A lawsuit against three long-time literacy experts, whose early reading curricula was criticized for not emphasizing daily phonics instruction, has been dismissed by the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, according to an order released May 22.
The legal challenge was filed last year against Lucy Calkins, Irene Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell. Also named in the lawsuit are Greenwood Publishing Group, Heinemann Publishing, HMH Education Co., and Columbia University’s Teachers College.
The two parent plaintiffs alleged that the curricula, which were sold to schools nationwide, led to academic setbacks for their children and burdened them with tutoring expenses and other costs.
But Judge Richard Stearns said "the court is not convinced" that the plaintiffs' claims of educational malpractice would hold up in court because of what the parents said was the curricula's deceptive marketing and misrepresentation, as well as their accusations that the defendants falsely claimed their products were research-based while ignoring scientific research to the contrary.
"The court cannot find defendants' research inadequate, however, without delving into the merits of defendants' approaches to literacy education," Stearns wrote.
The defendants, in a May 21 motion to dismiss, also pointed out the difficulty of litigating and deciding cases about educational theories or the quality of an educational program.
"Plaintiffs’ attempted end run around the educational quality doctrine runs in a circle, only to lead back to the same problem: There is no way to resolve their claims without taking up questions that are explicitly reserved to the non-judicial branches," their motion said.
Following the case’s dismissal, Calkins said in a May 23 emailed statement, "I am thrilled that the lawsuit against me, Gay Su Pinnell, Irene Fountas, and our publishers has been dismissed. The court rightly recognized that decisions about how best to teach reading should be made by educators. I'm glad that the lawsuit has been dismissed so we can all turn our attention to the urgent work of teaching America's children to read."
Embracing the science of reading
The parents' lawsuit followed a growing movement at the state and local levels to require instruction in science of reading approaches, which explicitly teaches students the connections between letters and sounds through decoding and phonetic memorization. Many states dedicated COVID-19 emergency funding to launch literacy initiatives that included science of learning methods.
Some educators and parents have blamed the balanced literacy curricula, which had been promoted by Calkins and others, for low literacy rates in the U.S. That model prioritizes guessing and contextual clues, such as theme and plot, to increase reader engagement and learning.
In 2022, Calkins, a professor at Columbia University’s Teachers College, revised her "Units of Study" curricula to include more phonics concepts and strategies. Calkins also developed a website of free literacy instruction resources, as well as support for educators and families involved in "reading wars" — a decades-long conflict about the best ways to teach young children how to read.
In a House budget hearing May 21, U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon said poor reading skills are at the center of students' low academic achievement. She called for more science of reading approaches and a focus on "fundamental basics."
“Because if we can get that right, I think we’re going to see a great deal of improvement in our schools across our country, but we’re not doing it,” McMahon said.
