Here's what you need to know in California

The 2025-26 school year is the first time California has required universal reading screening for all public school students in kindergarten through second grade. If your child is in K-2 at a California public school, they will be — or have already been — screened for risk of reading difficulties, including dyslexia.

This is new for California. The law (SB 114, which added Education Code §53008) was signed in July 2023, the state panel approved the screening instruments in December 2024, and school districts had until June 30, 2025 to adopt a screener. That means implementation is still in its early stages — some schools are further along than others in how they communicate results and provide support.

Here's what you need to know about how screening works, what your rights are, and what to do next.

How Screening Works in California

Under Education Code §53008, every school district (the law uses the term "local educational agency," or LEA — which in most cases is your school district or charter school) serving K-2 students must screen each student once per year for risk of reading difficulties, including dyslexia.

The state approved four screening instruments in December 2024. Your school district chose one (or more) of these by June 30, 2025:

• Amira — published by Amira Learning (distributed with HMH), for grades K-2, available in English and Spanish. Uses AI to listen to your child read aloud and assess their skills.
• mCLASS with DIBELS 8 and mCLASS Lectura — published by Amplify Education, for grades K-2, available in English and Spanish. DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills) is one of the most widely used reading assessments in the country.
• Multitudes — developed by the UCSF Dyslexia Center, for grades K-2, available in English and Spanish. This is a California-specific tool developed with $28 million in state funding. The initial assessment takes 10-13 minutes depending on the grade.
• ROAR (Rapid Online Assessment of Reading) — developed by Stanford University's Brain Development and Education Lab, for grades 1-2 only (not kindergarten), available in English only.

Each screener measures foundational reading skills — things like your child's ability to recognize letter sounds, decode words, and read fluently. The screening is brief (typically 10-20 minutes) and is meant to identify children who may need additional support, not to diagnose dyslexia or any other condition.

Your school district should have notified you about the screening at least 15 days before it was administered. If your child enrolled after the initial screening window, the school has 45 days from enrollment to complete the screening.

Opting out: You can opt out of the screening by submitting a written request. Students who already have an IEP (Individualized Education Program) or a 504 Plan also have the option to opt out. The screening does not replace any existing evaluations or services your child receives through special education.

What Screening Results Mean

Your school must share your child's screening results with you within 45 calendar days of the assessment. The results must include information on how to interpret them and, if your child is identified as at risk, what supports and services are available.

The specific result categories vary by screener — some may use terms like "at risk," "some risk," and "low risk," while others use benchmark categories. But the core question the screening answers is the same: based on the skills measured, does your child appear to need additional support with reading?

A few important things to understand:

Screening is not a diagnosis. Being identified as "at risk" for reading difficulties does not mean your child has dyslexia. It means the screening flagged areas where your child's reading skills may benefit from targeted support. Some children who are flagged respond quickly to additional instruction. Others may need further evaluation to understand what's going on.

Results cannot be used against your child. The law is explicit: screening results cannot be used for any high-stakes purpose. They cannot be used for holding your child back (what the law calls "retention"), placing your child in or out of gifted programs, reclassifying English learners, evaluating teachers, or making accountability decisions. The purpose of the screening is to inform instruction and identify students who need support — nothing more.

If your child is a multilingual learner — particularly a student who speaks a language other than English or Spanish at home — the screening process may look different. Three of the four approved screeners are available in both English and Spanish. For students who don't speak sufficient English to be validly screened with an English-language instrument, the law directs schools to use other assessments and information to determine whether the student may be at risk. The CDE has published guidance for schools on how to handle this, but implementation varies by district.

What Your School Must Do

If your child is identified as at risk for reading difficulties after screening, the law requires your school to provide supports and services appropriate to the challenges the screening identified. These may include:

• Evidence-based literacy instruction focused on your child's specific needs
• Progress monitoring to track how your child responds to the additional support
• Referral to a school's broader system of reading support (sometimes called "tiered" support or MTSS — a framework where students receive increasing levels of reading help based on their needs)
• Referral for a special education evaluation if the school suspects a disability

The law does not specify exactly what support must look like — it defers to the school to determine what's appropriate based on the screening results and other information about your child. This means the support your child receives will vary by district and school.

What the law does require is that your results notification includes information about these next steps. If you received results but no information about what happens next, ask your child's teacher or the school's reading specialist what support plan is in place.

Your Rights as a Parent

You have the right to be informed. The school must tell you about the screening at least 15 days in advance, share results within 45 days, and explain what the results mean and what support is available.

You have the right to opt out. You can decline the screening in writing. This does not affect your child's eligibility for any other services or evaluations.

You can request a full evaluation at any time. Regardless of whether your child was screened, and regardless of the results, you have the right to request a full evaluation for special education services under IDEA (the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act — the federal law that ensures students with disabilities receive appropriate support). If you believe your child may have dyslexia or another learning difference, you can put your request in writing to your school.

You can request a 504 Plan. If your child has dyslexia or another condition that affects their learning but doesn't require the comprehensive services of an IEP, a 504 Plan can provide accommodations — things like extra time on tests, audiobooks, or preferential seating.

California's Dyslexia Guidelines apply. California has had Dyslexia Guidelines in place since 2017 (stemming from AB 1369, signed in 2015). These guidelines direct schools on how to identify and support students with dyslexia. The new screening mandate works alongside these existing guidelines — screening is the first step in a broader process.

You have access to state-funded resources. California has invested significantly in literacy: $40 million for teacher training on screening administration (through SB 153), and $480 million for evidence-based literacy instruction through AB 1454 (signed October 2025). While this funding flows to schools, not directly to families, it means your child's school should have more resources available for reading support than in previous years.

What If My Child Is in Private School?

• California's screening mandate under Education Code §53008 applies to public schools and charter schools. Your private school is not required to screen for reading difficulties under this law.
• Under federal law (IDEA Child Find), you can request a free evaluation from your local public school district — even if your child attends private school. The district is required to identify and evaluate children with suspected disabilities who reside in their boundaries, regardless of where they go to school.
• If your child is evaluated and found eligible for services, the support available while remaining in private school is more limited than what a public school student would receive. Services for privately placed students are funded through a proportional share of federal funds, not the full entitlement.
• You can use screening and evaluation results to work with your private school on accommodations and instructional approaches — even though they aren't legally required to provide them the way public schools are.

Where to Get Help

California Department of Education — Reading Difficulties Risk Screener The CDE's main page for the screening mandate. Includes the approved screener list with detailed information overviews, FAQs about screening requirements, and links to Education Code §53008. cde.ca.gov/be/cc/rd

CDE — Screening for Risk of Reading Difficulties FAQs Detailed questions and answers about what schools are required to do, parent notification timelines, opt-out procedures, and what happens after a child is identified as at risk. cde.ca.gov/ci/cl/screenerfaqs.asp

CDE — Dyslexia Resources California's Dyslexia Guidelines, links to the UCSF Dyslexia Center, and information about the state's dyslexia initiatives. cde.ca.gov/ci/cr/dy

Decoding Dyslexia California A grassroots parent-led advocacy organization. They were instrumental in passing both SB 114 and AB 1454. Their site includes parent resources, regional support groups across California, and information about how to advocate for your child. decodingdyslexiaca.org

UCSF Dyslexia Center An interdisciplinary research center at UC San Francisco that developed the Multitudes screener. They publish resources on dyslexia and reading development. dyslexia.ucsf.edu