so they put their kid in an extra year of pre-school.

FYI, holding him back was one of the best decisions I ever made. He is in 7th grade now and in the state where we live the cut off for kindergarten is September 1st, so had I started him when he was four he would have been the youngest kid in his class.