Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) called for a shift in federal education policy, arguing that taxpayer-funded literacy programs should prioritize research-backed reading instruction methods amid concerns over declining student reading performance.
Cruz Pushes Science of Reading
On Saturday, in a post on X, Cruz said, "America is facing a national literacy crisis, while federal dollars continue to flow to outdated methods that fall short in teaching children to read."
"That policy should end," he added, while promoting the bipartisan Improving America’s Literacy Act, which aims to direct education funding toward evidence-based literacy programs.
Cruz said the legislation would focus on the "five pillars of the Science of Reading," an approach centered on phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension.
The science of reading was a decades-long body of research that explained how reading developed, why some students faced challenges, and how evidence-based teaching methods could improve literacy outcomes.
The term gained popularity in recent years, prompting efforts to clarify its meaning and role in education.
America is facing a national literacy crisis, while federal dollars continue to flow to outdated methods that fall short in teaching children to read.
— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) July 31, 2026
That policy should end. Our bipartisan Improving America’s Literacy Act directs education funding toward evidence-based… pic.twitter.com/5wNJ4FjuEw
AI Leaders and Financial Literacy
Earlier, investor Kevin O’Leary backed the Trump administration’s child investment policy, saying the "Trump account" initiative could help address America’s financial literacy crisis by giving children a financial foundation from birth.
He said the program, which would invest money for children until age 18, was "bipartisan, pro-family, pro-entrepreneur, and forward-looking."
Meanwhile, Google DeepMind CEO and Nobel laureate Demis Hassabis said Richard Feynman’s Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman! had been a major influence during his student years.
Hassabis said the book captured the excitement of scientific discovery and cited thinkers including Alan Turing, Claude Shannon and John von Neumann as inspirations behind his work in artificial intelligence and computing.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
Photo courtesy: Lev Radin on Shutterstock.com
