The presidents of both the Ohio Education Association and Ohio Federation of Teachers praised DeWine for making literacy a priority in a new state budget bill. But both object to DeWine鈥檚 attempt in that same bill to make Ohio one of the first states to ban teachers using 鈥渃ueing鈥� 鈥� having young students figure out what a word is through context or pictures 鈥� in reading lessons. 

That strategy is a large part of long-used teaching approaches like whole language or balanced literacy.

鈥淚 would strongly, strongly urge the house to consider removal of language that explicitly bans any particular instructional practices,鈥� OEA President Scott DiMauro told an Ohio House subcommittee considering DeWine鈥檚 plan last week.

DiMaruo said if the state offers training and teaching materials for science of reading, 鈥渢here’s no need for the heavy hand of the state government to single out any specific instructional practices.鈥�

OFT President Melissa Cropper said limiting teachers to one approach would take away other methods that may work best for some students.

鈥淏anning certain methods opens the door to politically-charged attacks that can limit a teacher鈥檚 ability to choose the most appropriate method for meeting a student鈥檚 needs,鈥� she told the subcommittee.

But DeWine, acting state education superintendent Stephanie Siddens and legislative leaders in the state鈥檚 Republican majority, which has often dismissed union concerns, are not deviating from DeWine鈥檚 plan to join Arkansas and Louisiana in banning cueing in favor of phonics-based lessons. Teachers still hope ongoing discussions with DeWine and his staff can help shape the final bill.

DeWine has been promoting science of reading at events in Columbus, Dayton and Cincinnati, including a discussion Thursday in which former Mississippi state Superintendent Carey Wright came to Columbus to tell how changing to science of reading approaches helped students there leap from 49th in 4th grade reading nationally in 2013 to 22nd in 2022 on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).

Siddens called three-cueing 鈥渃ounter-productive鈥� for students after that event, in which Wright and others dismissed that approach as having children 鈥済uess鈥� at words.

鈥淵ou can’t guess your way into reading,鈥� Wright said. 鈥淵ou have to be taught explicitly how to read.鈥�

DeWine, when told after that meeting that teachers had called his plan too limiting, disagreed: 鈥淭he science of reading is not one size fits all.鈥� 

鈥淟ook at what the state of Mississippi did,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey did it, frankly, by being very strong in regard to the science of reading. So the evidence is just 鈥� there.鈥�

Andrew Brenner, the Republican chairman of Ohio鈥檚 Senate Education Committee, said he sees such strong support for DeWine鈥檚 plan he sees less need to file a separate bill to require phonics to be taught.

鈥淲e believe that the governor鈥檚 plan will get through the budget mostly intact,鈥� he said.

He dismissed teachers鈥� objections about banning cueing, asking if teachers prefer the low reading scores of many third graders on state tests, which DeWine has cited as a reason for his push.

Cropper said blaming any teaching approach for low scores 鈥渋s an unsafe assumption.鈥�

鈥淭here has been no analysis done on which districts are using which teaching methods or curriculum,鈥� she said. 鈥淢any other factors contribute to students鈥� academic success including their socioeconomic status.鈥�

More than half of all states have passed laws encouraging or incorporating science of reading in classrooms, as the so-called 鈥渞eading wars鈥� have ramped up over the last 10 years. Ohio has made science of reading part of the state鈥檚 recommended literacy improvement strategy since 2018, but has not required schools to use it.

DeWine鈥檚 proposed ban would go much further. Similar legislation has been filed in Indiana (SB 402), New Hampshire (HB 437), Florida (SB 758), West Virginia (SB 274), and Texas (HB 2162) with experts expecting more soon in Nevada, Oklahoma, and South Carolina.

Mississippi, however, did not have such a ban to achieve the results DeWine praised. After DeWine and Carey spoke at the same event last week, the OFT鈥檚 Cropper asked Carey from the audience if Mississippi needed a ban or just focused on promoting and teaching science of reading.

Carey said there was no such ban, but the state continually told schools and teachers to avoid cueing and that teachers were often glad to be trained in science of reading methods, for which they received continuing education credits.

Both Cropper and DiMauro testified they would prefer promoting science of reading over any bans or mandating training for all teachers as DeWine wants. They praised DeWine for setting aside money in the budget for training, stipends for teachers doing the training, and for books and other curriculum materials for districts wanting to change.

But they raised concerns over DeWine鈥檚 aim to have the entire state change by the fall of 2024 and forcing even high school science and math teachers to do training. They noted that the state department of education doesn鈥檛 have a training plan yet, doesn鈥檛 know how long such training would need to be, how many teachers already have strong science of reading training and how well state teacher training programs are teaching it.

