WASHINGTON—For the fifth year in a row, Florida takes the top spot in the Heritage Foundation's newly released 2026 Education Freedom Report Card, which ranks how well states advance education freedom for K-12 students and families.  

Heritage’s Education Freedom Report Card evaluates states based on several criteria, including active education choice programs, academic transparency, teacher freedom, the return on investment of the state’s education spending, and civics education.  

Florida placed first overall, followed by Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, and Iowa, jumping 34 spots in civics over last year.  

Louisiana, which ranked sixth, topped the civics education category in part due to policies such as requiring high school students to complete a full-year civics course and to pass a civics or citizenship test to graduate.  

Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, and Rhode Island rounded out the bottom of the list, with Maine remaining in last place for education freedom.

Heritage Foundation president Dr. Kevin Roberts made the following statement:  

"In the backdrop of the Trump administration working to wind down the U.S. Department of Education, states like Florida and Iowa have met the moment by reclaiming more education responsibilities, which our nation's Founders always intended, and providing families with more education choice.

"More states need to provide families with K-12 education savings account programs that allow them to choose learning environments that align with their values and work best for their children."

With only 22 percent of U.S. eighth-graders proficient in U.S. civics, Jonathan Butcher, acting director for Heritage's Center for Education Policy, added that states face more urgency to adopt policies that help students understand America and Western civilization:

"Lawmakers must put a renewed focus on civics instruction. In his first inaugural address, George Washington said our Republican model of government was an 'experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people.’ This experiment will fail if we do not help the next generation understand the fundamental pairings of faith and virtue, as well as freedom and responsibility. These are the traits held by civic-minded individuals. 

“Educators have a responsibility not only to impart skills such as reading, addition, and subtraction but to teach knowledge. Rich content—in civics, as well as math, reading, science, and other core subjects—is essential to helping students succeed in school and in life."

Learn more about the Education Freedom Report Card here.