School choice has grown a lot since 1990—from zero kids taking public education funds to private schools to over a half million doing so—but progress has been slow. One reason: a constant drumbeat of myths, including that choice cripples public schools, undermines democracy, and leaves poor kids behind. In the new Cato book School Choice Myths: Setting the Record Straight on Education Freedom, top scholars dispel 12 of the most pernicious myths. In our online event, the contributors answered many questions submitted from around the world. 

As COVID-19 spread in March 2020, schools across the country faced a problem: how, if at all, would they deliver education if children could not physically attend? They would have to get education at home. Thankfully, about 1.7 million American kids were already doing that through homeschooling. In this Pandemics and Policy issue, Cato scholars Corey A. DeAngelis and Neal McCluskey explain how, even after essentially being outlawed in every state as recently as the 1970s, their continued existence is proof of two important points. First, that children can learn at home, and second, that there is a ready source of advice and support for the more than 50 million children trying this for the first time.