I mean, in my state the legislature already banned the old sort of instruction. The issue, as I understand it, more stems from the advocate for the failing system being the head of Columbia's literacy center. If anything, it seems like another mark against trusting our elite universities and the research they produce than anything at the government level. The more conservative states have been quicker to act, which to me wouldn't be expected given how we generally talk about education. I'd be interested to see some exploration of why AL and MS chose the more effective curriculum sooner. Their education rankings have even risen to middle of that pack as CA's own ranking declined. How does this go on?

Combined with the data on pandemic recovery, it's looking like my decades of priors about the education systems in each state aren't worth much anymore.