(Maire Clayton, Headline USA) New Jersey removed literacy tests for public school teachers.
Act 1669 went into effect on Jan. 1 and was signed by Democrat Gov. Phil Murphy in response to a teacher shortage in the state.
The bill removed the requirement for teachers to pass an exam testing basic literacy skills, writing and math.
However, teachers will still be required to pass a Praxis Subject Tests which is specific to their field.
The bill was originally passed in June 2024.
Democrat Sen. Jim Beach praised the bill before it was passed, according to Fox News.
“We need more teachers,” Beach said. “This is the best way to get them.”
The New Jersey Education Association previously claimed the test was a barrier for teachers to receive their certification.
Critics quickly took to social media to address the lowered requirements in the Garden State.
Tesla founder Elon Musk questioned the move by the Democrat governor.
“So teachers don’t need to know how to read in New Jersey?” Musk wrote. “Seems like that would make it challenging to teach kids how to read.”
So teachers don’t need to know how to read in New Jersey?
Seems like that would make it challenging to teach kids how to read. https://t.co/xpkJo6swt1
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 5, 2025
Others said parents should either homeschool their children or put their kids in private school.
Some used sarcasm to express their disagreement with the move.
“Yay, we’re now hiring teachers who might not know how to read!” another wrote. “Because who needs literacy when you can teach by vibes alone?”
New York, California and Arizona previously lowered teaching standards years prior, according to Campus Safety Magazine.
Heather Peske, the president of the National Council on Teacher Quality, previously told USA TODAY the move to remove test standards will have a negative impact if new measures are not added.
“For states to drop standards without replacing them with another meaningful measure of academic aptitude doesn’t do anyone a favor in the long-term,” Peske said. “States are making it easier to become a teacher, though the job of being a teacher hasn’t gotten any easier.”
