Read LA!
Read LA! is a campaign to ensure that all of Los Angeles’ students can read and thrive.
Focused on reversing the decades-long early literacy crisis in our city, our coalition of partners will build a movement to elevate early literacy as a top priority. We will partner with LAUSD to ensure that students receive effective literacy instruction, engage and equip families of young children to support their children’s literacy at home and advocate for them at school, and help address other barriers to children’s early literacy development. AND we will equip and support parents to advocate for state legislation to ensure that literacy instruction in public schools is aligned to evidence-based practices and the science of reading.
Our Goal: By 2030, 70% of LAUSD students will read proficiently by the end of third grade.
Campaign Updates
On April 30, 2025, Speaker of the Assembly Robert Rivas introduced AB 1454 (Rivas, Muratsuchi, Rubio), an early literacy bill representing a compromise between AB 1121 (Rubio)—which we co-sponsored—and AB 1194 (Muratsuchi). This bill maintains core priorities FIS championed in AB 1121, including professional development for teachers and access to high-quality instructional materials that are aligned to evidence-based literacy practices and the science of reading.
Families In Schools is proud to support this new bill to help every child read, thrive, and achieve success in school and in life.
Bright Spots in Los Angeles Report
Following our first report, Families In Schools’ groundbreaking report on the early literacy crisis shares the stories of “bright spots” and “districts to watch” in Los Angeles County that are making positive strides through literacy policies and practices grounded in research.
Campaign Launch Event
Families In Schools launched Read LA! on November 14, 2023, bringing together over 100 leaders, parents and students. LeVar Burton, actor, advocate and producer of the documentary The Right to Read, and LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvalho engaged in a conversation about what it will take to ensure all students are reading on grade level.
Other panelists included Dr. Karla Estrada, LAUSD Deputy Superintendent; Dr. Genesis Aguirre, Literacy Coach at Esperanza Elementary; Dr. Magaly Lavadenz, Center for Equity for English Learners at Loyola Marymount University; and Balbina Hernandez, parent at Esperanza Elementary.
Data
In 3rd grade, when reading proficiency highly influences future student success, too few LAUSD students are meeting reading standards. These challenges are not unique to LAUSD; reading proficiency across California is also too low.
Source: All reading data for LAUSD and California are based on 2022-23 California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress data. Link.
To get involved in the Read LA! Campaign, sign up here
Join us to ensure all children in Los Angeles learn to read and thrive.
Coalition Partners
