Literacy Professional Development Programs

Assembly Bill 121, Section 15 (Statutes of 2025) of the Education Omnibus Trailer Bill added Section 33319.6 to the California Education Code (EC). EC Section 33319.6 directs the California State Board of Education (SBE) to approve and the California Department of Education (CDE) to post on its internet website by September 30, 2026, criteria and guidance for the selection or development of in-service professional development (PD) programs for effective means of teaching literacy in transitional kindergarten through grade five (TK‒5), with a list of in-service PD programs that have been deemed to meet those criteria.

Program Authorization

• Assembly Bill 121, Section 15 (Statutes of 2025) of the Education Omnibus Trailer Bill
• EC Section 33319.6
  

Eligibility and Funding

Assembly Bill 121 appropriates $200 million in funding to be allocated to local educational agencies (LEAs) from the 2026–27 to the 2029–30 fiscal years. Funding will be made available for the purposes of training certificated and classified staff who provide literacy instruction, or who support any teacher who provides literacy instruction, to pupils in grades TK‒5, using PD programs that meet the criteria and guidance approved pursuant to EC Section 33319.6. Funds will be apportioned to LEAs in an equal amount per full-time equivalent certificated staff who teach pupils in grades TK‒5. An LEA may use the apportioned funds to provide PD opportunities using a program from the SBE-approved list, a program not on the list, or an LEA-developed program, provided that the program aligns to the SBE-approved criteria.

Criteria and Guidance

On November 5, 2025, the SBE approved the Criteria and Guidance for the Selection or Development of Literacy PD Programs. The document is intended for use by PD providers interested in submitting programs for approval; the SBE, the CDE, and reviewers in the PD program review and approval process; and LEAs in the selection or development of literacy PD programs. EC Section 33319.6 requires the SBE and CDE to solicit interest holder input when developing the criteria, guidance, and list of PD programs. Interest holder input, gathered via a survey in October 2025, informed targeted revisions to both the criteria and the guidance appropriate to the scope of a PD program covering the breadth of topics named in the statute. The final SBE-approved document is linked below.

Criteria and Guidance for the Selection or Development of Literacy PD Programs (DOCX)

Professional Development Programs Timeline

An estimated timeline for the PD programs list is provided below. Additional information will be added as available. Note: Timeline is subject to change.

Reporting

LEAs receiving funds will be required to submit a report by September 1, 2029, in a form and manner determined by the CDE. Reporting will include the following information:

• Number of teachers that received professional development
• Professional development program(s) used

Additional Information

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