Reading Rules

California teachers' unions aren't happy about actually aving to teach kids:

Last year, a new bill was introduced to force more school districts in the state to embrace phonics, but even at the time it was clear that teachers unions and special interest groups were likely to oppose it. AB 2222, introduced by Assemblymember Blanca Rubio, a Democrat from West Covina, is backed by Marshall Tuck, who ran for California superintendent of public instruction in 2018. Tuck is now the chief executive officer of EdVoice, an education policy organization. It’s also backed by the advocacy groups Decoding Dyslexia California and Families in Schools... Although research is clear that phonics is a more effective approach to literacy, the so-called “reading wars” are far from over. Advocates for English learners have sometimes been reluctant to embrace phonics — which focuses on sounding out words, rather than sight memorization — because it may not take into account English learners’ unique language needs and skills... Teachers unions also have a history of opposing legislation that requires specific teaching methods, particularly related to literacy. Teachers, they have argued, should have the freedom to use whatever approaches work best with their students. That's true even though recent evidence shows that some of the poorest states in the US are now outperforming California on literacy (largely because those states embraced phonics). Data shown above from Stanford and Harvard universities’ Education Recovery Scorecard reveals the stark contrast. Mississippi’s students were below California’s in 2016, and half a year behind the national average in reading. Mississippi made steady progress until 2019, but both states suffered similar-sized learning losses during the pandemic. Their paths to recovery have diverged sharply: Mississippi students now read above average while California students are worse off than those in 2016. A student in Jackson now reads a quarter of a school year ahead of a similar student in Sacramento. This is the result not of a short-term fix but from a decade of intensive focus on reading throughout the state. California policymakers may be angered by the comparison, but they can’t ignore or dismiss the data. California policymakers should not be able to ignore or dismiss the data and yet, when the unions tell them to block the bill on phonics that's what lawmakers do. In fact, as anticipated, they killed the phonics bill without even a hearing. California Democrats silently killed a bipartisan bill to mandate the science of reading, refusing to even discuss the topic publicly. Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, D-Hollister, and Assembly Member Al Muratsuchi, D-Rolling Hills Estates (Los Angeles County), who leads the Assembly Education Committee (and is running for state superintendent of public instruction next year) tabled the bill without a hearing amid fierce opposition from influential interest groups — including the California Teachers Association and Californians Together, which advocates for English language learners. Yes, you read that correctly — ensuring California kids receive the most effective reading lessons didn’t even merit a discussion among Democrats in the face of union opposition... Leslie Littman, vice president of the California Teachers Association, argued the bill would weaken local control over education. “Teacher input, teacher voice, in the decision-making process with the curriculum and the development of that are vitally important,” she said. Littman also said the bill doesn’t come with funding — though Rubio told the editorial board there’s money for curriculum development and teacher training in Newsom’s proposed budget. Supporters of the bill were understandably angry. Lori DePole, co-state director of Decoding Dyslexia CA, one of the supporters of the bill, expressed frustration Thursday evening over the decision to table it. “It is shameful that when more than half of CA kids aren’t reading at grade level that our legislators are okay with the status quo, and they have killed this literacy legislation without even allowing it to be heard,” she said in a statement. “… CA kids’ futures are too important to allow backroom politics to silence this issue. We will no longer accept lip service in addressing our literacy crisis. It is time for action, and we aren’t going away.” The SF Chronicle editorial board is similarly at a loss to explain how this can even be controversial in a state that has fallen behind Mississippi in reading. "Isn’t California ranking far below Mississippi for early childhood literacy enough of a wake-up call?" the editorial asks.

Maybe not, but if the unions have their way, they might be...