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Why California Still Doesn’t Mandate Dyslexia Screening

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10 months ago

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Why California Still Doesn’t Mandate Dyslexia Screening


This article was originally published in CalMatters.

California sends mixed messages when it comes to serving dyslexic students.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is the most famous dyslexic political official in the country, even authoring a children’s book to raise awareness about the learning disability. And yet, California is one of 10 states that doesn’t require dyslexia screening for all children.

Education experts agree that early screening and intervention is critical for making sure students can read at grade level. But so far, state officials have done almost everything to combat dyslexia except mandate assessments for all students.

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“It needs to happen,” said Lillian Duran, an education professor at the University of Oregon who has helped develop screening tools for dyslexia. “It seems so basic to me.”

Since 2015, legislators have funded dyslexia research, teacher training and the hiring of literacy coaches across California. But lawmakers failed to mandate universal dyslexia screening, running smack into opposition from the California Teachers Association.

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The union argued that since teachers would do the screening, a universal mandate would take time away from the classroom. It also said universal screening may overly identify English learners, mistakenly placing them in special education.

The California Teachers Association did not respond to requests for comment for this story. In a letter of opposition to a bill in 2021, the union wrote that the bill “is unnecessary, leads to over identifying dyslexia in young students, mandates more testing, and jeopardizes the limited instructional time for students.”

In response, dyslexia experts double down on well-established research. Early detection actually prevents English learners — and really, all students — from ending up in special education when they don’t belong there.

While California lawmakers didn’t vote to buck the teachers union, they haven’t been afraid to spend taxpayer money on dyslexia screening. In the past two years, the state budget allocated $30 million to UC San Francisco’s Dyslexia Center, largely for the development of a new screening tool. Newsom began championing the center and served as its honorary chair in 2016 when he was still lieutenant governor.

“There’s an inadequate involvement of the health system in the way we support children with learning disabilities,” said Maria Luisa Gorno-Tempini, co-director of UCSF’s Dyslexia Center. “This is one of the first attempts at bridging science and education in a way that’s open sourced and open to all fields.”

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Parents and advocates say funding dyslexia research and developing a new screener can all be good things, but without mandated universal screening more students will fall through the cracks and need more help with reading as they get older.

Omar Rodriguez, a spokesperson for the governor did not respond to questions about whether Newsom would support a mandate for universal screening. Instead, he listed more than $300 million in state investments made in the past two years to fund more reading coaches, new teacher credentialing requirements and teacher training.

The screening struggle

Rachel Levy, a Bay Area parent, fought for three years to get her son Dominic screened for dyslexia. He finally got the screening in third grade, which experts say could be too late to prevent long-term struggles with reading.

“We know how to screen students. We know how to get early intervention,” Levy said. “This to me is a solvable issue.”

Levy’s son Dominic, 16, still remembers what it felt like trying to read in first grade.

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“It was like I was trying to memorize the shape of the word,” he said. “Even if I could read all the words, I just wouldn’t understand them.”

Dyslexia is a neurological condition that can make it hard for students to read and process information. But teachers can mitigate and even prevent the illiteracy stemming from dyslexia if they catch the signs early.

Levy, who also has dyslexia, said there’s much more research today on dyslexia than there was 30 years ago when she was first diagnosed. She said she was disappointed to find that California’s policies don’t align with the research around early screening.

“Unfortunately, most kids who are dyslexic end up in the special education system,” Levy said. “It’s because of a lack of screening.”

Soon after his screening in third grade, Dominic started receiving extra help for his dyslexia. He still works with an educational therapist on his reading, and he’s just about caught up to grade level in math. The biggest misconception about dyslexia, Dominic said, is that it makes you less intelligent or capable.

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“Dyslexics are just as smart as other people,” he said. “They just learn in different ways.”

The first step to helping them learn is screening them in kindergarten or first grade.

“The goal is to find risk factors early,” said Elsa Cárdenas-Hagan, a speech-language pathologist and a professor at the University of Houston. “When you find them, the data you collect can really inform instruction.”

Cárdenas-Hagan’s home state of Texas passed a law in 1995 requiring universal screening. But she said it took several more years for teachers to be trained to use the tool. Her word of caution to California: Make sure teachers are not only comfortable with the tool but know how to use the results of the assessment to shape the way they teach individual students.

A homegrown screener

UC San Francisco’s screener, called Multitudes, will be available in English, Spanish and Mandarin. It’ll be free for all school districts.

