California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed Assembly Bill 1454 which provides the funding and direction to “ensure that educators and school leaders have access to the tools, training, and resources needed to help students become better readers.” However, there is still much the state needs to do to implement the Golden State Literacy Plan, including the adoption of instructional materials and the training of educators.
At the same time, Newsom announced that Californian student test scores for the 2024-2025 school year showed significant continued progress made by K-12 students; with low-income students, Black students, and Latino students seeing “particularly notable progress.”
“California’s significant education investments like Universal Transitional Kindergarten, reading coaches, professional development, and community schools have boosted student proficiency in many areas,” commented State Superintendent Tony Thurmond. “Some growth is modest and some is profound, but in all cases the data reflects the impact of these investments and the hard work of educators to help students succeed. We aspire to achieve even greater student outcomes. We are working to secure additional investments to support comprehensive, long-term, statewide strategies to further move the needle in student proficiency for years to come.”
California’s 2025-26 budget included $480 million to support literacy instruction, including $200 million in one-time funding to pay for evidence-based literacy training for elementary school teachers.
The new legislation also requires the California State Board of Education to adopt compatible instructional materials for first through eighth grade classrooms. The Board estimates it will cost $324,000 a year for the State Board of Education to adopt aligned textbooks and instructional materials by January 2027, but the process is already underway—on November 13, the Board will hold its Publisher Invitation to Submit meeting (5 CCR Section 9517) and complete instructional programs will be due by May 15, 2026.
A committee of educators will spend the next year proposing and adopting textbooks and other instructional materials to be used in classrooms.
The California Department of Education will also develop a list of approved professional development options for TK-5 teachers and the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing will begin work to ensure preparation programs for school administrators and literacy leadership specialists are aligned with state requirements for evidence-based literacy instruction. School districts must provide state-approved reading instruction training courses to be reimbursed by the state, and the California Department of Education will consult with language-acquisition experts, including English learner organizations, when choosing programs.
California will also begin screening kindergarten through second grade students this year for reading difficulties, including dyslexia. California has invested $53 million to train staff and to develop the screening process.