SACRAMENTO--State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond will be joined by state leaders during a special hearing to discuss literacy strategies, at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, March 30. The special hearing is hosted by the State Superintendent’s Task Force on Literacy and Reading by Third Grade, and is designed to gather input on a number of literacy strategies that are being proposed in legislation and the state budget—including designated reading coaches and family outreach to support literacy.
“Reading is a gateway skill. When children learn to read, they can read to learn anything,” said Thurmond. “We also know that when students don’t learn to read by third grade, they are at greater risk to drop out of school, and they are at greater risk to end up in the criminal justice system. We are committed in our work to support learning recovery of our students and are making every effort to strengthen literacy programs in our state.”
Last September, Thurmond launched an initiative to ensure students learn to read by third grade by 2026. He has pledged to help secure passage of resources in the proposed state budget that would provide reading specialists and coaches for California students in need. Thurmond and the California Department of Education are also sponsoring key legislation that would expand literacy programs to fund home visits to help families reach literacy goals—Assembly Bill 2465 (Bonta), expand Freedom School Summer Programs—Assembly Bill 2498 (Bonta) and provide grants to school districts to support biliteracy and to build dual-immersion programs—Senate Bill 952 (Limón).