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Multitudes won’t be released to all districts at once. UCSF scientists launched a pilot at a dozen school districts last year, and they plan to expand to more districts this fall.

But experts and advocates say there’s no need to wait for it to mandate universal screenings. Educators can use a variety of already available screening tools in California, like they do in 40 other states. Texas and other states that have high percentages of English learners have Spanish screeners for dyslexia.

For English learners, the need for screening is especially urgent. Maria Ortiz is a Los Angeles parent of a dyslexic teenager who was also an English learner. She said she had to sue the Los Angeles Unified School District twice: once in 2016 to get extra help for her dyslexic daughter when she was in fourth grade and again in 2018 when those services were taken away. Ortiz said the district stopped giving her daughter additional help because her reading started improving.

“In the beginning they told me that my daughter was exaggerating,” Ortiz said.

“They said everything would be normal later.”

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California currently serves about 1.1 million English learners, just under a fifth of all public school students. For English learners, dyslexia can be confused with a lack of English proficiency. Opponents of universal screening, including the teachers association, argue that English learners will be misidentified as dyslexic simply because they can’t understand the language.

“Even the specialists were afraid that the problem might be because of the language barrier,” Ortiz said about her daughter’s case.

But experts say dyslexia presents a double threat to English learners: It stalls them from reading in their native language and impedes their ability to learn English. And while there are some Spanish-language screeners, experts from Texas and California say there’s room for improvement. Current Spanish screeners penalize students who mix Spanish and English, they say.

Duran, who helped develop the Spanish version of Multitudes, said the new screener will be a better fit for how young bilingual students actually talk.

“Spanglish becomes its own communication that’s just as legitimate as Spanish on its own or English on its own,” Duran said. “It’s about the totality of languages a child might bring.”

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Providing Multitudes free of cost is important to schools with large numbers of low-income students. Dyslexia screeners cost about $10 per student, so $30 million might actually be cost-effective considering California currently serves 1.3 million students in kindergarten through second grade. The tool could pay for itself in a few years. Although there are plenty of screeners already available, they can stretch the budgets of high-poverty schools and districts.

“The least funded schools can’t access them because of the cost,” Duran said.

In addition to the governor, another powerful state lawmaker, Glendale Democratic state Sen. Anthony Portantino, is dyslexic. While chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, he has repeatedly, and unsuccessfully, authored legislation to require public schools to screen all students between kindergarten and second grade.

Portantino’s 2021 bill received unanimous support in the Senate Education and Appropriations committees, but the bill died in the Assembly Education Committee. Portantino authored the same bill in 2020, but it never made it out of the state Senate.

“We should be leading the nation and not lagging behind,” Portantino said.

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Portantino blamed the failure of his most recent bill on former Democratic Assemblymember Patrick O’Donnell, who chaired the Assembly Education Committee, for refusing to hear the bill.

“It’s no secret, Patrick O’Donnell was against teacher training,” Portantino said. “He thought our school districts and our educators didn’t have the capacity.”

O’Donnell did not respond to requests for comment. Since O’Donnell didn’t schedule a hearing on the bill, there is no record of him commenting about it at the time.

Portantino plans to author a nearly identical bill this year. He said he’s more hopeful because the Assembly Education Committee is now under the leadership of Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi, a Democrat from Torrance. Muratsuchi would not comment on the potential fate of a dyslexia screening bill this year.

Levy now works as a professional advocate for parents of students with disabilities. She said without mandatory dyslexia screening, only parents who can afford to hire someone like her will be able to get the services they need for their children.

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“A lot of high school kids are reading below third-grade level,” she said. “To me, that’s just heartbreaking.”

This was originally published on CalMatters.



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California

De La Salle vs. Santa Margarita: live score, updates, highlights from California’s Open Division state championship bowl | Sporting News

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7 hours ago

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December 14, 2025

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De La Salle vs. Santa Margarita: live score, updates, highlights from California’s Open Division state championship bowl | Sporting News


MISSION VIEJO, California, Dec. 13 — The No. 7/SN No. 15 Santa Margarita [Rancho Santa Margarita, CA] Eagles ended a 14-year state championship drought Saturday night in a 47-13 romp past the No. 15/SN No. 25 De La Salle [Concord, CA] Spartans in California’s CIF Open Division state championship bowl.

