As a candidate for governor, Gavin Newsom put forward a bold vision of high-quality early education for all the state’s youngest learners, and he is making good on his campaign promise. Early learning and child care occupy prominent places in the budget that went into effect this month, which is good news for a state that has fallen far behind most others in child care and early education quality and access. The governor has said his goal is to make preschool available to every 3- and 4-year-old in California, and the new budget is a decent down payment on addressing the access problem. It will expand full-day public preschool for 4-year-olds in high-poverty communities and provide more money for facilities and training. The budget also addresses quality indirectly by funding the development of a master plan for early education and child care by fall 2020. While taking time to work out the details is wise, some means of improving quality are obvious and important enough to be addressed without delay. California needs to expand access to affordable child care and education, but we need to invest as much in quality as in access to get long-term benefits for children and the state. The research is clear that the quality of programs matters in reducing achievement gaps linked to family income. Universal preschool is a commendable goal, but expanding access without quality is not likely to improve results for kids in the long run. Children’s experiences during the first five years of life lay the foundation for all future learning and development, and nothing affects the quality of those experiences more than teachers’ and caregivers’ preparation and support. And we know what we need to do to improve both.