California to screen 1.2 million kids for reading challenges earlier than ever before

State Board of Education President Linda Darling-Hammond: “Early identification of reading difficulties is essential for providing the individualized supports needed for long-term success in reading. By identifying potential issues when students are beginning school, we can mitigate more substantial issues later, ensure better educational outcomes, and support a love of learning for all students. We appreciate the great efforts of the panel’s Chair, Dr. Young-Suk Kim, Vice Chair Yesenia Guerrero and their colleagues in taking on this work and meeting this critical milestone in less than a year.”
 

How we got here

The Reading Difficulties Risk Screener Selection Panel — led by Dr. Young-Suk Kim, Professor and Associate Dean at the University of California, Irvine’s School of Education, and Yesenia Guerrero, a special education teacher at Lennox School District — consists of nine experts who were appointed by the State Board of Education (SBE) on January 18, 2024. The Panel was tasked with creating an approved list of evidence-based, culturally, linguistically, and developmentally appropriate screening instruments, by December 31, 2024 to assess pupils in kindergarten, first, and second grade for risk of reading difficulties, including possible neurological disorders such as dyslexia. 

The list of screening instruments approved this week by the Reading Difficulties Risk Screener Selection Panel and associated resources can be found HERE.

Efforts to strengthen literacy for California’s kids

Addressing literacy has been a key focus of Governor Newsom’s administration. In partnership with the Legislature and Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, California has made historic investments in evidence-based strategies and adopted new policies focused on literacy and improving student achievement on California’s English Language Arts/English Language Development standards that collectively comprise California’s comprehensive Literacy Strategy, including screening for reading difficulties as described above, and:

• Literacy Coaches: The state recently announced the deployment of an initial cohort of more than 2,000 literacy coaches and reading specialists in hundreds of California’s highest needs schools

 

• Literacy Roadmap: The California Department of Education (CDE) anticipates that it will begin releasing grade level modules for the Literacy Roadmap during the 2024-25 school year. Modules will be released throughout the 2024-25 school year to provide all educators with specific guidance on how to implement evidence-based literacy instruction and targeted interventions for native English

 

• Stronger Accountability: The 2024-25 Budget requires LEAs with unexpended funds from the $6.2 billion Learning Recovery Emergency Block Grant (LREBG) to perform a needs assessment, with a particular focus on addressing low performance on the English Language Arts assessment, and incorporate into their annual budget planning process and transparently explain how they will use those funds to address the identified needs.

Full Implementation of Transitional Kindergarten (TK): Beginning in the 2025-26 school year, universal TK will be fully implemented, and all four-year olds will be eligible. In addition to other benefits, universal TK eligibility will provide a stronger foundation for literacy for all students.