News Update

75 schools eligible for $47 million in literacy funding under lawsuit deal

The California Department of Education has followed up on the settlement in February of the “Ella T v. California” lawsuit that 10 student plaintiffs attending struggling schools in Los Angeles, Stockton and Inglewood had brought against the state for failing to provide them quality reading and writing instruction.

The administration of Gov. Gavin Newsom agreed to fund $47 million over three years to develop literacy programs in the 75 elementary schools in the state with the lowest third-grade scores on the Smarter Balanced reading and writing test in 2018 and 2019. This month, the department published the list of eligible schools, located in two dozen school districts, and the rules for the program.

Every school will initially get $50,000 to consult with parents and teachers on how to address poor reading and writing instruction, including how to support families’ efforts to help their children. Schools can then apply for larger grants. An additional $3 million will be used to select a county office of education with expertise developing and supporting districts in literacy instruction as the Expert Lead in Literacy to guide the state’s efforts.

At the time of the settlement, plaintiffs attorney Mark Rosenbaum, from the law firm Public Counsel, said, “The state will make certain not just that they have the financial resources,” but also proven programs in place “that we know work in terms of teaching kids how to read.” Public Counsel filed the lawsuit in 2017.