Cal. Education Code - EDC § 53000. Section 53000.
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the Comprehensive Reading Leadership Program Act of 1996.
CHAPTER 15. Comprehensive Reading Leadership Program [53000. - 53006.]
Cal. Education Code - EDC 15.
in effectCal. Education Code - EDC § 53001. Section 53001.
The Legislature hereby finds and declares that strong leadership is needed at the local level to improve reading instruction in kindergarten and grades 1 to 3, inclusive, of the public schools. Therefore, it is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this chapter to encourage members of governing boards of school districts, school administrators, and teachers identified by the governing board of the school district as having demonstrated leadership in reading instruction to implement a comprehensive reading program for kindergarten and grades 1 to 3, inclusive, that emphasizes basic reading skills and continued improvement of reading skills through the reading of high quality books.
Cal. Education Code - EDC § 53002. Section 53002.
(a)
County offices of education may apply to the State Board of Education to design a reading leadership program and develop materials that focus on systematically explicit phonics instruction, phonemic awareness, sound-symbol relationships, decoding, word-attack skills, spelling instruction, diagnosis of reading deficiencies, research on how children learn to read, research on how proficient readers read, the structure of the English language, relationships between reading, writing, and spelling, planning and delivery of appropriate reading instruction based on assessment and evaluation, and independent pupil reading of high quality books and the relationship of that reading to improved reading performance.
(b)
From the applications received pursuant to this section, the State Board of Education shall select one county office of education that has a proposed reading leadership program and a proposed materials development program that, in the judgment of the State Board of Education, will provide an effective reading leadership training program addressing the elements listed in subdivision (a) of this section and meet the requirements of subdivision (a) of Section 53003. The State Board of Education is hereby authorized to allocate from moneys appropriated to it an amount sufficient to fund the reading leadership program selected pursuant to this section.
Cal. Education Code - EDC § 53003. Section 53003.
From the applications received pursuant to this chapter, the State Board of Education shall select county offices of education and school districts on a statewide basis to conduct reading leadership training programs pursuant to the program developed pursuant to Section 53002. The State Board of Education shall select an applicant in accordance with the following criteria:
(a)
The selected applicants shall have the qualifications necessary to deliver a high-quality reading leadership training program.
(b)
The selected applicants shall represent all areas of the state so that each geographical area of the state has reasonable access to a reading leadership training program.
Cal. Education Code - EDC § 53004. Section 53004.
From the amount appropriated for the purposes of this chapter, the State Board of Education shall determine the amount of funds to allocate to each school district and county office of education selected pursuant to Section 53003 to provide reading leadership training programs according to criteria established by the State Board of Education that is based on the actual cost of providing the leadership program.
Cal. Education Code - EDC § 53005. Section 53005.
The State Board of Education shall designate the school districts and county offices of education that will be served by each of the reading leadership training program providers selected pursuant to Section 53003.
Cal. Education Code - EDC § 53006. Section 53006.
The county offices of education and school districts selected pursuant to Section 53003 shall conduct reading leadership training programs in accordance with the following:
(a)
The members of the governing boards of the school districts, administrators of school districts and schools, and teachers who have been identified by the governing boards of the school districts as having demonstrated leadership in reading instruction in each school district to be served, as determined pursuant to Section 53004, shall be invited to participate in the reading leadership training program.
(b)
The reading leadership training programs shall adhere to the program designs and use the materials produced pursuant to Section 53002.
(c)
The reading leadership training programs shall address systematically explicit phonics instruction, phonemic awareness, sound-symbol relationships, decoding, word-attack skills, spelling instruction, diagnosis of reading deficiencies, research on how children learn to read, research on how proficient readers read, the structure of the English language, relationships between reading, writing, and spelling, planning and delivery of appropriate reading instruction based on assessment and evaluation, and independent pupil reading of high quality books and the relationship of that reading to improved reading performance.
Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026