While the win ended Santa Margarita’s drought, it prolonged De La Salle’s own dry spell in championship bowl games, extending the Spartan’s losing streak to eight games in these contests.

Santa Margarita is ranked as high as No. 4 in the country by three selectors (High School Football America, MaxPreps, and USA Today’s Super 25). In the High School Football America rankings, they’re ranked ahead of both the No. 1/SN No. 1 Buford [GA] Wolves and the No. 3/SN No. 5 Carrollton [GA] Trojans – two teams that will play for Georgia’s GHSA Class 6A championship on Tuesday night.

Whether the win over De La Salle can get the Eagles – who will finish the season with three losses at 11-3 – a share of the national title remains to be seen.

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De La Salle, meanwhile, ends its season at 12-1.

WATCH ON THE NFHS NETWORK: No. 7/SN No. 15 Santa Margarita [Rancho Santa Margarita, CA] Eagles vs. No. 15/SN No. 25 De La Salle [Concord, CA] Spartans

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Refresh for updates

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End of the fourth quarter: Santa Margarita 47, De La Salle 13

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SANTA MARGARITA 47, DE LA SALLE 13

Santa Margarita gets a pick six to put capper on this one.

 

 

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SANTA MARGARITA 41, DE LA SALLE 13

Johnson finds Gazzaniga for his second touchdown of the game. The tight end entered the game with two touchdown receptions all year, and he’s got two in the state title game.

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End of the third quarter: Santa Margarita 35, De La Salle 13

The first quarter is in the books, and it’s all Santa Margarita so far.

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SANTA MARGARITA 35, DE LA SALLE 13

De La Salle forces another turnover and converts it to points to give them a glimmer of hope that they can climb out of this deep hole.

 

 

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The third quarter is under way, and to make matters worse for De La Salle, Santa Margarita is on offense first.

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End of the second quarter: Santa Margarita 35, De La Salle 7

The first quarter is in the books, and it’s all Santa Margarita so far.

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Santa Margarita has been a different team offense since Mosley’s return around midseason. And they’re one half away from a state championship in Carson Palmer’s first year at the helm.

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SANTA MARGARITA 35, DE LA SALLE 7

Just over a minute to play in the first half, Mosley scores again on another short play, and then he adds the 2-point conversion. This feels like it’s over.

 

 

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SANTA MARGARITA 27, DE LA SALLE 7

It’s Duce plus a deuce. Santa Margarita marches right back down the field after the Spartans’ touchdown, and Duce Smith carries it in for another touchdown. And even with the score by De La Salle, Santa Margarita still has its biggest lead of the night after converting the 2-point conversion. It’s Johnson to Ryan Clark on the extra two.

 

 

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Santa Margarita into the red zone again.

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SANTA MARGARITA 19, DE LA SALLE 7

Helped along by the turnover and a couple of penalties, De La Salle’s offensive line shows some muscle in the trenches and they power their way down near the goal line where Jaden Jefferson carries it across. That felt like a must-score situation, and they get the touchdown. Now, can they stop Santa Margarita’s offense again?

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De La Salle gets its first real break. Mosley fumbles, and the Spartans pounce on it inside the Eagles’ 40. If they want to have any chance of staying in this game, they need to make the most of this short field.

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End of the first quarter: Santa Margarita 19, De La Salle 0

The first quarter is in the books, and it’s all Santa Margarita so far.

 

 

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SANTA MARGARITA 19, DE LA SALLE 0

Johnson finds Luke Gazzaniga on a wide-open post against a blown coverage. It’s too easy for the Eagles right now, and with their elite defense, it’s possible they’ve already scored enough to win this game.

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De La Salle with a quick three-and-out on offense, and they punt on a 4th-and-19. Mosley returns it inside De La Salle’s 35. This is already starting to look ugly.

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SANTA MARGARITA 13, DE LA SALLE 0

Trace Johnson finds Mosley with a short swing pass to the right side of the field, and the senior standout does his thing winding and weaving his way 34 yards through traffic before running over the final defender at the goal line. Again, the early feeling watching this is not good for De La Salle.

 

 

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Santa Margaria quickly approaching the red zone again.

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De La Salle puts together a good drive to get into position for a short field goal attempt. But it’s blocked by Santa Margarita, ending the scoring threat. If you’re a De La Salle fan, you’re encouraged by the offense being able to move against the Eagles. But combined with the defensive personal fouls on Santa Margarita’s first drive, you also get the feeling early that this could be a really tough night for the Spartans. It’s early, we’ll see how they rebound from the lost scoring opportunity.

