Safe Spaces Are Coming Back to Brown University—All Thanks to Trump
The campus' settlement with the federal government is bound to create free speech headaches.
Education
Eric Adams Has Turned His Back on the Charter School Movement He Once Embraced
Once a champion of school choice, New York’s mayor has caved to union pressure—leaving tens of thousands of students stuck on waitlists.
How Sports Tickets Got So Expensive—Or Did They?
Plus: regulating college sports, forgiving baseball’s legends, and Happy Gilmore 2
The Value of Institutional Neutrality for Free Inquiry
My new article in the First Amendment Law Review's symposium on campus free speech
Diversity Statements and the First Amendment
My new article on diversity statements in faculty hiring and the First Amendment
Columbia's $200 Million Deal Will Placate Trump—for Now
To reinstitute $400 million in federal funding, the university agreed to implement plans to combat antisemitism and to appoint an independent monitor to oversee changes.
Trump Administration Opens New Investigation Into Harvard, Escalating Pressure
The investigation comes only two days after a federal judge cast doubt on the Trump administration’s argument in Harvard’s lawsuit over federal funding.
Defending Its Speech-Based Deportation Policy, the Trump Administration Says 'No Such Policy Exists'
The government's gaslighting strategy suggests that federal officials are not confident about the constitutionality of punishing students for expressing anti-Israel views.
Trump vs. Harvard
Plus: City-run grocery stores, Peronists for prison, California can't figure out how minimum wage hikes work, and more...
Why Are Students Using AI To Cheat? Maybe Because They Shouldn't Be In College At All
AI cheating is often a crutch for students ill-equipped to attend a four-year university.
Would "Affirmative Action" for Conservatives in Academia "Backfire"?
Universities should be wary of adopting practices or policies that "discourage curiosity and reward narrowness of thought."
Trump Wants Harvard To Hand Over Info on Over 10,000 International Students
The university says it will continue to defend itself against government overreach.
The People Who Wrecked N.Y. Schools Love Zohran Mamdani
Democrats are politicking as if their COVID-era derangements don't matter.
The Surprising Origins of Modern Freedom
Sophia Rosenfeld joins Nick Gillespie to discuss how personal choice became central to modern ideas of freedom and why that shift carries political, cultural, and psychological consequences.
The Trump Administration Says Its Speech-Based Deportation Policy 'Does Not Exist'
The government’s lawyers also say that supposedly nonexistent policy is perfectly consistent with the First Amendment.
New Jersey Lawmakers Are Considering 2 Bills To Heavily Regulate Homeschooling
Under the bills, homeschooling curricula would have to meet state learning standards and students would be required to complete annual wellness checks.
Colleges Created a Diversity Box-Ticking Game—Zohran Mamdani Just Played It
The big problem here is the elite racism of college admissions departments, not the mayoral candidate's creative box-checking.
The Department of Education Is in Limbo. Let's Kill It.
Congress should now turn its attention to abolishing the unnecessary federal education bureaucracy.
Florida Can Forbid Transgender High School Math Teacher From Using Feminine Pronouns to Refer to Herself in Class, 11th Circuit Says
The appeals court vacated a preliminary injunction that had been based on her First Amendment rights
How the NCAA Helped Trump Score Big on Transgender Issues
The organization was unfair to female competitors, was unfair to Lia Thomas, and handed the Trump administration a win on a silver platter.
I'm No Fan of UVA's President. That Doesn't Mean the Government Should Force Him Out.
Jim Ryan is the latest casualty in Trump's unconstitutional war against elite universities.
The 5th Circuit Rejects Qualified Immunity for a Child-Snatching Texas Cop Who Falsely Alleged Abandonment
Alexandra Weaver argued that she could not reasonably have been expected to know her actions were unconstitutional.
The Absurdity of Government Grocery Stores Exposes the Flaws of Public Schools
Zohran Mamdani’s proposal for state-run supermarkets exposes the inefficiencies of state-run education.
