## Public Schooling Battle Map --- ### Latest Battles: - - - - - Select State Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Select Year Select District Reset Americans are diverse—ethnically, religiously, ideologically—but all must pay for public schools. The intention is good: to bring people together and foster harmony. But rather than build bridges, public schooling often forces people into wrenching, zero-sum conflict. This map aggregates a relatively small, but especially painful, subset of battles: those involving basic rights, moral values, or individual identities. Think restrooms and transgender students, books dealing with sex, or race and American history. The conflicts are often intensely personal and guarantee that if one fundamental value wins, another *loses*. The goal may be peace and equality, but the outcome is too often the opposite. Incidents are continually added. Note that some years contain few conflicts because the map lists the year a battle began, but cataloging only started in the mid‐​2000s. Earlier years reflect conflicts that had a new development after data collection commenced. Conflicts are overwhelmingly drawn from media reports. For important dates in the evolution of the Battle Map, [see our timeline](https://www.cato.org/public-schooling-battle-map/timeline). Please send any conflicts you know about, errors you find, or questions you have to Cato Center for Educational Freedom Director [Neal McCluskey](mailto:nmccluskey@cato.org). Also, discuss on X using [\#WWFSchool](https://twitter.com/search?q=%23wwfschool) and follow [@PubSchoolFights](https://twitter.com/PubSchoolFights). To dive deeper into public schooling and social conflict, see our [reading list](https://www.cato.org/education-policy-reading-list). To view the full list of battles, [follow this link](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vTq6xSDATq7a57gQFou5rcY13sfDbYkkhG0MXqPHDpLwev8t9JidDGI0VJBcMJ2afGbTjWxuRmR4ao3/pubhtml?gid=1426145282&single=true) (download the dataset [here](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16odarRUGAQRQgmFAXk1vlFYl5lgK5xdl6xurDVxSvtU/export?format=xlsx&gid=1426145282)). [ #WWFSchool ](https://x.com/hashtag/WWFSchool) [![Fighting for Freedom to Learn 16x9](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2025-11/Fighting%20for%20Freedom%20to%20Learn_16x9.jpg?itok=c2TvwCAY)](https://www.cato.org/books/fighting-freedom-learn) books ## [*Fighting for the Freedom to Learn*](/books/fighting-freedom-learn) By [Neal McCluskey](https://www.cato.org/people/neal-mccluskey) A comprehensive history tracing the foundations and evolution of educational freedom in the United States. [![Cato Institute Public Schooling Battle Map](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2020-01/BattleMap012920_4.png?itok=A8dmk0RO)](https://www.cato.org/blog/public-schooling-culture-war-declined-slightly-2025-state-level-rose) blog ### [Public Schooling Culture War Declined Slightly in 2025, State-Level Rose](/blog/public-schooling-culture-war-declined-slightly-2025-state-level-rose) By [Neal McCluskey](https://www.cato.org/people/neal-mccluskey) The good news for 2025 is that we saw a dip in cataloged battles versus the previous year. The bad news is that conflict remains heightened since 2021. [![](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/brightcove/videos/images/posters/image_32896.jpg?itok=weh0kzng)](https://www.cato.org/multimedia/media-highlights-tv/cato-institutes-public-schooling-battle-map-featured-c-spans) Media Highlights TV ### [Cato Institute’s Public Schooling Battle Map is featured on C‑SPAN’s *Washington Journal*](/multimedia/media-highlights-tv/cato-institutes-public-schooling-battle-map-featured-c-spans) Featuring [Neal McCluskey](https://www.cato.org/people/neal-mccluskey) and [Colleen Hroncich](https://www.cato.org/people/colleen-hroncich) [![commandments](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2024-06/10%20commandments.jpg?itok=odDkA7TX)](https://www.cato.org/blog/louisianas-ten-commandments-commandment-classic-public-schooling-la-gator-almost-wasnt) blog ### [Louisiana’s Ten Commandments Commandment Is Classic Public Schooling. LA GATOR Is, but Almost Wasn’t, the Solution.](/blog/louisianas-ten-commandments-commandment-classic-public-schooling-la-gator-almost-wasnt) By [Neal McCluskey](https://www.cato.org/people/neal-mccluskey) Yesterday, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry (R) signed legislation mandating the posting of the Ten Commandments in public schools. Thankfully, Governor Landry signed another bill yesterday offering the solution to the problem, though the state almost fumbled the ball. [![School Library](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2023-10/school-library-Cropped.jpg?itok=d8ZDBz-N)](https://www.cato.org/policy-analysis/are-public-school-libraries-accomplishing-their-mission) Study ### [Are Public School Libraries Accomplishing Their Mission?](/policy-analysis/are-public-school-libraries-accomplishing-their-mission) By [Neal McCluskey](https://www.cato.org/people/neal-mccluskey) While disputes about library holdings and reading assignments have always been a part of public schooling, the country entered an especially contentious period around fall 2021.