Florida Leads Nation in Academic Freedom for Fifth Year, Heritage Report Shows

According to the Heritage Foundation’s 2026 Education Freedom Report Card, Florida again claimed the No. 1 spot for overall academic freedom, its fifth year at the summit. The report grades all 50 states and the District of Columbia on five metrics: school-choice programs, teacher freedom, academic transparency, return on education spending, and civics education. Florida led the nation in both school-choice options and transparency, while Arizona topped teacher freedom, Idaho led on return on investment, and Louisiana was best in civics education.

The next-best states were Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho and Iowa, with Iowa notably climbing from 44th to eighth in civics education. The lowest performers were Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont and Maine, the latter marking its second consecutive year at the bottom. Heritage officials highlighted the national concern over weak civics knowledge, noting only 22 % of eighth-graders demonstrated proficiency in U.S. history.