This study investigates how English teachers in Swedish upper secondary school preparatory programmes perceive the role and importance of paraphrasing in reading comprehension and academic writing, and how their views align with Swedish steering documents for English. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six teachers, and the data were analysed using thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006). The findings show that participants view paraphrasing as a key academic literacy skill. It was described as a “benchmark” for reading comprehension and a “cornerstone” of academic writing, supporting students’ understanding, language development, and ethical source use. However, participants perceive paraphrasing as underspecified in the steering documents, since the term is not explicitly stated and guidance remains implicit. As a result, paraphrasing instruction was reported to depend on participants’ professional judgement and individual priorities, which may contribute to variation in classroom practice. Teachers also highlighted that the rise of AI-based tools has made paraphrasing both more difficult to assess and more important to teach, leading to increased focus on controlled in-class tasks and process-oriented assessment. Overall, the findings suggest a need for clearer curricular support for paraphrasing, earlier and sustained instruction, and stronger professional resources to promote consistent teaching and assessment across schools.