Gov. Arnold Schwarz-enegger has signed legislation to improve pre-kindergarten access and boost the quality of child development programs.

Education leaders hope the bills will address the achievement gap between minority and disadvantaged students and their white counterparts.

"This legislation will help to ensure early education programs are available to the children who need them most and that the state continues to achieve higher quality child-development programs," Schwarzenegger said Friday.

SB 1629, sponsored by Sen. Darrel Steinberg, D-Sacramento, establishes the Early Learning Quality Improvement System Advisory Committee to evaluate child development programs. This will include a rating scale to help parents make informed decisions about programs for their children up to age 5.

AB 2759, sponsored by Assemblyman Dave Jones, D-Sacramento, makes funding to expand preschool easier to obtain by consolidating the existing five child-development programs under one umbrella to create the California State Preschool Program.

Further, the new law is meant to make administering the programs more efficient and ensure that children receive either part- or full-day services based on the needs of families.

Sen. Patricia Wiggins, D-Santa Rosa, whose district includes Vallejo, co-authored AB 2759.

Education leaders, including Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell, lauded passage of the bills.

"Ensuring the access for our children to the highest

quality preschool experience possible is an Advertisement absolutely imperative," O'Connell said. "The single most daunting challenge facing public education in our state today is the achievement gap."

Assemblywoman Noreen Evans, D-Santa Rosa, who represents Vallejo, also supported the measures.

"Signing these bills is a good start on making early childhood education better and more available to children in California," Evans said Friday. "Research has shown that early childhood education provides significant benefits to the child both during his or her formative years, and also later in life."