SACRAMENTO - State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell today joined Senator Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) and Assembly Member Dave Jones (D-Sacramento) at Jedediah Smith Elementary School's preschool program to highlight a new legislative bill package aimed at expanding quality preschool options for children in California. The bills authored by Jones and Steinberg are sponsored by O'Connell, Preschool California, Children Now, and the California Child Development Administrators Association, will streamline funding for preschool and improve preschool quality.

Assemblymember Dave Jones is the author of AB 2759, which would create the California State Preschool Program by consolidating all of the current State Preschool, Prekindergarten-Family Literacy, and General Child Care and Development programs that currently serve preschool-age children. The California State Preschool Program will be the largest state-funded preschool program in the nation and will streamline the administration of state preschool programs and help improve the efficiency and effectiveness of early learning program administration.

"These two bills will help increase the availability of preschool programs and reduce administrative costs and burdens so that funding gets to where it's most needed — to provide more quality preschool for our kids," Jones said.

Senator Darrell Steinberg is the author of SB 1629, the Early Learning Quality Improvement Act. This measure establishes a commission to create a state Early Learning Quality Improvement System, which will develop a framework for improving the quality of preschool programs. This will include the creation of a quality rating scale of preschool programs to help parents make informed decisions about early learning programs for their children. It will also include the development of a graduated funding model to help existing and future preschool programs reach and maintain higher levels of quality.

"If we want all California children to have a chance to succeed in school, we need to make sure that the neediest children get high-quality preschool," Steinberg said. "SB 1629 will create the roadmap for transforming our preschool programs into the high- quality experience our children deserve."

"Improving access to quality preschool is a major step we must take to close the achievement gap in California schools," O'Connell said. "Too many of our students, particularly students who are poor, African American, or Latino, are not meeting their full potential. We must address this inequity and expand quality early learning opportunities. Preschool can make a huge difference in students' academic success and benefit students well beyond their school career. I am honored to work with Senator Steinberg and Assembly Member Jones — two champions for children — to improve quality preschool options in our state."

The P-16 Council, appointed by O'Connell, and the Governors' Committee on Education Excellence have both issued recommendations to improve quality preschool opportunities for California children. The Early Learning Quality Improvement Act and the California State Preschool Program Act will work hand in glove to implement these recommendations. O'Connell called for the improvements to California's preschool programs in his fifth annual State of Education Address when he unveiled an ambitious, comprehensive plan aimed at closing California's pernicious achievement gap that exists between students who are white or Asian and students of color, as well as with English learners, students in poverty, and students with disabilities.

"High-quality preschool is a first step in education reform," said Preschool California President Catherine Atkin. "These bills will lay the groundwork for a future when all of California's children, especially those who need it most, have access to quality preschool."