Cal. Education Code § 8971

As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: (a) “Child development program” means a full-day or part-day comprehensive developmental program for children ages 0 to 14 years that is administered by the State Department of Education. (b) “Early primary program” means an integrated, experiential, and developmentally appropriate educational program for children in preschool, kindergarten, and grades 1 to 3, inclusive, that incorporates various instructional strategies and authentic assessment practices, including educationally appropriate curricula, heterogeneous groupings, active learning activities, oral language development, small group instruction, peer interaction, use of concrete manipulative materials in the classroom, planned articulation among preschool, kindergarten, and primary grades, and parent involvement and education. (c) “Integrated, experiential, and developmentally appropriate educational program” means a program that is designed around the abilities and interests of the children in the program and one in which children learn about the various subjects simultaneously, as opposed to segmented courses, and through “hands-on” or “active learning” teaching methods that are more appropriate for young children than the academic “textbook” approach. (d) “Preschool program” means a comprehensive developmental program for children who are too young to enroll in kindergarten. (e) “Portfolio material” means a selection of representative samples of the child’s performance within the program setting that may include, but not be limited to, teacher observations, work samples, developmental profiles, photographs, and audio or video recordings that present a picture of the child’s progress over time. (f) “School district” includes county offices of education. (g) “State preschool program” means a part-day comprehensive developmental program for children three to five years of age from low-income families, administered by the State Department of Education.