‘Science of Reading’ Bill’s Death Is No Mystery. The Union Did It

A California Assembly bill that would have required a “science of reading” approach to teaching young children to read has died after a strong “no” from the teachers union. Assembly Bill 2222, introduced in February by Assemblywoman Blanca Rubio, would have mandated all schools use the “science of reading” approach, which focuses on phonics, or sounding out letters, groups of letters and syllables to form words. However, the bill will not advance this year, Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas told education news outlet EdSource last week, saying it should be reviewed by all key stakeholders before there is a “costly overhaul” of how reading is taught in the state....