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."
Is the American Bar Association's Accreditation Monopoly about to End?
My latest Civitas Outlook column looks at the growing pressure on the ABA's role in law school accreditation.
12-Year-Old Tennessee Boy Arrested for Instagram Post Says He Was Trying To Warn Students of a School Shooting
Although the school failed to properly assess whether the threat was valid, school officials determined that his expulsion didn’t violate due process.
Texas Ten Commandments Bill Is the Latest Example of Forcing Religious Texts In Public Schools
The Lone Star State's bill is already facing legal challenges.
Academic Freedom Podcast on Restricting International Students at Harvard University
A conversation with Eugene Volokh on the First Amendment issues of the Trump administration's actions
Can Schools Ban This 'There Are Only Two Genders' Shirt? Supreme Court Declines To Hear Free Speech Case
A Massachusetts 7th grader was sent home for wearing the shirt, though the school allows students to challenge the idea it conveyed.
Can Trump Yank Harvard's Remaining Federal Funding?
Trump is wielding the state against a school whose politics he doesn't like.
Academic Freedom Podcast on the Federal Funding Freeze Aimed at Harvard University
An explainer from Cass Sunstein
Seizing Harvard's Federal Funds
Plus: Nanny surveillance, Apple stock price responds to tariff threats, Boeing settlement, and more...
Harvard's Best Protection Is To Get Off the Federal Teat
It's the best shield when the executive branch tries to strong-arm private universities.
Trump's Mass Cancellation of Student Visas Illustrates the Lawlessness of His Immigration Crackdown
A federal judge blocks the administration's "Student Criminal Alien Initiative," which targeted foreign students who had no criminal records.
A Split Supreme Court Says Oklahoma Can't Have a Religious Charter School
The deadlocked court doesn't provide much clarity to sticky questions about the limits of religious freedom.
Academic Freedom Podcast on Rescinding Harvard's Tax Exempt Status
Can Trump do that, and what would it mean?
Competition Improves Services. So Why Not Apply That to Schools?
Government schools now spend about $20,000 per student.
What Happens to Your Kids if We Abolish the Department of Education?
The Department of Education doesn’t handle teaching, set curricula, or pay teacher salaries.
My New Lawfare Article "Trump's 'Emergencies' Are Pretexts for Undermining the Constitution"
The article explains why these claims to emergency powers are illegal and dangerous, and how to stop them.
Reason Nominated for 17 Southern California Journalism Awards
Nominees include stories on inflation breaking brains, America's first drug war, Afghans the U.S. left behind, Javier Milei, and much more.
Court Orders Release of Tufts Foreign Student Detained For Her Speech
The ruling is a victory for the proposition that the First Amendment applies to immigration and visa restrictions.
Who's More Liberal, Law Professors or Their Students?
An interesting new study on the ideological concordance between law faculty and law students.
The Microschool Revolution Is Just Getting Started
Microschools are giving educators the freedom to innovate. Regulators need to get out of the way.
This Long-Neglected Law Can Help Parents Get Their Kids Out of Violent Schools
Despite persistent violence in schools, very few states designate schools as "persistently dangerous."
Steven Pinker: Can Harvard Be Saved?
The Harvard psychologist discusses recent gains for free speech at Harvard, growing political and ideological threats to academic freedom, and the importance of shared knowledge in sustaining truth and progress.
Why Is There a Federal Education Department?
Despite the fearmongering from teachers unions, it's largely useless.
