Celebrating a Milestone for Literacy and Multilingual Learners: Reflections on AB 1454

Celebrating a Milestone for Literacy and Multilingual Learners: Reflections on AB 1454

This spring, SEAL welcomed Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi to classrooms in Azusa Unified School District, where he saw firsthand what effective, evidence-based literacy instruction looks like in action.

In those classrooms, teachers were bringing language to life—integrating content, foundational reading skills, oral language, and meaning-making in ways that reflected the English Language Arts/English Language Development (ELA/ELD) Framework. Students were engaged, confident, and proud of their voices.

These powerful visits helped demonstrate how comprehensive literacy instruction—anchored in language development and grounded in the assets of multilingual learners—can drive student success. They also helped shape the vision behind Assembly Bill 1454, introduced by Speaker Robert Rivas, which aims to enhance literacy instruction statewide.

SEAL proudly joined partners in support of AB 1454, recognizing it as a crucial step toward advancing equitable, inclusive literacy systems that reflect what multilingual learners need to thrive. We are deeply grateful for the partnerships that made this moment possible—including Californians Together, CABE, and CTA—whose collective advocacy helped make this milestone a reality.

In a powerful commentary published by EdSource, SEAL’s partner Martha Hernández, Executive Director of Californians Together, highlights the historic signing of Assembly Bill 1454—a landmark moment for California’s literacy and multilingual education landscape. As she shared, AB 1454 is not about narrowing literacy instruction to one approach—it’s about realizing California’s long-standing, comprehensive vision for literacy that meets the needs of all students, including the state’s 1.1 million English learners.‍

This legislation ensures that literacy instruction remains comprehensive, inclusive, and aligned with California’s ELA/ELD Framework—a model nationally recognized for integrating foundational reading skills with oral language, writing, comprehension, and language development for all students.

AB 1454 advances this vision in three key ways:

• Teacher Preparation: Ensures educators are trained to teach literacy grounded in the ELA/ELD Framework, including strategies that build on students’ home languages.
• Instructional Materials: Calls for high-quality resources in multiple languages so teachers can leverage students’ linguistic strengths.
• Professional Development: Funds ongoing training that connects phonics and foundational skills with meaning-making, oral language, and comprehension.

As Martha noted, for English learners, effective literacy goes beyond decoding words—it’s about making meaning, connecting ideas, and building on what they already know in their home language.

SEAL’s professional learning approach is deeply aligned with the ELA/ELD Framework—equipping teachers with research-based strategies that integrate language and literacy across content areas, elevate oral language, and build on students’ home languages as assets for learning. Through coaching, collaboration, and hands-on classroom practice, SEAL supports educators in bringing this framework to life every day.

As Martha wrote, AB 1454 represents collaboration and fidelity to what works, reaffirming California’s commitment to an inclusive and evidence-informed vision for literacy.

At SEAL, we are honored to have been part of this journey from classroom practice to state policy—helping demonstrate what’s possible when we see language as power.

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Read the full commentary by Martha Hernández on EdSource.

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