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SANTA MARGARITA 7, DE LA SALLE 0

Helped along by a couple of personal foul penalties, Santa Margarita drives quickly on its first possession, scoring on a short run by Trent Mosley out of the Wildcat formation.

 

 

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Santa Margarita won the toss and deferred to the second half. De La Salle picks up one first down against this stout Eagles’ defense before being forced to punt.

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They’re under way in California! This is the final game of California’s high school football season.

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Coming soon!

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De La Salle vs. Santa Margarita start time

  • Date: Saturday, Dec. 13
  • Start time: 11 p.m. EST (8 p.m. PST local)

The game between De La Salle and Santa Margarita is being played at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, California.

How can I watch De La Salle vs. Santa Margarita today?

MORE HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PLAYOFF HEADLINES

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California

Two girls, 9 and 11, awarded $31.5m after sister’s California torture death

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19 hours ago

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December 13, 2025

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Two girls, 9 and 11, awarded .5m after sister’s California torture death


A lawsuit over the death of an 11-year-old California girl who was allegedly tortured and starved by her adoptive family reached a settlement on Friday totaling $31.5m from the city and county of San Diego as well as other groups.

The suit was brought on behalf of the two younger sisters of Arabella McCormack, who died in August 2022. The girls were ages six and seven at the time. Their adoptive mother, Leticia McCormack, and McCormack’s parents, Adella and Stanley Tom, are facing charges of murder, conspiracy, child abuse and torture. They pleaded not guilty to all charges, and their criminal case is ongoing.

Arabella McCormack. Photograph: San Diego county sheriff’s office

The lawsuit alleged a systemic failure across the city and several agencies and organizations to not report Arabella McCormack’s abuse.

The settlement includes $10m from the city of San Diego, $10m from San Diego county, $8.5m from the Pacific Coast Academy and $3m from the Rock church, the sisters’ attorney, Craig McClellan, said. The school oversaw Arabella McCormack’s home schooling, and her adoptive mother was an ordained elder at the church.

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“The amount is going to be enough to take care of the girls for the rest of the lives,” McClellan said. But it “isn’t going to be enough and never could be enough … to replace their sister, nor is it going to erase the memories of what they went through”.

The lawsuit said county social workers did not properly investigate abuse claims and two teachers at the Pacific Coast Academy failed to report the girl’s condition. It also said a San Diego police officer, a friend of the girl’s adoptive mother, gave the family a wooden paddle that they could use to hit their children.

San Diego sheriff’s deputies responded to a call of a child in distress at the McCormack home 30 August 2022. They found Arabella McCormack severely malnourished with bruises, authorities said. She was taken to a hospital, where she died.

Her sisters are now nine and 11 and living with a foster mother. They are in good health and “doing pretty well considering all things”, McClellan said.



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California High School Wrestlers To Watch – FloWrestling

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1 day ago

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December 13, 2025

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California High School Wrestlers To Watch – FloWrestling


California consistently produces an incredible amount of high school wrestling talent. The current crop of high schoolers from The Golden State has piled up a massive collection of accolades and has major next-level potential. Here’s a look at some of the top wrestlers to watch this year in California. 

Michael Bernabe (Fresno) — Freshman, 106 pounds

Bernabe is one of the top freshmen in the country and is currently ranked second nationally at 106 pounds. Bernabe had a productive offseason, placing sixth in Fargo and third at the Super 32. He will be looking to run the table and win a California state title as a freshman, but it will not come easily. He will likely have #3 Luke Loren and #5 Thales Silva, both of whom are also incredible freshmen who finished fourth and fifth, respectively, at Super 32, as well as #4 Eli Mendoza. 

Rocklin Zinkin (Buchanan) — Senior, 120 pounds

Zinkin is one of the nation’s fastest-rising prospects. The two-time California state finalist won his first state championship last season at 113 pounds and followed that up with an eye-popping summer, finishing third at U17 World Team Trials, winning Fargo in the Junior division and looking incredible at Super 32 on his way to the 120-pound belt. Those showings propelled Zinkin from #100 on the 2026 Big Board up to #11. The Oklahoma State commit is currently ranked #2 in the country at 120 pounds and could have a showdown with two-time U17 World Champion Sammy Sanchez this season in his quest to close his career with a second state title. 

