Florida is recognized for the third consecutive year as #1 state in education freedom

Florida was enshrined for the third consecutive year as the state with the most educational freedom in the country. According to the annual study conducted by the Heritage Foundation, the Sunshine State again topped the Educational Freedom Report. In turn, Louisiana was the state that climbed the most positions with respect to 2023.

The ranking evaluates and scores according to four different topics: academic transparency, teacher freedom, educational choice and return on investment.

Specifically, the Sunshine State came out first in transparency, second in academic freedom and educational choice, closing its scores with an eighth place in return on investment. Compared to the rest of the states, the average score across all topics again brought Florida to the top spot in the report.

"Florida has enacted policies that allow parents to direct where education money goes. Our universal school choice program has empowered families, benefitted students, and improved educational opportunities," celebrated Governor Ron DeSantis.

"Florida leads on education freedom—and students and families are better off because of this leadership," he added.

Another who celebrated the news was Manny Diaz Jr., the state's current education commissioner. "I am proud that Florida has once again been recognized for our commitment to ensuring that students can access an education that works for them. Under Governor DeSantis’ leadership, Florida offers the most robust array of education options in the nation. I encourage other states to follow our example and break the norm to create higher performing students and happier families," he said.

When it came to ranking states, the conservative think tank did so based on access to scholarship programs, private school design, as well as the environment for charter schools and homeschooling within the category of educational choice.

As a fun fact, as of 2023, eight of the top 10 states in the rankings were governed by Republicans.

"Students deserve better. We applaud state policymakers who refused to settle for a limited set of learning options for K-12 children. We hope our annual report card serves as a reminder of the great opportunities that can be available to all children, regardless of zip code or family income, when policymakers demand more effort for the sake of students," Heritage said.

The top 10: states with the most educational freedom