Ed. Code, § 54800

The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a) The trend of low-income youth struggling to become proficient in reading and writing is a narrative that is passed down from era to era.

(b) According to The Literacy Project, there are currently 45 million Americans who are functionally illiterate and unable to read above a 5th grade level. In California, 25 percent of the state’s 6 million pupils are unable to perform basic reading skills.

(c) According to the organization DoSomething.org, nearly 85 percent of the juveniles who face trial in the juvenile court system are functionally illiterate, proving that there is a close relationship between illiteracy and crime.

(d) Over half of California pupils failed to meet English standards based on Spring 2017 standardized test results, a performance that remained essentially flat compared to the previous year.

(e) About 49 percent of pupils statewide met or exceeded English standards on the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress in 2017, which is administered to public school pupils at certain grade levels each year. The same proportion of California pupils met English standards in 2016.

(f) For decades, generational illiteracy has hindered the careers, futures, and hopes of many pupils and their families.