As August marks the close of the legislative session, we reflect on the end of this two-year cycle. It’s an election year, and for many legislators, this marks the conclusion of their legislative careers with 34 members not running for reelection. At Californians Together, we are using this time to reflect on this year’s policy conversations as we continue to advocate for the bills on the governor’s desk.
Below is a quick recap of the 2024 legislative cycle:
- AB 1947( Luz Rivas) – Dual Language Learner Professional Development in California State Preschool Programs (CSPPs) Sponsored by Early Edge California and Californians Together
This legislation would increase the number of reimbursable staff training days for CSPP contractors from two to six days, allow professional development hours conducted during regular hours of operation to be considered a day of operation for purposes of reimbursement, and would require one staff training day to be focused on supporting DLLs if a contractor provides more than three days of staff training and enrolls at least 25 percent of DLLs in their program. This bill is currently on the governor’s desk, please make your voices heard and let him know you support this bill. Contact the governor. - AB 2071 (Juan Carrillo) Access and Equity for All English Learners Sponsored by CABE and Californians Together
This bill would have provided 25 three-year incentive and support grants to high-English learner impact local educational agencies (LEAs) to engage in local planning and implementation efforts to enact the English Learner Roadmap was held in the Senate Appropriation Committee. We are disappointed that the bill will not be moving forward but understand that in this budget climate, many programs with a price tag are not moving forward. - AB 2074 (Muratsuchi and Alvarez) EL Roadmap-Guiding Practice Statewide Sponsored by CABE and Californians Together
Tasks the California Department of Education (CDE) with developing a statewide implementation plan for the English Learner Roadmap with input from LEAs, teachers, parents, and other partners. The bill got out of the Senate Appropriations committee with amendments to remove the CDE positions. Although we are disappointed to see the positions removed from the bill, we will continue to work with the legislature and administration on next steps. - As co-sponsors, we were thrilled to collaborate with Early Edge California and CABE on AB 2268 (Muratsuchi), which has been signed by the governor. This legislation exempts four-year-olds from taking the English Language Proficiency Assessment (ELPAC). The legislature recognized that the ELPAC is not an appropriate tool for identifying English Learners (ELs) in Transitional Kindergarten (TK). While AB 2268 (Muratsuchi) is a significant first step, our work is far from over. California’s youngest learners deserve an education system that recognizes and nurtures their linguistic and cultural strengths from the beginning. We are committed to ensuring that TK dual language learners receive the high-quality, equitable education they deserve.
We were engaged in many literacy conversations and look forward to future conversations. We strongly believe California’s literacy policy needs to embrace the full range of a research-based comprehensive approach that addresses the developmental needs of culturally and linguistically diverse students. We also believe that the ELA/ELD Framework provides a solid foundation for future literacy efforts to build upon. For more information on the status of our sponsored bills, see the one pager.