鈥淲e ask that all of you seriously look at, not just what does it take to implement or impose some state level mandates in terms of literacy instruction, but to truly get buy-in and meaningful implementation of that program,鈥� DiMauro said. 鈥淲e know there are many unanswered questions right now.鈥�

Currently, state law allows districts to teach reading however they want. Under his proposed bill, Gov. Mike DeWine would force them to pick only phonics-based Science of Reading materials from a list the Ohio Department of Education will create. 

Dewine has also asked the state legislature to ban use of any 鈥渢hree cueing鈥� materials or lessons 鈥� an approach considered the foundation of popular teaching methods known as Whole Language, Balanced Literacy or, particularly in Ohio, Reading Recovery. 

鈥淭he jury has returned,鈥� DeWine, a Republican, said in his State of the State speech late last month where he led off his address with the importance of the Science of Reading. 鈥淭he evidence is clear. The verdict is in.鈥�

鈥淭here is a great deal of research about how we learn to read,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd today, we understand the great value and importance of phonics. Not all literacy curriculums are created equal, and sadly, many Ohio students do not have access to the most effective reading curriculum.鈥�

DeWine is seeking $129 million from the legislature to retrain teachers and replace elementary school textbooks. 

With hearings on the bill just beginning, it鈥檚 still unclear whether DeWine鈥檚 ban, which other states are also considering, will win support. 

While DeWine鈥檚 plan to back the Science of Reading won strong applause at his speech and praise from some Republicans, there has been no debate yet on his ban, which only became public when bill language was released a week ago. And one of the state鈥檚 teachers unions has raised concerns about mandating a single approach to teaching reading.

There could also be logistical issues to such a dramatic shift going into effect in less than 19 months. 

How many Ohio schools or teachers will need to change how reading is taught remains unclear: The state does not track how many teachers are trained in the Science of Reading or how many elementary schools are using it to teach children. The state education department could only say that 鈥渕any鈥� teachers are not trained in the Science of Reading. 

Additionally, the state鈥檚 Department of Higher Education said  it does not know which reading methods colleges and universities are training prospective teachers in.

DeWine鈥檚 ban also puts Ohio State University鈥檚 Reading Recovery, a widely used reading intervention program based on three-cueing, in his crosshairs. Officials of the program did not respond to requests for comment.

The so-called 鈥淩eading Wars鈥� of the last decade have pitched supporters of phonics against those who back related methods like whole language and balanced literacy in which students are taught to guess words they don鈥檛 know from cues such as context, pictures or letters.

As studies in support of phonics and other Science of Reading concepts have mounted, even ardent champions of other methods like Lucy Calkins of Columbia University鈥檚 Teachers College have backed down and started incorporating more phonics into their books and lessons.

In the last 10 years, more than half of all states have passed laws encouraging or incorporating Science of Reading in classrooms. Ohio has moved in that direction in recent years, making Science of Reading part of the state鈥檚 recommended literacy improvement strategy, but not requiring schools to use it.

Only a few states have gone as far as DeWine proposes, including Arkansas and Louisiana, which have already banned schools from using any of the methods based on three-cueing. 

But officials in eight other states are joining Ohio in seeking similar bans, according to Tom Greene, national legislative director for ExcelinEd in Action, the education advocacy group created by former Florida Republican Gov. Jeb Bush. 

Legislation has been filed in Indiana (SB 402), New Hampshire (HB 437), Florida (SB 758), West Virginia (SB 274), and Texas (HB 2162) with bills expected soon in Nevada, Oklahoma, and South Carolina outlawing three-cueing, he said.

鈥淓liminating three cueing is a strong step in the right direction to ensure all kids are proficient readers by the end of the third grade,鈥� Greene said. 鈥淭hese state leaders are looking at the research, hearing personal stories of struggling readers and listening to the concerns of teachers about the harmful effects of this approach.鈥�

But Scott DiMauro, president of the Ohio Education Association, one of two teachers unions in the state, has already said educators shouldn鈥檛 be limited in how they teach reading. 

DiMauro said last week 鈥� before the full scope of DeWine鈥檚 plan was made public 鈥� that all teachers use phonics as part of their lessons, but they are 鈥渏ust one piece of a larger puzzle鈥� when it comes to teaching reading, and that a聽鈥渙ne size fits all鈥� solution was not a good move.聽

 鈥淎s far as saying approach x versus approach y, as a prescribed reading plan, we don’t don’t think it’s appropriate,鈥� DiMauro said. 

Ohio State Senate education committee chair Andrew Brenner, who plans his own bill to require phonics, predicted the change would not only affect elementary schools, but also the state鈥檚 universities and teacher training programs. 

DeWine鈥檚 plan sets aside $43 million in each of the next two years for the Ohio Department of Education to create training in the Science of Reading for any teacher who hasn鈥檛 had it, run training sessions and pay teachers a stipend for attending.

DeWine鈥檚 plan is built into his proposed two-year state budget. Though the budget bill won鈥檛 likely be passed until just before the end of June, portions of it could be split off for a vote sooner as part of Brenner鈥檚 bill or others.