Tell your State Senator: All Children Have a Right to Read

I Believe All Children Have a Right to Read!

Reading is the gateway to knowledge and future opportunity. Yet, only four in 10 third-grade students in California are reading at grade level. A disproportionate number of the students falling behind are Black and Latino children, English learners, and students with disabilities–including dyslexia. I stand with the California Kids Read campaign and their efforts to help California's children read at or near grade level by the end of elementary school.

California's literacy crisis is, in part, due to some school districts' usage of instructional materials and practices based on outdated and ineffective approaches to reading instruction.

The California Kids Read team is supporting AB 1454 (Rivas, Muratsuchi, Rubio), an evidence-based approach to early literacy instruction. This legislation will help California build and sustain equitable literacy outcomes for all students. This comprehensive approach includes state-level policies aligned with decades of interdisciplinary reading research on how the brain learns to read, including: 
• Requiring evidence-based reading instructional materials in all classrooms;
• Providing state funds for professional development in evidence-based means of teaching literacy (as defined in current law);
• Updating standards for administrator preparation programs to include training in effective means of teaching literacy.

The right to read is not only an education issue, it's a critical social justice issue that must be addressed with urgency. During the 2025 legislative cycle, I urge our state's policymakers to prioritize passing AB 1454, meaningful legislation that will help all children in California learn to read.