Oh, look, another genius idea from the bureaucratic think tank of How Can We Make This Worse: starting January 1, 2025, New Jersey will no longer require teachers to pass a basic reading, writing, and math test to get certified. Yes, you read that right—basic skills tests are too much to ask of the people responsible for teaching our kids. Shocking, isn’t it? But hey, if you’ve been wondering why the U.S. education system feels like it’s circling the drain, well, wonder no more.

The law, lovingly titled Act 1669, was signed by Democratic Governor Phil Murphy as part of the state’s budget plan to address—you guessed it—a teacher shortage. According to Democratic Sen. Jim Beach, the bill’s sponsor, this is apparently “the best way to get” more teachers. Let’s just lower the bar until we can trip over it. Problem solved!

This stroke of brilliance follows an earlier law Murphy signed to create alternative routes for dodging certification tests. Naturally, the New Jersey Education Association, the state’s heavyweight teacher union, backed the bill, labeling the tests an “unnecessary barrier.” It now appears that ensuring that educators can read, write, and do math is an unreasonable expectation.

For some extra flair, New Jersey is taking cues from New York, which axed literacy requirements for teachers back in 2017, citing “diversity” as the reason. Since then, states like California and Arizona have been tripping over themselves to fast-track teachers and cut exam requirements to plug their own shortages, all in the name of progress.

Meanwhile, students are still clawing their way out of pandemic-induced learning losses, with some states like Massachusetts taking the bold approach of lowering student testing standards instead of, you know, actually fixing the education gap. Why teach better when you can just hand out gold stars for showing up?

But let’s not forget who’s steering this sinking ship. Teacher unions in blue states hold massive sway, pushing policies that seem laser-focused on protecting the adults in the room, not the students. Case in point: despite New York’s astronomical education spending and sky-high teacher salaries, only about half of their students in grades three through eight can manage to test as proficient in English and Math.

So, New Jersey, take a bow. You’ve officially made it even easier for underqualified teachers to babysit classrooms. Now we know why Johnny still can’t read while the education budget balloons like it’s on steroids. Priorities, right?