Literacy education: pupil author book publishing program: 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 the State Department of Education a division known as the California State Library. This bill would create the California Student Author Project as a grant program for the benefit of public school pupils from extremely low-income communities. The bill would appropriate $1,000,000 from the General Fund to the California State Library 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 public school pupils in grades 6 to 12, inclusive, from a housing development operated under a city or county public housing program that is subsidized by the federal government and provides affordable housing. The bill would require a grant recipient to provide the participating public school 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 California State Library, not later than January 1, 2022, to report to the Legislature on the outcomes of the California Student Author Project.