Assemblymember Mike Gipson Takes on California's Literacy Crisis with AB 2683

AB 2683, as introduced, Gipson. Arts education: pupils from extremely low income communities: grant program.

Existing law establishes a system of public elementary and secondary schools in this state and authorizes local educational agencies throughout the state to operate schools and provide instruction to pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive. Existing law establishes in state government the Arts Council and imposes various duties on the council to foster arts development and to award grants and prizes to individuals and organizations in the arts, as provided.

This bill would create the California Student Author Art and Literacy Project as a grant program for the benefit of pupils from extremely low income communities. The bill would appropriate $1,000,000 from the General Fund to the Arts Council in the 2018–19 fiscal year for purposes of providing grant awards to nonprofit organizations for purposes of the program, as specified. The bill would require a grant recipient, during the 2019–20 and 2020–21 school years, to establish a pupil author book publishing program for pupils in grades 6 to 12, inclusive, from housing developments with a median income level of 30% of area median income.

The bill would require a grant recipient to provide participating pupils an opportunity to write, edit, and promote a short story and would require a grant recipient to operate weekly pupil author workshops, as provided. The bill would require the Arts Council, not later than January 1, 2022, to report to the Legislature on the outcomes of the California Student Author Art and Literacy Project.

The bill was inspired by programs such as the upcoming Imperial Courts Resident Student Authors Book Signing happening Thursday, February 22, 2018 at Cal State Dominguez Hills, hosted by CJ Miller, President of H-Eleven:1 Innovation, LLC, home of PHABB5.

The mission of Phabb5 is to reinvigorate, inspire, and unite communities at their core by creating turnkey comprehensive book publishing programs that help students standout during every phase of life.

Mike Gipson is an American politician currently serving in the California State Assembly. He is a Democrat representing the 64th Assembly District, which encompasses portions of the South Bay region of Los Angeles County.

Gipson is a member of the California Legislative Black Caucus. Prior to being elected to the Assembly in 2014, he was a Carson City Councilmember.

Learn more about the work of Mike Gipson at https://a64.asmdc.org/

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