Speaker Robert Rivas, Assemblymembers Al Muratsuchi and Blanca Rubio Advance Major Child Literacy Legislation

SACRAMENTO, CA—Today, Speaker Robert Rivas (D-Salinas), Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi (D-Torrance), and Assemblymember Blanca Rubio (D-Baldwin Park) announced new action to strengthen early childhood literacy efforts in California by equipping educators and school leaders with the training, materials and support needed to help every student succeed. 

Assembly Bill 1454 is now being amended to reflect an agreement to provide state support for instructional materials and training aligned to evidence-based reading and language development practices.

What Speaker Robert Rivas Says

“Strong reading skills are the foundation for every student’s success, and I am committed to improving California’s reading and literacy rates. This legislation is essential, important progress, and it reflects agreement and robust consensus on ways to provide educators the evidence-based tools they need to support California’s diverse students. We must make sure every child — no matter their background — has the opportunity to become a confident and thriving reader.”

What Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi Says

“Assembly Bill 1454 is a significant measure to advance the foundational goal of teaching every child in California to read. This bill will promote evidence-based literacy instruction to teach reading skills that will lay the foundation for lifelong success. After more than two years working on this measure, I appreciate our education stakeholders coming together to strengthen professional development for early literacy instruction, update instructional materials, and provide training and support for schoolsite administrators.”

What Assemblymember Blanca Rubio Says

“I have always prided myself on being a teacher before a legislator. The success of our children has always been and will continue to be a priority of mine, which is demonstrated by the months of hard work that was poured into the bill sitting before us today. Between the leadership of Speaker Rivas, the partnership with Chair Muratsuchi, and the continued advocacy of countless stakeholders, AB 1454 is a significant step toward addressing very real concerns with our student outcomes while supplying teachers with the tools to ensure success in their roles.”

What Advocates Say

“Ensuring every child in California learns to read is one of the most important responsibilities of our public education system—and one that must be met with urgency,” said Marshall Tuck, CEO of EdVoice. “AB 1454 is a critical step forward in improving literacy outcomes for California’s students and helping every child have a future filled with opportunity. EdVoice is grateful for the leadership of Speaker Rivas, Assemblymember Rubio, and Assemblymember Muratsuchi in putting forward legislation that will strengthen reading instruction for California’s kids.” 

"We strongly support AB 1454 and are thankful to Speaker Rivas for bringing together a coalition of educators and Assemblymembers to author this important legislation,” said Jeffery Freitas, President of CFT—A Union of Educators & Classified Professionals, AFT, AFT-CIO. “CFT members have been calling for more robust and improved literacy training and support to better meet the needs of our students. We urge Governor Newsom and the Legislature to fully fund this important legislation, so that California teachers can immediately access the training and we can continue to improve on reading instruction throughout the state."

“We believe students thrive when educators are equipped with the right tools to drive positive outcomes,” said Dr. Edgar Zazueta, Executive Director of the Association of California School Administrators. “AB 1454 provides evidence-based professional development for both certificated and classified educators while empowering LEAs to reach all elementary grades and secondary schools; thereby, supporting all of our students in achieving literacy development.”

"Californians Together proudly advocates for policies and practices to support our state’s 1.1 million English learners,” said Martha Hernandez, Executive Director of Californians Together. “Literacy is fundamental to every student’s academic journey, and we recognize the role of the legislature in proposing solutions to improve literacy that uplifts the unique needs of multilingual learners and honors their home languages and cultures, which is why we are proud to support AB 1454. We appreciate Speaker Rivas’s leadership in bringing this legislation forward, and we remain committed to ensuring that any new literacy policy fully supports English learners.”

Overview of Assembly Bill 1454

• Strengthens professional development: Requires the California Department of Education to identify effective professional development programs for educators primarily focused on teaching reading in transitional kindergarten through fifth grade.
• Updating instructional materials: Requires the State Board of Education to adopt updated English language arts and English language development instructional materials.
• Supports administrator preparation: Requires the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to update school administrator standards to include training on how to support effective literacy instruction.

How We Got Here

In recent years, California has invested more than $600 million to support literacy coaches, launch statewide literacy initiatives, and combat pandemic learning loss. AB 1454 builds on this momentum by ensuring all students receive the support they need to become a confident, successful reader.

There have been a number of proposals to ensure high-quality reading instruction is implemented across California schools, including AB 1121 (Blanca Rubio) and AB 1194 (Muratsuchi) this year. AB 1454 is being amended to reflect a consensus between the authors and sponsors of both those bills, which will not move forward in their current forms.

Next Steps

AB 1454 will be heard on Wednesday, April 30, in the Assembly Education Committee. While language reflecting the agreement will go into print after the hearing, an analysis of the proposal can be viewed here.

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For additional information, please contact:

Speaker Robert Rivas Press Secretary, Cynthia.Moreno@asm.ca.gov.

Speaker of the Assembly Robert Rivas represents California’s 29th Assembly District, which includes all of San Benito County and portions of Monterey, Santa Cruz, and Santa Clara Counties. For a full biography of Speaker Rivas, click here.