Senator Susan Rubio Bill Strengthening Reading Instruction For Children Passes State Assembly

SACRAMENTO, CA – The California State Assembly today passed a bill by Sen. Susan Rubio (D-Baldwin Park) that strengthens reading instruction and ensures teacher candidates are qualified and prepared to teach students based on best practices.

SB 488 will require the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to revise their preparation program standards and Teaching Performance Expectations to ensure teacher candidates are qualified and prepared to teach students how to read using the most current best practices. The bill will also require the Commission to ensure an approved teaching performance assessment (TPA) assesses all candidates for competence in instruction in literacy.

“As a public school teacher for 17 years, I know how hard teachers work to ensure their students succeed, and I’m grateful that I can advocate for them,” Senator Susan Rubio said. “That's why I've been fighting to update our reading standards in schools. SB 488 is a bipartisan bill that will help schools, teachers and most importantly, our children, so they receive the reading instruction they need to be successful. I want to thank the California Legislature for passing the bill and sending it to the governor. ”

“SB 488 is the result of many years of negotiations regarding the best ways to assess teaching reading and literacy within teacher preparation programs. This update will maintain California’s high standards for teacher preparation while helping address the state’s teacher shortage, increase teacher diversity, and prepare all educators to teach reading,” said Dr. Wesley Smith, Executive Director, Association of California School Administrators.

The bill is now headed to the Governor’s desk for signature.

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Media Contact: Edward Barrera, edward.barrera@sen.ca.gov