(a)The sum of two hundred fifteen million dollars ($215,000,000) is hereby appropriated from the General Fund to the Superintendent to augment the Literacy Coaches and Reading Specialists Grant Program established in Section 137 of Chapter 52 of the Statutes of 2022, as amended by Sections 104 and 115 of Chapter 48 of the Statutes of 2023. Funds appropriated for this purpose are available for encumbrance through June 30, 2029.
(b)
(1)Of the amount appropriated in subdivision (a), two hundred million dollars ($200,000,000) shall be allocated by the Superintendent to local educational agencies for eligible schoolsites to develop school literacy programs, including dual language immersion and other programs for
multilingual learners, employ and develop literacy coaches and specialists
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(a)
The sum of two hundred fifteen million dollars ($215,000,000) is hereby appropriated from the General Fund to the Superintendent to augment the Literacy Coaches and Reading Specialists Grant Program established in Section 137 of Chapter 52 of the Statutes of 2022, as amended by Sections 104 and 115 of Chapter 48 of the Statutes of 2023. Funds appropriated for this purpose are available for encumbrance through June 30, 2029.
(b)
(1)
Of the amount appropriated in subdivision (a), two hundred million dollars ($200,000,000) shall be allocated by the Superintendent to local educational agencies for eligible schoolsites to develop school literacy programs, including dual language immersion and other programs for
multilingual learners, employ and develop literacy coaches and specialists, and develop and implement interventions for pupils in need of targeted literacy support, including English learners. A local educational agency may opt not to participate in the program pursuant to this subdivision by informing the department, by September 30, 2025, using a form provided by the department, of the local educational agency’s intent to decline program funds for their eligible schoolsites and the local educational agency. A local educational agency that receives funding pursuant to this section may also be eligible for the Reading and Literacy Supplementary Authorization Incentive Grant Program.
(2)
The department shall allocate funding under paragraph (1) based on an amount per pupil enrolled in kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 3, inclusive, at each eligible schoolsite, except that no local educational agency shall receive less than four hundred fifty
thousand dollars ($450,000) per eligible schoolsite. Grant amounts shall be determined using 2024–25 school enrollment data determined as of the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System Fall 1 Certification. For purposes of allocations and apportionments under this paragraph, a locally funded charter school shall be included with the chartering authority.
(3)
A local educational agency receiving grant funding pursuant to this subdivision is encouraged to use these funds over the full grant period, through June 30, 2029.
(4)
On or before June 30, 2027, and June 30, 2029, respectively, a recipient local educational agency shall submit an interim and final report to the department detailing how it used funds awarded pursuant to this subdivision using a reporting template developed by the department for the purposes of this requirement. Specifically for literacy, the
report shall include all of the following:
(A)
How funds were used to employ literacy coaches and specialists for its eligible schoolsites.
(B)
How funds were used to develop, improve, and expand upon school literacy programs, including English Language Development and dual language immersion programs, and other programs for multilingual learners.
(C)
How expenditures impacted pupils’ literacy achievement, including achievement of high need pupil groups.
(D)
How the local educational agency plans to continue to fund literacy coaches and reading and literacy and bilingual specialists past the award period.
(E)
Other metrics as determined by the department.
(5)
For purposes of this subdivision, the following definitions apply:
(A)
“Eligible schoolsite” means a schoolsite with an unduplicated pupil percentage of 94 percent or greater for pupils enrolled in kindergarten and grades 1 to 3, inclusive, based on 2024–25 Fall 1 census day pupil data submitted through the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System that did not receive funding pursuant to Section 137 of Chapter 52 of the Statutes of 2022, as amended by Section 104 of Chapter 48 of the Statutes of 2023, or Section 115 of Chapter 48 of the Statutes of 2023. The unduplicated pupil percentage for a schoolsite shall be calculated by dividing the sum of the number of unduplicated pupils, as defined in Section 42238.02, by each schoolsite’s total enrollment for kindergarten and grades 1 to 3, inclusive.
(B)
“Local educational agency” means a school district, county office of education, or charter school.
(C)
“School literacy program” means a program that includes all of the following:
(i)
A school literacy plan that includes goals and actions to improve literacy acquisition for all pupils, including those needing targeted literacy support, in preschool, if applicable, and kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 3, inclusive. The plan shall identify metrics to measure progress towards the goals and actions.
