Dear County Superintendents of Schools:

First Apportionment for the Literacy Coaches and Reading Specialists Grant Program Fiscal Year 2023–24

This apportionment, in the amount of $248,000,000, is made from the State General Fund pursuant to Section 115 of Senate Bill 114 (Chapter 48, Statutes of 2023) in support of the Literacy Coaches and Reading Specialists Grant Program. Funding is provided to county offices of education, elementary or unified school districts, and charter schools for eligible elementary school sites to develop school literacy programs, employ and train literacy coaches and reading and literacy specialists, and develop and implement interventions for pupils in need of targeted literacy support.

Pursuant to Section 115(d)(1), an eligible school site must have an unduplicated pupil percentage of 95 percent or greater for kindergarten and grades 1 to 3 as of the 2022–23 California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS) Fall 1 Certification. School sites that received funding in the 2022-23 fiscal year are not eligible to receive additional funding in 2023-24. Local educational agency (LEA) allocations are calculated on a per-pupil basis, pursuant to Section 115(b)(2), based on each eligible school site’s enrollment for kindergarten and grades 1 to 3 as of the 2022–23 CALPADS Fall 1 Certification, an LEA shall receive no less than $450,000 per eligible school site. Section 115(b) provided an opportunity for eligible LEAs to opt-out of program participation and funding for one or more eligible school sites by submitting the online Opt-Out Form by September 30, 2023. The amounts paid in this apportionment reflect 100 percent of each participating LEA’s allocation and include a redistribution of funds from non-participating school sites.

Use of Funds

Expenditures for school literacy programs may include:

1. Developing a school literacy plan that includes goals and actions to improve literacy acquisition for pupils in preschool, if applicable, and kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 3, inclusive. The plan shall identify metrics to measure progress toward the goals and actions.
2. Hiring at least one literacy coach or reading and literacy specialist per school to support educators and pupils in improving literacy instruction and pupil outcomes.
3. Increasing access to evidence-based literacy instruction, through strategies, including, but not limited to, any of the following:
   • Providing bilingual reading specialists to support dual language acquisition and English language development programs.
   • Developing and implementing culturally responsive curriculum and instruction.
   • Providing professional development for educators and school leaders in literacy instruction and the use of data to identify and support struggling pupils.
   • Providing professional development for educators and school leaders regarding implementation of the curriculum framework for English Language Arts/English Language Development and the use of data to support effective instruction.
4. Establishing an evidence-based family literacy initiative, which may include but is not limited to, the following:
   • Family literacy plans that identify literacy and biliteracy goals, benchmarks, and roles for all family members.
   • Family literacy home visiting programs, including, but not limited to, “promotora” family literacy outreach specialists. LEAs may establish literacy and biliteracy home visits to engage families in how to best support their pupils and every family member in reaching their literacy goals.
   • Extended-day, summer, or weekend family institutes related to literacy and biliteracy. LEAs are encouraged to work with in-house expanded learning programs to establish literacy and biliteracy support programs and literacy enrichment programs during after-school, weekend, and summer hours.
   • Public library family literacy partnerships, including, but not limited to, digital tools to support whole family literacy.

Reporting Requirements

An LEA that receives Literacy Coaches and Reading Specialists Grant Program funds are required to submit an interim report to the California Department of Education (CDE) by June 30, 2025, and a final report by June 30, 2028, detailing how it used funds awarded. Specifically, these reports will include the following:

1. Funds were used to employ literacy coaches and reading and literacy specialists for eligible schools.
2. Funds were used to develop and implement school literacy programs.
3. Expenditures impacted pupils’ literacy achievement, including for pupil subgroups.
4. The LEA plans to continue to fund literacy coaches and reading and literacy specialists past the allowable expenditure period.
5. Other metrics as determined by the State Department of Education.

The CDE established a reporting template which is available on the “Resource and Reporting” tab of the CDE’s web page at https://www.cde.ca.gov/pd/ps/lcrsprogram.asp.

Accounting and Payment Information

A warrant will be mailed approximately three weeks from the date of this letter. For standardized account code structure coding, use Resource Code 6211, Literacy Coaches and Reading Specialists Grant Program, and Revenue Object Code 8590, All Other State Revenue.

County Superintendents of Schools were notified of this apportionment by email sent to their CDEfisc email addresses. The CDE requested that the email be forwarded to school districts and charter schools in the county and included the links to this letter and

the accompanying apportionment schedule posted on the CDE web page at https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/fo/r14/litcoaches23result.asp.

Additional program information regarding the Literacy Coaches and Reading Specialists Grant Program is available on the CDE’s web page at https://www.cde.ca.gov/pd/ps/lcrsprogram.asp.

For questions regarding programmatic requirements, use of funds, and required reporting, please contact the Professional Learning Innovations Office by email at PLIO@cde.ca.gov. For questions concerning this apportionment or the Literacy Coaches and Reading Specialists Grant Program allocation amounts, please contact the Categorical Allocations and Audit Resolution Office by email at CAAR@cde.ca.gov.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth Dearstyne, Director
School Fiscal Services Division

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