Bill Text: CA AB2465 | 2021-2022 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Pupil instruction: third-grade literacy: literacy grant program.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-1)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2022-08-11 - In committee: Held under submission. [AB2465 Detail]
Download: California-2021-AB2465-Amended.html
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Amended
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Senate
June 23, 2022 |
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Amended
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Assembly
May 19, 2022 |
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Amended
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Assembly
April 28, 2022 |
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Amended
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Assembly
April 25, 2022 |
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Amended
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Assembly
April 18, 2022 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill
No. 2465
| Introduced by Assembly Member Mia Bonta (Coauthor: Assembly Member Chen) (Coauthors: Senators Cortese and Hueso) |
February 17, 2022 |
An act to add Chapter 15.5 (commencing with Section 53007) to Part 28 of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Education Code, relating to pupil instruction.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2465, as amended, Mia Bonta.
Pupil instruction: third-grade literacy: literacy grant program.
Existing law requires the adopted course of study for grades 1 to 6, inclusive, to include certain areas of study, including English, mathematics, social sciences, science, visual and performing arts, health, and physical education, as specified. Existing law requires the study of English to include knowledge of and appreciation for literature and the language, as well as the skills of speaking, reading, listening, spelling, handwriting, and composition.
This bill would create the Family and Community Literacy: Supporting Literacy and Biliteracy in Schools, Families, and Communities Grant Program for the purpose of supporting the goal of all of California’s pupils reading at grade level by third grade and engaging families at every stage of that process. The bill would require the department to award competitive grants from the California
Family Literacy Innovation Project to local educational agencies, as provided.
This bill would establish the California Family Literacy Innovation Project, under the administration of the department, in order to support community literacy and educational enrichment by supporting local educational agencies to engage families to improve literacy and biliteracy outcomes. The bill would require the department to award grants of up to $1,900,000 each to at least 25 local educational agencies that conduct a needs assessment and analysis, and design an evidence-based Family Literacy and Biliteracy Innovation Plan, as provided.
The bill would require grant recipients to provide annual progress reports to the department, and would require the department to contract with an external evaluator to develop a final report and evaluate program effectiveness, as provided.
This bill would make the implementation of its provisions contingent upon an appropriation by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act or another statute.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NOBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
The Legislature finds and declares the following:(a) Early literacy has proven to have a significant relationship to graduation rates because early literacy interacts with many other factors that contribute to academic success. According to research, third graders who are not reading at grade level are among the most vulnerable to dropping out of school later.
(b) A long-term study by the Annie E. Casey Foundation found that pupils who were not proficient in reading by the end of third grade were four times more likely to drop out of high school than proficient readers. In fact, 88 percent
of pupils who failed to earn a high school diploma were struggling readers in third grade.
(c) Third grade has been identified as important to reading literacy because it is the final year children are learning to read, after which pupils are “reading to learn.” If they are not proficient readers when they begin fourth grade, as much as one-half of the curriculum they will be taught will be incomprehensible.
(d) High-quality early education programs provide an opportunity to get children on the right track by building a strong foundation for prereading and school readiness skills.
(e) Research documents the importance of early experiences on brain development, and educators and policymakers now have a deeper
understanding of how to best foster young children’s learning. Research shows that participation in high-quality early care and education programs, including transitional kindergarten,
prekindergarten, Head Start, and Early Head Start, can increase children’s language and literacy skills before school entry.
(f) There are many strategies for addressing early literacy, including aligning standards to enhance kindergarten readiness, improving instruction and teacher preparation, and using developmentally and linguistically appropriate assessment and interventions, such as pupil interviews.
(g) Teacher librarians are the backbone of literacy in California, yet only 9 percent of schools have prioritized funding to maintain a full-time teacher librarian position as a resource to both teachers and pupils. Teacher librarians play a pivotal role in empowering and guiding pupils to use educational resources and become critical thinkers and competent
researchers.
(h) Multilingual programs prepare pupils for linguistic and
academic proficiency in English and additional languages, and require thoughtful design. Multilingual programs are based on research that demonstrates the program model’s effectiveness at leading pupils toward linguistic fluency and academic achievement in more than one language.
(i) One mission of the State Department of Education is to equip pupils with world language skills to better appreciate and more fully engage with the diverse mixture of cultures, heritages, and languages found in California and the world, while also preparing them to succeed in the global economy. The department has set specific goals in the Global California 2030 Initiative. By 2030, one-half of all kindergarten through grade 12 pupils will participate in programs leading to proficiency in two or more languages, either through a class, a program, or an
experience. By 2040, three out of four pupils will be proficient in one or more languages, earning them a State Seal of Biliteracy.
(j) Career ladder and apprenticeship programs have demonstrated strong efficacy in recruiting, training, and strengthening new members of the workforce across different employment sectors. In the education sector, several local educational agencies have used these approaches to grow their workforce in high-needs areas and retain highly qualified bilingual educators.
