Fighting for the Freedom to Learn

The school choice movement is often seen as a modern, partisan undermining of a cherished institution: public education. Fighting for the Freedom to Learn sets the record straight, revealing that the struggle for educational freedom is as old as America itself and rooted in a deep and enduring tradition of parents and communities shaping how children learn.

With contributions from 12 leading education scholars, this is a sweeping history of school choice in the United States. From Pennsylvania’s 1802 policy funding poor families to attend schools of their choice, to 19th-century “town tuitioning” programs in Vermont and Maine, to the post-COVID school choice explosion, Americans have long supported publicly backed educational options beyond government-run schools. Other highlights include the vital role of private initiatives in providing education to black Americans denied access to public schools, the long legal campaign for educational freedom, and more.

This book makes clear that wanting school choice is not a recent or radical idea but a consistent thread in the American story. For educators, policymakers, historians, and parents, Fighting for the Freedom to Learn offers a powerful reminder: Educational freedom, like liberty itself, is not a new trend—it’s a founding principle.

Neal P. McCluskey is the director of the Cato Institute’s Center for Educational Freedom. He is the author of the book The Fractured Schoolhouse: Reexamining Education for a Free, Equal, and Harmonious Society and is coeditor of several volumes, including School Choice Myths: Setting the Record Straight on Education Freedom and Unprofitable Schooling: Examining Causes of, and Fixes for, America’s Broken Ivory Tower. McCluskey also maintains Cato’s Public Schooling Battle Map, an interactive database of values and identity‐​based conflicts in public schools. Prior to Cato, McCluskey was a policy analyst at the Center for Education Reform, taught high-school English, covered municipal government and education as a freelance reporter, and served in the US Army. McCluskey holds an undergraduate degree from Georgetown University, where he double majored in government and English; has a master’s degree in political science from Rutgers University, Newark; and holds a PhD in public policy from George Mason University.


James V. Shuls is the head of the Education Liberty Branch at the Institute for Governance and Civics at Florida State University (FSU). His work focuses on education policy, school choice, and the intersection of values and education. Prior to joining FSU, Shuls served as an associate professor and the department chair of educational leadership and policy studies at the University of Missouri–St. Louis and as dean of the College of Education at Southeastern University in Lakeland, Florida. He has authored numerous academic articles, policy reports, and opinion pieces, and his research has been featured in outlets such as Education Next, Phi Delta Kappan, and the Journal of School Choice. Shuls is also a fellow at the Show-Me Institute, where he writes regularly on education reform topics. He holds a PhD in education policy from the University of Arkansas, a master’s degree in elementary education from Missouri State University, and a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Missouri Southern State University. A former public school teacher, Shuls brings both practical classroom experience and scholarly insight to education reform debates.