(ii)
At least one literacy coach or specialist per schoolsite to support educators and pupils in improving literacy instruction and pupil outcomes. The literacy coach or specialist may serve educators and pupils schoolwide, beyond grade 3.
(iii)
Increased access to evidence-based literacy instruction, through strategies, including, but not limited to, any of the following:
(I)
Providing professional learning for educators and school leaders regarding implementation of the curriculum framework for English Language Arts/English Language Development adopted by the state board pursuant to Section 60207, the English Learner Roadmap, the Literacy Roadmap, and the use of data to support effective instruction. This may include supporting educators in obtaining Reading and Literacy Leadership Specialist Credentials, Reading and Literacy Added Authorizations, and Bilingual Specialist Authorizations.
(II)
Providing English language development and bilingual education specialists to support language development for multilingual learners.
(III)
Providing
professional development for educators and school leaders in literacy instruction and the use of data to identify and support struggling pupils.
(IV)
Establishing an evidence-based family literacy initiative, which may include, but is not limited to, any of the following:
(ia)
Family literacy plans that identify literacy and biliteracy goals, benchmarks, and roles for all family members.
(ib)
Family literacy home visiting programs, including, but not limited to, “promotora” family literacy outreach specialists. A local educational agency may 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.
(ic)
Extended-day, summer, or weekend family institutes
related to literacy and biliteracy. A local educational agency shall be encouraged to 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.
(id)
Public library family literacy partnerships, including, but not limited to, digital tools to support whole family literacy.
(D)
“Schoolsite” means an elementary school operated by a local educational agency.
(c)
(1)
Of the amount appropriated in subdivision (a), fifteen million dollars ($15,000,000) shall be available for the Superintendent, subject to the approval of the executive director of the state board, to select a county office of education or a consortium of county offices of education with expertise in both literacy
instruction and multilingual education, through a competitive process, to provide training for educators to become literacy coaches and provide credentialing opportunities for educators to become reading and literacy and bilingual specialists, working with professional development providers, including, but not limited to, the California Reading and Literature Project, the California Writing Project, and other experts specializing in multilingual education. The Superintendent shall prioritize applicants with demonstrated success in improving literacy instruction and outcomes through dual language immersion and other programs for multilingual learners, through professional development based on the English Language Arts/English Language Development Framework adopted by the state board pursuant to Section 60207, the English Learner Roadmap adopted by the state board, and the Literacy Roadmap, especially for English learners and other high-need pupil groups and for those planning on partnering with institutions
of higher education with demonstrated success in providing statewide professional development for expert literacy practice for multilingual learners.
(2)
The selected county office of education or a consortium of county offices of education shall do all of the following:
(A)
Consider the preparation program standards set by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing for reading and literacy in developing the standards for educator training developed pursuant to this subdivision.
(B)
Offer professional learning to educators at schoolsites funded pursuant to subdivision (b) and, as capacity allows, to other schoolsites.
(C)
Provide funding for participating educators to pursue a Reading and Literacy Added Authorization, a Reading and Literacy Leadership
Credential, a Bilingual Specialist Authorization, or any combination of those.
(3)
Resources and training for literacy developed pursuant to this subdivision shall be coordinated with other state- and federally funded literacy initiatives to reduce duplication of effort and provide coordinated, streamlined access to literacy professional development and resources for educators and school leaders that are aligned with the curriculum framework for English Language Arts/English Language Development adopted by the state board pursuant to Section 60207, the English Learner Roadmap, the Literacy Roadmap, and the use of data to support effective instruction.
(4)
Of the amount made available to the Superintendent pursuant to paragraph (1), one million dollars ($1,000,000) shall be available to the selected county office of education or consortium of county offices of education to contract
for an independent evaluation of their training and dissemination of literacy coaches and specialists under this subdivision.
(d)
For purposes of making the computations required by Section 8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution, the amount appropriated from the General Fund in subdivision (a) shall be deemed to be “General Fund revenues appropriated for school districts,” as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 41202, for the 2024–25 fiscal year, and included within the “total allocations to school districts and community college districts from General Fund proceeds of taxes appropriated pursuant to Article XIII
B,” as defined in subdivision (e) of Section 41202, for the 2024–25 fiscal year.