The Literacy Task Force of the San Diego City Schools sought to develop a set of criteria for a balanced literacy program by using a process that involved all stakeholders--parents, teachers, businesses, higher education, and other community members. The balanced program, by its nature, would address the needs of all the city's students, with the goal that all students will meet grade-level performance standards even though some students will need specialized interventions. One hundred facilitators and recorders were trained to lead focus groups at the kickoff session and a series of town meetings. The general public was informed of these meetings through the media and specific invitations were issued to parents and concerned citizen groups. To maintain the voice of second language learners and special education students, sites with sufficient bilingual and special education staff were asked to conduct targeted focus groups for the needs of these special populations. Criteria were developed for materials and resources, content, the home-school connection, assessment, and instructional and organizational strategies. Among the criteria for materials and resources were requirements for authentic multicultural materials that reflect global themes. The home-school connection criteria provided for letters to parents in the family's primary language. Implementation of these criteria should help ensure a balanced literacy program for all the city's students. Two appendixes discuss group participant response categories and present the teacher response form. (Contains two figures, nine tables, and five references.) (SLD)