Over the past three years, San Diego Unified has made big moves on the after-school care front.

Between August 2022 and September 2025, the district increased the number of schools that offer PrimeTime – the district’s free before- and after-school care program for K-8 students – by more than two dozen. Over that same period, they also more than doubled the number of students enrolled.

Now, hot on the heels of a huge injection of new state funding for the program, district officials are set on expanding. But it won’t be easy.

After-school care is a quiet killer for parents. It’s in desperately short supply and is often a crushing financial burden. That’s especially true for working parents, whose jobs necessitate after-school care, and who are often the least capable of paying for it.

See Full Page