Encinitas elementary students will face mandatory math screenings starting in the 2028-29 school year under a new state law signed Sunday, Sept. 27.

State Sen. Akilah Weber Pierson, a San Diego Democrat representing District 39, authored the measure. Senate Bill 1067 requires every California school district to assess kindergarten through second-grade students' math skills and provide evidence-based support to those who fall behind. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed it into law, as KPBS reported.

For the Encinitas Union School District, the mandate may not require a dramatic shift. EUSD already administers Math iReady assessments three times a year for students in grades one through six and twice a year for kindergartners, according to a district educational technology document published Aug. 27. The approximately 4,500-student district posted math scores more than twice the state average on 2024 state testing, according to inewsource.

The law targets a statewide problem with local dimensions. Fewer than half of San Diego County students performed at grade level in math on state assessments, according to state testing data cited by KPBS. For socioeconomically disadvantaged students, that figure dropped below 30%.

"If you don't learn multiplication, fractions are super difficult," said Marshall Tuck, chief executive officer of EdVoice, the nonprofit that sponsored the bill. "And if you don't learn fractions, algebra is out of reach."

Weber Pierson has also pointed to rising demand for remedial math courses at UC San Diego as evidence that early intervention is overdue.

The law encourages districts to use existing state funding for support, which could include one-on-one or small-group tutoring for students and coaching for elementary teachers. It does not come with new state dollars.

That gap drew opposition. The California Teachers Association, the Association of California School Administrators and the California Mathematics Council argued in an Aug. 12 letter that the mandate is premature without additional investment in teacher training and classroom support, according to EdSource. Kathlan Latimer of the California Mathematics Council urged the state Senate education committee in April to fund teacher training and additional support staff before requiring new assessments.

Neither EUSD nor the San Dieguito Union High School District has issued a public response to the law. EUSD's existing iReady program covers the K-2 grades targeted by SB 1067, but the district has not said whether its current assessments meet the new law's requirements.