Education Code section 53008.7
(a)
The sum of two hundred fifty million dollars ($250,000,000) is hereby appropriated from the General Fund to the department to augment the Literacy Coaches and Reading Specialists Grant Program established pursuant to Section 53008.5. Funds appropriated for this purpose are available for encumbrance through June 30, 2031.(b)
(1)Of the amount appropriated in subdivision (a), two hundred forty-eight million dollars ($248,000,000) shall be allocated by the department to local educational agencies for schools eligible pursuant to paragraph (2), to develop school literacy programs, employ and train literacy coaches and reading and literacy specialists, and develop and implement interventions for pupils in need of targeted literacy support. Local educational agencies may opt not to participate in the program described pursuant to this subdivision by informing the department, by September 30, 2023, and via a form provided by the department, of their intent to decline program funds for their eligible schoolsites. Local educational agencies who receive funding pursuant to this section may also be eligible for the Reading and Literacy Supplementary Authorization Incentive Grant Program.(2)
Of the amount identified in paragraph (1), the department shall compute an amount per pupil enrolled in kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 3, inclusive, at each eligible schoolsite, in a manner that also ensures 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 2022–23 school enrollment data determined as of the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System Fall 1 Certification. Local educational agencies receiving an allocation of funds pursuant to this paragraph are encouraged to use these funds over the full grant period, through June 30, 2031. For purposes of allocations and apportionments under this paragraph, a locally funded charter school shall be included with the chartering authority.(3)
On or before June 30, 2025, a recipient local educational agency receiving funds pursuant to this section shall submit an interim report to the department, and a final report on or before June 30, 2028, detailing how it used funds awarded pursuant to this subdivision. The department shall use the existing reporting template described in paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 53008.5 for the purposes of this requirement. Specifically, these reports shall include all of the following:(A)
How funds were used to employ literacy coaches and reading and literacy specialists for its eligible schools.(B)
How funds were used to develop and implement school literacy programs.(C)
How expenditures impacted pupils’ literacy achievement, including for pupil subgroups.(D)
How the local educational agency plans to continue to fund literacy coaches and reading and literacy specialists beyond the award period.(E)
Other metrics as determined by the department.(4)
On or before July 30, 2025, again on or before July 30, 2028, and again on or before July 30, 2031, the department shall provide the interim and final reports submitted by recipient local educational agencies to the grantee selected pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 53008.5 for the independent evaluation pursuant to subdivision (c) of this section.(5)
On or before December 31, 2025, again on or before December 31, 2028, and again on or before December 31, 2031, the department shall provide a comprehensive report to the Department of Finance, the state board, and the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of both houses of the Legislature summarizing the data collected pursuant to paragraph (3) of this subdivision and paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 53008.5.(c)
(1)Of the funds appropriated pursuant to subdivision (a), two million dollars ($2,000,000) shall be available to the grantee selected pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 53008.5 to provide additional training for educators to become literacy coaches and reading and literacy specialists, consistent with the training developed for the Literacy Coaches and Reading Specialists Grant program pursuant to Section 53008.5 and to contract for an independent evaluation pursuant to paragraph (4).(2)
The grantee selected pursuant to paragraph (1) 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)
The grantee selected pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 53008.5 shall, in consultation with, and subject to the approval of, the executive director of the state board and the department, issue a request for proposals and contract for an independent evaluation of the effectiveness of the funding provided pursuant to this section, as well as the funding appropriated pursuant to Section 53008.5. The grantee shall use up to five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) of the funding appropriated pursuant to paragraph (1) for the independent evaluation.(5)
The evaluation conducted pursuant to paragraph (4) shall include an examination of the following:(A)
Data collected from recipient local educational agencies pursuant to subdivision (b) of this section and subdivision (b) of Section 53008.5, including, but not limited to, all of the following:(i)
How funds were used to employ literacy coaches and reading and literacy specialists.(ii)
How funds were used to develop and implement school literacy programs.(iv)
How the local educational agencies plan to continue to fund literacy coaches and reading and literacy specialists beyond the award period.(B)
How the trainings developed and provided by the grantee selected pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 53008.5 impacted the training of literacy coaches and literacy and reading specialists.(6)
On or before June 30, 2029, the grantee selected pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 53008.5 shall provide the evaluation report to the chairs of the relevant policy committees and budget subcommittees of the Legislature, the executive director of the state board or their designee, the department, and the Director of Finance.(d)
For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:(1)
“Eligible schoolsite” means an elementary schoolsite operated by a local educational agency with an unduplicated pupil percentage of 95 percent or greater for pupils enrolled in kindergarten and grades 1 to 3, inclusive, based on 2022–23 Fall 1 census day pupil data submitted through the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System that did not receive funding pursuant to Section 53008.5. The unduplicated pupil percentage for a schoolsite shall be calculated by the sum of the number of unduplicated pupils eligible for free and reduced-price meals, English language learners, and youth in foster care, divided by each schoolsite’s total enrollment for kindergarten and grades 1 to 3, inclusive.(2)
“Local educational agency” means an elementary or unified school district, county office of education, or charter school.(3)
“School” and “schoolsite” means an elementary school of a local educational agency.(4)
“School literacy program” means a program that includes all of the following:(A)
A school literacy plan that includes goals and actions to improve literacy acquisition for pupils in preschool, if applicable, and kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 3, inclusive. The plan shall identify metrics to measure progress toward the goals and actions.(B)
At least one literacy coach or reading and literacy specialist per school to support educators and pupils in improving literacy instruction and pupil outcomes.(C)
Increased access to evidence-based literacy instruction through strategies, including, but not limited to, any of the following:(i)
Providing bilingual reading specialists to support dual language acquisition and English language development programs.(ii)
Developing and implementing culturally responsive curriculum and instruction.(iv)
Providing professional development for educators and school leaders regarding implementation of the curriculum framework for English language arts and English language development adopted by the state board pursuant to Section 60207 and the use of data to support effective instruction.(v)
Establishing an evidence-based family literacy initiative, which may include, but is not limited to, any of the following:(I)
Family literacy plans that identify literacy and biliteracy goals, benchmarks, and roles for all family members.(II)
Family literacy home visiting programs, including, but not limited to, “promotora” family literacy outreach specialists. Local educational agencies 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.(IV)
Public library family literacy partnerships, including, but not limited to, digital tools to support whole family literacy.(e)
For purposes of making the computations required by Section 8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution, the appropriation made pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be deemed to be “General Fund revenues appropriated for school districts,” as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 41202, for the 2021–22 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 XIIIB,” as defined in subdivision (e) of Section 41202, for the 2021–22 fiscal year.
Source:
Section 53008.7, https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=EDC§ionNum=53008.7. (updated Jul. 9, 2026; accessed Jul. 20, 2026).
