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Subcommittee debates $25M literacy network to coordinate statewide literacy efforts
Summary
The Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 3 on Education Finance reviewed a governor's proposal to create a statewide literacy network convened by the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence, funded at $25 million one-time Proposition 98.
The Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 3 on Education Finance reviewed a governor's proposal to create a statewide literacy network convened by the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence (CCEE) with $25 million one-time Proposition 98 General Fund to be available through fiscal year 2029'30.
The administration's proposal, explained by Hugo Solis Galena of the Department of Finance, would fund CCEE to convene literacy leads in consultation with the California Department of Education, curate a clearinghouse of evidence-based literacy resources, highlight best practices from high-performing districts and support implementation of practices aligned to the ELA/ELD framework, English Learner Roadmap and the new Literacy Roadmap.
Why it matters: CCEE deputy executive director Dr. Stephanie Gregson told the panel that since 2019 California has invested roughly $650 million in one-time literacy initiatives across many, fragmented streams and that there is no single coordinating entity to preserve and scale work developed under those grants. "When a grant sunsets, so does the expertise and the resources," Gregson said, arguing that a network could help preserve capacity, promote coherence and raise the impact of past investments.
Debate and administration responses: Members questioned whether a one-time allocation could sustain a system-level network. Finance staff and CCEE said the $25 million would be spread across five years (about $5 million per year) and that the administration intended to revisit funding in the May revision. CDEE and CDE said the network would leverage the statewide system of support and county offices of education to reach districts, but some committee members expressed concern that five years is not a long-term fix and pressed for clearer outcome measures and commitments to reach the most distressed districts.
Next steps/direction: The subcommittee held the item open for further development and signaled interest in outcome metrics, sustainability and clearer descriptions of how resources will be allocated to reach high-need districts.
