California’s ‘anti-literacy’ teachers’ union opposes science of reading bill, critics say

The largest teachers’ union in California opposes reading reforms because it wants the bar to remain low, some education policy experts say.

The California Teachers Association (CTA) is openly opposing AB 2222, a bill which would help schools implement evidence-based reading instruction over the next four years.

“People forget that their job as a teachers’ union is not to educate. Their job is to get more teachers’ union members,” Lance Christensen, vice president of education policy at the California Policy Council, told The Lion.

“They can’t get more members [for] their union if there’s a high bar for those members,” he continued, “so they want to keep the bar for membership in their union as low as possible. That includes hiring not just illiterate teachers but also teachers who have no desire to really further their education.”

In its current form, AB 2222 requires the state’s Commission on Teacher Credentialing, educator preparation programs, professional development programs, and school districts to align their various standards with the science of reading. 

Teachers who haven’t previously been trained in the science of reading would need to undergo it by June 2028. 

Pilot programs in low-performing California schools found science-based reading instruction boosted learning by 25% and even improved math by 12%. 

However, the CTA has a laundry list of complaints about the proposed reforms.  

In a letter to Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi, chair of the Assembly Education Committee, CTA claimed the science of reading is a “one-size-fits-all approach” and said codifying it would be “problematic because research on reading instruction is not static and it can and should change over time.” 

It also complained the method would not serve English Language Learners (ELLs) and might not “reflect the values, priorities, and cultural context of the local community.” 

Christensen called the union’s arguments “garbage.” 

“If you have a literacy program that is scientifically based and effective, you’ll be more successful with your [ELL] students,” he explained. “The one-size-fits-all argument is garbage because if you have teachers who are trained about how to teach literacy properly, they’re actually going to teach each kid differently and independently and not just throw a book at them and hope that they can figure it out.” 

AB 2222 is filed as a bipartisan bill with 17 sponsors – 14 Democrat and 3 Republican.  

Nationwide, the science of reading has been a winning issue since members of both political parties have acknowledged the growing literacy crisis and sought commonsense solutions.  

In California, nearly two-thirds of 3rd graders can’t read at grade level. 

Being a proficient reader by 4th grade is vital, researchers say, as the milestone has been shown to be an indicator of success both in high school and in future careers. 

Previous efforts to reform reading in education have lacked teeth, some say, and Christensen is concerned AB 2222 may eventually lose its teeth, if approved. 

“I’ll be watching the bill fairly closely to see when the ‘shalls’ become ‘mays,’ when it goes from a requirement to a permissive bill,” he concluded. “That’s likely to happen in the coming weeks and months as this is negotiated. 

“CTA is not going to give up any leverage on this bill at all.”