School Choice Could Fix the Conflicts That Led to the Supreme Court's Mahmoud Decision
There’s no need to fight over lessons if you’re not forced to learn in government-run battlegrounds.
Harvard Turns to the Private Sector To Finance Research After Losing Federal Funding
This pivot to privately funded research could reduce the burden on taxpayers and lead to more scientific breakthroughs.
Student Visa Applicants Will Now Be Forced To Make Their Social Media Accounts Public
The Trump administration continues its war against disfavored speech.
My New Just Security Article on the Nondelegation and Major Questions Doctrines
It explains how these much-maligned doctrines can be valuable tools for constraining power grabs by presidents of both parties.
Will Zohran Mamdani Kill the Best Thing About New York City Public Schools?
The city's specialized high schools are one of the lone bright spots of its struggling public school system.
Reason Earns 15 Southern California Journalism Awards
First-place finishes include a piece on the Dutch "dropping" rite of passage, a documentary exploring citizen journalism and free speech, and a long-form interview with exoneree Amanda Knox.
The Rationale for Deporting Mahmoud Khalil Is Alarmingly Vague and Broad
Marco Rubio’s nebulous invocation of foreign policy interests is bound to have a chilling impact on freedom of speech, which is the whole point.
Capping Student Loans Won't Destroy Medical Schools
Medical school is so expensive in the first place because of a policy that gives medical students unlimited access to loans.
Appeals Court Blocks Louisiana Ten Commandments in Classrooms Law
"If H.B. 71 goes into effect, Students will be subjected to unwelcome displays of the Ten Commandments for the entirety of their public school education. There is no opt-out option," the court's opinion reads.
Texas Legislators Say They Are Protecting Free Speech on Campus by Banning 'Expressive Activities' at Night
A bill awaiting the governor's signature represents a stark reversal from a 2019 law aimed at promoting "uninhibited debate."
The Decline and Fall of the AAUP as a Principled Defender of Academic Freedom
Matthew Finkin dissects how the American Association of University Professors has abandoned a principle defense of academic freedom.
A Judge Said the Excuse for Arresting Mahmoud Khalil Was Unconstitutionally Vague. Why Isn't Khalil Free?
U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz highlights the chilling impact of Marco Rubio's dubious rationale for deporting students whose views offend him.
Supreme Court Rules, Again, That Different Standards for Discrimination Plaintiffs Are Unconstitutional
The Court ruled unanimously in favor of a disabled teenage girl and her family, who faced a higher bar to prove that her school discriminated against her.
What Happens if the Department of Education Goes Away?
Most of what the department does would likely stick around, for better or for worse.
Academic Freedom Podcast on the University Endowment Tax
An explainer from Brian Galle
Trump's Threats Against Musk and Newsom Reflect an Authoritarian Intolerance of Dissent
Even if the president was joking in both cases, he already has used his powers to punish people whose views offend him.
As Trump Threatens Columbia's Accreditation, the School Should Stop Trying To Placate Him
Education Secretary Linda McMahon said the school’s handling of campus antisemitism violated civil rights law and is grounds for revoking accreditation.
Chronic Absenteeism Hasn't Gone Away After Lockdowns. Research Shows Poor Kids Are Hurt Most.
"The income gap really was the main driver that showed up over and over again," said one researcher.
Texas Legislature Bans LGBT Student Clubs in K-12 Schools, Violating the Constitution and Federal Law
Signaling legislative contempt, one sponsor called the student groups "sex clubs." But in targeting the content of student speech the bill probably infringes First Amendment free speech rights and tramples the Equal Access Act of 1984
Growing Ranks of Military Homeschoolers Get Defense Department Support
Military families have long chosen homeschooling at twice the rate of the general population.
Trump's Haste Begets Lawlessness
The president treats legal constraints as inconveniences that can be overridden by executive fiat.
Harvard International Student With a Private Instagram? You Might Not Get a Visa.
Under new State Department guidance, having private or no social media presence "may be reflective of evasiveness and call into question [a student visa] applicant's credibility."
