Public schools
Maryland Elementary School Tries To Force Students To Say The Pledge
Students have a constitutional right to refuse to say the Pledge of Allegiance, no matter what school officials think.
Rethinking the 5-Paragraph Essay in the Age of AI
Artificial intelligence writes a pretty good analysis of George Orwell's 1984.
Elementary Schools Ban Tag, Football, and Fun During Recess
"It really feels as though maybe we've lost touch with what's developmentally appropriate," says one Montgomery County mom.
Are Poor Schools Underfunded? It's More Complex Than You'd Think.
Despite headlines pointing to the contrary, high-poverty schools get more funding than low-poverty schools in almost all states.
A New Law Is Making It Even Harder To Find Day Care in D.C.
D.C.'s new degree requirements could lead to job losses, increased operating costs, and higher tuition.
This Student Was Allegedly Suspended for Saying 'Illegal Aliens.' Did That Violate the First Amendment?
Christian McGhee is suing, arguing a North Carolina assistant principal infringed on his free speech rights.
'Equity' Grading Is the Latest Educational Fad Destined To Fail
Why work extra hard when you won't be able to get an A? Why try to improve when you won't get worse than a C?
Do Schools Really Need To Give Parents Live Updates on Students' Performance?
This new school-to-parent pipeline allows parents to micromanage yet another aspect of their kids' lives.
Regulating Smartphones? Jonathan Haidt vs. Libertarians
The author of The Anxious Generation argues that parents, schools, and society must keep kids off of social media.
Quiz: What Do You Know About the SAT?
Colleges have turned away from standardized testing in admissions. Are the tests really that bad?
Arizona's Battle Against School Choice for Special Needs
State government officials deploy scare tactics against families of special needs students seeking alternatives.
Seattle Is Getting Rid of Gifted Schools in a Bid To Increase Equity
When schools get rid of advanced offerings, they hurt smart, underprivileged students.
More Than 1 in 4 Kids Are Chronically Absent From School, Report Shows
Since COVID-era school closures, chronic absenteeism has increased from 15 to 26 percent, with poor districts struggling the most.
DARE Didn't Make Kids 'Say No' to Drugs. It Normalized Police in Schools.
DARE to Say No details the history of an anti-drug campaign that left an indelible mark on America.
Review: Musical Movie Doesn't Recapture Mean Girls' Genuine Meanness
The audience's tolerance for the truth about bullying has diminished in our oversensitive age.
Parents Don't Want Schools to Confiscate Kids' Phones
A new survey highlights how fear-based parenting drives phone-based childhoods.
Public Schools Charge Tuition, Just Like Private Schools
All too often, admission is only open to students whose families can afford a home inside the districts’ boundaries or pay transfer student tuition.
The Lesson of COVID-19: Don't Give Government More Power
The pandemic showed that America's founders were right to create a system of checks and balances that made it hard for leaders to easily have their way.
These Students Lost More Than Half a Year of Learning During COVID
Schools districts that stayed almost entirely remote significantly hindered progress, according to new data.
No, Imprisoning a School Shooter's Parents Isn't Justice
James Crumbley, who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter, may be an unsympathetic defendant. But this prosecution still made little sense.
Oklahoma Autopsy Finds That a Bullied Nonbinary Student Committed Suicide
After blaming the state's bathroom law, The New York Times says "it has never been clear" whether gender identity figured in the fight that preceded Nex Benedict's death.
More Evidence That COVID School Closures Wrecked Student Performance
California's poorly served public school students need more than a few more dollars diverted to tutoring programs. They need an escape hatch.
Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs Wants To Hobble School Choice, Despite Years of Student Achievement Gains
Parents in Arizona have already proven themselves capable of holding schools accountable.
Do U.S. Public Schools Really Need 77,000 More Counselors?
Schools were already staffed at record levels even before COVID-19, when enrollment fell by nearly 1.3 million students.
States Try To Strip Sex From Literature in Libraries, Schools
These aren't outright bans. But they still can chill free speech and academic freedom.
Doug Ducey on Budget Cuts, School Choice, and Arizona's Weird Politics
"Governors don't get to print money," the former Arizona governor tells Reason.
The New York Times Implausibly Implicates Oklahoma's Bathroom Law in the Death of a Nonbinary Student
Don’t let culture war politics overwhelm a commitment to the facts.
Bureaucrats Are Moving To Cap Bank Overdraft Fees, Which Will Hurt the People It's Meant To Help
Many who see overdraft protection as preferable to other short-term credit options will have fewer choices as some banks decide the service isn't worth offering anymore.
Test Scores Are Rebounding After Pandemic School Closures, but Some Students Will Never Catch Up
A new study sparks hope that the historic declines in students' reading and math performance following the pandemic may not be permanent.
St. Louis Schools Lost $260 Million to Economic Development Subsidies
According to a report from Good Jobs First, St. Louis' public schools took the brunt of the loss at nearly 65 percent of the total.
Arizona Kids' Education Under Attack from State's Own Governor
Gov. Katie Hobbs hates that families are guiding their own children’s schooling.
Homeschooling Parents Are No Threat to Their Kids
Stricter regulation of homeschooling families will just lead to harassment from government.
School Choice Is Popular and Increasingly Common
Kids have disappeared from public schools, with most opting for a range of alternatives.
Bad Apples
Plus: Libertarian populism, library wars, Latin American soft power, and more...
Millions of Kids Are Chronically Absent From School. The Problem Isn't Going Away.
While frequent absences were a problem before pandemic school closures, the lasting effects of online learning have led to consistently high absenteeism rates.
Federal Court Upholds Biological-Sex-Based Access Rule for School Restrooms
Federal courts continue to be split on this question.
No, Nikki Haley, We Don't Need to Turn Schools Into Airports, the Place Literally Everyone Hates
Schools are already bad enough for kids. Let's not make it worse by taking tips from the people who've insisted you take your shoes off at the airport for 20 years.
2023 Brought More Evidence That Pandemic School Closures Damaged Students
Post-COVID educational declines are here to stay.
Here's Why Charity Is Better at Solving Problems Than Government
Big government has been ruinous for millions of people. Charities aren't perfect, but they are much more efficient and effective.
Millions of Kids Left Classrooms During the Pandemic. New Data Show 50,000 Hadn't Returned 2 Years Later.
According to an analysis from the Associated Press, 50,000 children in 22 states were still missing from schools in fall 2022.
Anti-Woke Classroom Rules Threaten Florida's School Choice Achievements
School choice is supposed to prevent politicians from pushing their ideas into the classroom.
Infographic: Florida's Public School Book Bans
The Bluest Eyes and 13 Reasons Why top the list of controversial books in Florida.
How Some of California's Worst Schools Got Better at Teaching Reading
Some of the worst-performing elementary schools in California retrained teachers to teach reading with phonics. A new paper says the change worked.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Targets School Choice Opponents in GOP Ranks
Americans want choice in education. Politicians need to catch up.
Global Math and Reading Assessment Indicates Widespread Post-Pandemic Learning Loss
While U.S. math scores declined on the Program for International Student Assessment test, reading scores remained stable, bucking a global trend.
