Teachers in New Jersey will no longer be required to read and write at a basic level after a new law came into effect.
As of Wednesday, Jan. 8, teachers will not need to pass a basic reading, writing and mathematics test which assesses their literacy skills to a sixth-grade level. The new law, Act 1669, was signed by Gov. Phil Murphy in June 2024.
The law states, “[T]he State Board of Education shall not require a candidate seeking a certificate of eligibility, a certificate of eligibility with advanced standing, a provisional certificate, or a standard instructional certificate to complete a Commissioner of Education-approved test of basic reading, writing, and mathematics skills including, but not limited to, the Praxis Core Academic Skills for Educators test, in order to obtain a certificate of eligibility, a certificate of eligibility with advanced standing, a provisional certificate, or a standard instructional certificate.”
The new law is designed to remove what the New Jersey Education Association described as “barriers” into teaching, but it will effectively open the door to DEI hires within education, as the true purpose for it was to help meet certain diversity objectives. As is always the case, when certain “diverse” groups fail to meet standards, the standards are immediately branded “racist” and then reduced. This can even be seen at the gender-level, when standards for male jobs like firefighter are lower for women, simply because they’re exceedingly possible for a woman to pass.
Many on social media were bamboozled by the law’s introduction.
Others mentioned how it was yet another law to promote DEI.
