The Heritage Foundation has released the 2024 edition of the Education Freedom Report Card, accompanied by a new interactive college guide aimed at helping students "Choose College with Confidence."
Heritage’s annual K-12 report card evaluates states based on various education criteria, ranking them on their support for education freedom. This includes factors such as education choice, teacher freedom, academic transparency, and the return on investment for education spending.
Florida, Arizona, Utah, Louisiana, and Iowa are the top five states for education freedom. Conversely, Oregon, Connecticut, Hawaii, Washington state, and Vermont rank lowest due to limited alternatives to assigned district schools and insufficient transparency for parents.
While Florida maintains its leading position in education freedom, Louisiana and Wyoming have shown significant improvements in offering parents more innovative education options. Notably, Wyoming has introduced an education savings account of up to $6,000 per student. Louisiana achieved the largest overall improvement in this year's report card rankings.
Heritage President Dr. Kevin Roberts commended states that performed well in the latest report card:
"State lawmakers are courageously responding to the demands of parents who want excellence in education—not the woke ideology that’s poisoned our government-run schools. This year's report card shows that the tide is turning, but we need even more states to step up if we’re serious about preparing our children for the challenges of tomorrow."
Florida Commissioner of Education Manny Diaz Jr. commented on Florida’s top score:
“Freedom is the foundation of everything we do in Florida, and that starts with ensuring that families can access the right education choice for their child. Florida is proud to be named #1 for Education Freedom by the Heritage Foundation for the 3rd year in a row, and we will continue to implement policies that support education freedom and keep us at the top of this list.”
Megan Degenfelder, Wyoming Superintendent, remarked on Wyoming’s improvement:
“Upon taking office in 2023, it was a top priority for me to enhance school choice options in Wyoming. Since that time, Wyoming is now, for the first time in history, offering parents and children more quality learning options through state-authorized charter schools and education savings accounts, and I’m honored to see this work recognized on the report card. Recognizing our state as having the most growth in the school choice category should signify to Wyoming families hope and exciting potential for the future.”
In addition to releasing the report card, Heritage's interactive college guide highlights colleges and universities promoting freedom of expression and open academic inquiry while identifying those hostile to diverse viewpoints or lacking robust curriculum requirements.
Lindsey Burke, director of Heritage’s Center for Education Policy added:
“The report card and college guide bring much-needed transparency and awareness to families about the states and educational institutions that are putting in effort to bolster academic excellence and education freedom. We hope this puts pressure on other states to establish universal education choice and robust academic transparency at the K-12 level and for colleges and universities to maintain freedom of expression and rigorous academics as their north star.”
Further details about each state's ranking can be found here. More information about Choosing College with Confidence is available here.
