SECTIONS 53000-53006 - California Statutes

EDUCATION CODE

SECTION 53000-53006

53000. This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the
Comprehensive Reading Leadership Program Act of 1996.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.