Watch Zinkin dominate in the Super 32 finals

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Samuel Sanchez (Esperanza) — Sophomore, 120 pounds

The #1 prospect in the Class of 2028 Big Board is the truth. After winning the U17 World Championships in 2024, Sanchez won a state title as a freshman last season at 106 pounds and then one-upped himself by going back-to-back with his second U17 World title at 51 kg this summer in Athens, helping lead Team USA to the team championship. Sanchez is so much fun to watch, and if we were to get a matchup between him and Zinkin, it could be one of the nation’s most anticipated high school matches of the season. 

Watch Sanchez win his second U17 World Championship

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Moses Mendoza (Gilroy) — Senior, 132 pounds

Mendoza is another Californian who has made big jumps heading into his senior campaign. The returning state champion for Daniel Cormier’s Gilroy High School team placed third at the state tournament in 2024. He has a lengthy list of freestyle accolades. The Michigan recruit defeated his former high school teammate, Isaiah Cortez, for the Fargo Junior freestyle title at 132 pounds this summer and won Super 32 in October. The nation’s second-ranked 132-pounder could have a big test in front of him for his second state title in #3 Ashton Besmer. 

Watch Mendoza win his Super 32 belt

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Ashton Besmer (Buchanan) — Senior, 132 pounds

Besmer put together an incredible run to make the U17 World Team at 60 kilograms, punctuated by a sweep of U17 World champion Paul Kenny in the best-of-three championship series. Besmer also notched wins against Moses Mendoza and Manuel Saldate on his way to a Doc B title last season before finishing third at the state tournament. The Army West Point commit has worked his way up to #3 in the national rankings at 132 pounds and could be looking at a rubber match with Mendoza this season. Last year in the Doc B semifinals, Besmer defeated Mendoza 22-15 in a crazy match, but just two weeks later Mendoza got his revenge in the Five Counties finals with a 16-1 tech fall in two periods. 

Watch Besmer defeat Saldate for the 2025 Doc B title

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Joseph Toscano (Buchanan) — Senior, 144 pounds

The third and final Buchanan wrestler on this list, Toscano is a three-time California state runner-up, He won a Doc B title as a freshman back in 2023, followed by two runner-up finishes, and has also been fourth at Super 32 the last two years. The Cornell commit is looking to get over the final hurdle on his way to a state championship, but it won’t be easy. Along the way,  Toscano could match up with the likes of #7 Ivan Arias and #17 Arseni Kikiniou. 

Arseni Kikiniou (Poway) — Junior, 144 pounds

Arseni Kikiniou is an interesting prospect and a guy to watch this season. Kikiniou’s father was a Greco-Roman World bronze medalist and Olympian for Belarus before their family moved to the United States, and his influence is evident in Arseni’s wrestling. Arseni claimed a bronze medal in Greco and a silver in freestyle at the U17 World Championships this summer. Arseni has placed second and fifth, respectively, in his first two state tournament appearances. He recently made his commitment to Cornell and will be making a big jump up in weight this season to 144 pounds. It’ll be intriguing to see if his international success translates to even more folkstyle success this season, especially with a possible showdown with future Cornell teammate Toscano on the horizon. 

Watch Kikiniou win his U17 Greco-Roman World bronze medal

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Mason Ontiveros (Pitman) — Senior, 175 pounds

Ontiveros has had an impressive 2025, finishing second at the state tournament, taking third at NHSCAs, and placing second in Fargo in the Junior division at 175 pounds. This has vaulted Ontiveros up to #6 in the country at the weight. Ontiveros is an Oklahoma recruit who will be looking to close out his career with a state title in what could be an interesting weight class in California. As it currently stands, we could see #7 Mario Carini, #9 Travis Grace, #12 Isai Fernandez and #14 Slava Shahbazyana, along with Ontiveros, all battling it out for the 175-pound California state championship this season.

Watch Ontivero’s win in the 2025 Fargo Junior semifinals

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Coby Merrill (JW North) — Senior, 285 pounds 

Coby Merrill is one of the most physical wrestlers in the country at any weight class. After state runner-up finishes as a freshman and sophomore, Merrill dominated the 285-pound field last season, finishing 48-0 with 44 falls. Merrill finished sixth at the U20 World Team Trials this summer and finished second in Fargo. The second-ranked heavyweight in the country is a heavy favorite to win his second state title this season. 





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