(k) The health policy brief, titled “Parental Reading and Singing to California’s Young Children – Trends, Predictors, and Association with the Talk. Read. Sing. Campaign,” indicates nearly 90 percent of parents read and sing to their children three times or more per week.
(l) The Talk. Read. Sing. campaign promotes and encourages the engagement of parents and caregivers to talk, read, and sing with their babies from birth. Brain science confirms babies learn from day one and build billions of neural connections by stimulating their brains through experiences, such as when others are talking, reading, and singing with them.
(m) A main mission of a public library is to support literacy. It is to everyone’s benefit that we have a literate society, and one way to help achieve this is to encourage pupils to read and to remove as many barriers to their using local public libraries as possible.
(n) When school libraries close, either due to COVID-19, summer vacation, or any other reason, kids
still need and deserve access to e-books, books, periodicals, and the wealth of other online resources libraries have to offer.
(o) All pupils should have equal access to all library resources to level the educational playing field. They should not be penalized due to where they live or the income level of their parents. It is the intent of the Legislature to support programs that will allow thousands of pupils presently denied equal access to have the same access to library materials as all other pupils. Public libraries represent a crucial public service for all of California pupils and families regardless of immigrant status.
SEC. 2.
Chapter 15.5 (commencing with Section 53007) is added to Part 28 of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Education Code, to read:CHAPTER 15.5. Family and Community Literacy: Supporting Literacy and Biliteracy in Schools, Families, and Communities Grant Program
53007.
(a) For purposes of this chapter, “local educational agency” means a school district, county office of education, or charter school.(b) The Family and Community Literacy: Supporting Literacy and Biliteracy in Schools, Families, and Communities Grant Program is hereby established for the purpose of supporting the goal of all of California’s pupils reading at grade level by third grade and engaging families at every stage of that process.
(c) The department shall award a competitive grant to local educational agencies pursuant to this chapter. A grant application shall include, at minimum, the particular context
in which the local educational agency is operating, including the assets of, and challenges faced by, the local educational agency, a plan for evaluating program impact, and the number of pupils that would be impacted by the program, resources, or activities funded by the grant.
53007.5.
(a) The California Family Literacy Innovation Project is hereby established under the administration of the department as a competitive grant program.(b) In developing and implementing the California Family Literacy Innovation Project, the department shall support community literacy and educational enrichment by supporting local educational agencies to engage families to improve literacy and biliteracy outcomes. The department shall award grants in the amount of up to one million nine hundred thousand dollars ($1,900,000) each to at least 25 local
educational agencies agencies, with consideration given to geographic diversity, that meet all of the following criteria:
(1) Seventy-five percent or more of pupils enrolled in the local educational agency meet the definition of “unduplicated pupil” pursuant to Section 2574 or 42238.02.
(2) The local educational agency has the highest percentage of third grade pupils scoring in Level one, Standard Not Met, on the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress for English language arts/literacy.
(c) (1) Those local educational agencies applying for grant funds shall design conduct a needs assessment and analysis that identifies assets, barriers, and goals for use of the funds.
(2) Based on the needs assessment and analysis conducted pursuant to paragraph (1), those local educational agencies applying for grant funds shall design an evidence-based Family Literacy and Biliteracy Innovation Plan that includes at least three of the following five strategies:
(1)
(A) Family literacy plans that identify literacy and biliteracy goals, benchmarks, and roles for all family members. Family literacy plans shall be developed by teachers and literacy coaches at the schoolsite in collaborative meetings with families. Every family member shall have specific roles and benchmarks in both supporting their pupils and advancing their own educational goals.
(2)
(B) Family literacy home visiting programs. Local educational agencies
shall establish literacy and biliteracy home visits to engage families in how to best support their pupils and every family member in reaching their literacy goals.
(3)
(C) Bilingual Family literacy promoters, also known as “promotoras,” or literacy outreach coordinators. This strategy shall include professional learning for specific support staff training in family and community engagement for literacy and biliteracy.
(4)
(D) Extended-day, summer, or weekend family institutes related to literacy and biliteracy. Local educational agencies shall work with in-house expanded learning programs to establish literacy and biliteracy support programs and literacy enrichment programs during after school, weekend, and summer hours.
(5)
(E) Public library family literacy partnerships.
(d) Local educational agencies
receiving funds pursuant to subdivision (b) may use up to four hundred thousand dollars ($400,000) of the grant award for the purchase of, training on, and use of digital tools to promote family literacy.
(e) Local educational agencies receiving grant funds pursuant to this section shall have three years to spend the funds.
(f) (1) Local educational agencies receiving grant funds pursuant to this section shall submit annual progress reports to the department until funds are fully expended.
(2) The department may use up to one million dollars ($1,000,000) of the funds appropriated for purposes of this chapter to contract with an external evaluator to do both of the
following:
(A) Develop a final report derived from the required reports described in paragraph (1).
(B) Evaluate program effectiveness.
