Parent Newsletter | July 2025

Dear Families,

Together, we’re building a movement for early literacy! This July, Read LA! is spotlighting the power of community to support early literacy across Los Angeles. Whether it’s stepping up as a Literacy Ambassador, reading aloud to children through our Storytime events, or advocating for stronger evidence-based reading instruction in Sacramento, families and advocates like you are leading the way.

In this newsletter, you’ll find exciting updates, from our call for Cohort 5 Literacy Ambassadors to the impact of AB 1454 to critical resources to help families stay informed during ongoing ICE activity. This summer, let’s keep reading, organizing, and showing up for our students together.

In community,

AB 1454 Wins Again in the Senate Education Committee!

On July 9, in a 7-0 unanimous vote, the CA Senate Education Committee voted in favor of AB 1454 (Rivas, Muratsuchi, Rubio), the early literacy bill that will bring teacher training, updated instructional materials, and administrator preparation to evidence-based literacy instruction across California. The continued bipartisan support this bill has received so far in both the Assembly and the Senate, along with the 2025–26 budget’s promised $200 million for the professional development component, makes us extremely hopeful for AB 1454’s ongoing journey through the Senate.

This bill still needs to be approved in the Senate Appropriations Committee and the full Senate before facing its last hurdle with Governor Newsom, so we urge you to keep the supportive momentum going for AB 1454:

Read LA! Storytime Has Distributed Over 2,600 Books to Children

In response to the Los Angeles County wildfires, Read LA! launched our Bringing Comfort through Stories initiative—also called Read LA! Storytime—in February 2025, which has been going strong and making an impact ever since. With Storytimes and giveaways of backpacks full of books, this program brings comfort and joy to children affected by the wildfires, offering them a moment of escape and healing through stories. Since February, Read LA! Storytime has…

• Brought over 2,600 books directly to children at 19 events

• Reached over 1,600 students with the help of 49 trained volunteers

• Received more than 14,000 books as generous donations for our giveaways from Scholastic, PaperPie, and Age of Learning

Storytimes and book giveaways have been held across Los Angeles County—particularly in affected communities like Altadena and Pasadena—in libraries, parks, and youth community spaces, like the YMCA and Boys & Girls Clubs. If you also want to volunteer for this program and bring literacy to children, register here!

Become a Read LA! Literacy Ambassador in Your Community!

Read LA! is recruiting passionate people for Cohort 5 of our Literacy Ambassador program! Using free training, resources, and guidance from FIS, Literacy Ambassadors engage with parents in their local Los Angeles communities to promote early literacy and support families with knowledge on how to support their children's reading development. Our current 45 Ambassadors have participated in this program in a variety of powerful ways:

• Tabling and distributing resources at community events

• Advocating in Sacramento to support early literacy legislation

• Leading literacy conversations with families at schools for Community Pláticas and other events

We’re looking for another 20 Ambassadors to join Cohort 5, and we welcome any parent, caregiver, educator, or community advocate to apply! Together, we can address the literacy crisis by equipping families with the tools and resources to support their children at home and advocate for them at school. Join today to make a lasting impact in Los Angeles!

Family Resource Corner: Guides to Help Your Family During the Current ICE Raids & Deportations

As the current administration’s ICE raids and deportations continue across California, FIS wants to ensure that families remain informed on their rights and have plans in place so they can feel safer and children can keep learning during these difficult times. We invite you to explore the following resources to support your child and stay prepared:

EdSource prepared a quick guide that provides tips and resources on how families can talk with children about their feelings, prepare for emergencies, create a child care plan, find remote mental health support for their child, and practice healthy coping skills together. With this guide, families can help alleviate some of their child’s fear and anxiety and do what they can to support their mental well-being.

LAUSD’s We Are One campaign has prepared several guides, webinars, toolkits, and more on this page to help students be supported and families be prepared for emergencies. Some of the resources include a one-page resource guide, a “Preparing for Immigration-Related Emergencies” webinar, a step-by-step family preparedness plan, and more.

CHIRLA have kept their website updated with new, updated, and relevant resources to help families during these times. This includes an updated rights card, a caregiver authorization affidavit, new know your rights videos, an FAQ, and much more. We strongly encourage families to keep checking out CHIRLA’s website to stay as informed and updated as possible.

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For 25 years, Families In Schools (FIS) has served low-income, immigrant, and communities of color, knowing that education remains the single most important opportunity for them. The mission of Families In Schools is to involve families and communities in their children’s education to achieve lifelong success. Read LA!, powered by FIS, is a campaign to ensure all children in Los Angeles can read and thrive.