- In Democrat-dominated states, teachers unions consistently have the loudest voice when legislatures determine education policy. Mississippi shows what can happen when policymakers have greater freedom to pursue reform.
America has spent years searching for the secret to improving public education. When it comes to literacy, we may be overlooking one of the most important ingredients: freedom. Unfortunately, in too many states, the voice of the individual teacher has been drowned out by the political power of teachers unions.
Teachers enter the classroom because they want to help children learn. They see firsthand when a curriculum isn’t working. They know when students are falling behind and they deserve a meaningful voice when states decide how to fix broken education systems. Now, new research shows that states that give individual teachers a stronger voice in reforming education perform substantially better.
An analysis of literacy policies across the country found a strong relationship between teachers union power and states’ willingness to enact literacy reforms. Researchers examined 18 policies intended to improve early literacy and found that states with stronger teachers unions tended to adopt fewer of them.
That’s no coincidence. In Democrat-dominated states, teachers unions consistently have the loudest voice when legislatures determine education policy. These unions have enormous resources and sophisticated political operations. Individual teachers can’t contend with that.
When unions become the dominant voice claiming to speak for educators, teachers who disagree find themselves sidelined or intimidated. Lawmakers only hear from the union. Meanwhile, individual educators are left to conclude that their own participation will make little difference.
There is no world where union machines know more about what is needed in the classroom than the women and men in front of the chalkboard.
Mississippi shows what can happen when policymakers have greater freedom to pursue reform. In 2013, Mississippi was near the bottom of the country in student literacy. Rather than accept that reality, state leaders enacted sweeping reforms through the Literacy-Based Promotion Act and subsequent efforts. Mississippi emphasized evidence-based reading instruction, early screening and intervention, teacher training and accountability for ensuring children could read before moving through elementary school.
The results are remarkable, but shouldn’t be unsurprising. By 2024, Mississippi had climbed to seventh in literacy and 13th in math. It’s amazing what happens when educators are allowed to petition their elected officials and work together on solutions, instead of having their voices drowned out by political machines with dedicated agendas focused often on opposing change.
Here’s the secret: Mississippi has some of the weakest teachers unions in America—47th out of 50 states. Mississippi lawmakers seeking to change literacy policy do not face the same level of organized union power. Teachers remain free to make their voices heard because there is less institutional power standing between an unsuccessful status quo and lawmakers seeking to change it to the benefit of students. The improvements speak for themselves.
Contrast that with states where teachers unions wield far greater influence. The same national analysis found that states with stronger unions generally enacted fewer of the 18 literacy reforms researchers examined. States should not have to overcome powerful institutional resistance simply to change policies that aren’t working for children.
This issue also exposes a mistake we make far too often in debates over public education: treating teachers and teachers unions as though they are the same thing. Teachers are individuals. They have different opinions, different experiences and different ideas about what works in their classrooms. Membership in an organization should never mean surrendering that individuality.
The Supreme Court took an important step toward restoring that freedom in Janus v. AFSCME, recognizing that public employees cannot be forced to financially support a union as a condition of employment. But protecting worker freedom requires more than eliminating mandatory fees. It requires building a culture in which workers, not unions, are treated as the ultimate owners of their voices, their paychecks and their professional decisions.
Teachers should be empowered to support reforms they believe will help their students without fear of intimidation or discouragement that their voice doesn’t matter. Policymakers should listen directly to educators, parents and communities rather than allowing the most powerful interest group in the room to dominate the conversation.
Mississippi refused to accept the status quo. Every teacher in America deserves the freedom to help drive this kind of change and every child deserves an education system willing to make it.
David Guenthner
