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Speaker Robert Rivas’ Major Child Literacy Legislation Passes Assembly in Huge Step Forward

With bipartisan, unanimous support, Assembly Bill 1454 equips educators with the tools they need to ensure student success in reading

For immediate release:

SACRAMENTO— Major legislation to improve child literacy in California took a significant step forward on Thursday at the state Capitol.

The California State Assembly passed Assembly Bill 1454, authored by Speaker Robert Rivas (D-Salinas) with joint authors Assemblymembers Al Muratsuchi (D-Torrance) and Blanca Rubio (D-Baldwin Park), with unanimous and bipartisan support.

The major legislation will 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. 

What Speaker Robert Rivas Says

“Learning to read is life-changing for a child. And strong reading skills are the gateway to academic success, lifelong confidence, and opportunity. With this legislation, we take a clear and necessary step toward ensuring every child in California learns to read, and read well. This bill is supported by a broad and growing coalition, all united in one belief: That we can and must do better for our students.”

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 school site administrators.”

What Assemblymember Blanca Rubio Says

“The passage of AB 1454 shows the Legislature and Leadership’s recognition of the literacy crisis our state is facing and our determination to begin to fix it. I am proud to see this incredibly meaningful bill move forward. As a teacher, an advocate of evidence-based literacy, and as an English learner, I’ve seen firsthand the life-changing power of investing in our students – and the lifelong consequences faced when they do not get the instruction they deserve. AB 1454 will put California on a successful path to advancing our literacy goals and is the necessary step in righting wrongs that have led to so much inequality and the unnecessary suffering illiteracy can cause. By equipping teachers with effective training and research-based instructional materials, we are giving the opportunity for California’s students, our children, to become strong readers, confident learners, and future leaders.” 

Overview of Assembly Bill 1454

  • Strengthens professional development: Requires the California Department of Education to identify professional development programs for educators primarily focused on teaching reading in transitional kindergarten through the fifth grade.
  • Updates 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 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 confident, successful readers.

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 was amended to reflect a consensus between the authors and sponsors of both bills.

Next Steps

AB 1454 now heads to the Senate for consideration. 

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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.