As the pandemic has raised concerns about “learning loss” and widening achievement gaps, California policymakers have focused increasingly on how to strengthen literacy instruction in the country’s most diverse state. In 2021 the Legislature passed Senate Bill 488, which outlines teacher preparation for teaching reading.
Over this past year, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond has convened a Literacy Task Force. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s 2021 budget included funding for literacy training, early identification of struggling readers and a new screening tool to flag potential reading challenges such as dyslexia. His 2022 budget went further, funding literacy coaches and reading specialists for the state’s highest need schools.
