Neal McCluskey

Virginia

Director and Writer at Cato Institute

Director, Center for Educational Freedom, Cato Institute. Views are my own. Substack: "Undercooked Thoughts": https://t.co/Ifn5rVWcVI

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Articles

SCOTUS Decision Against Religious Charter Is Right, But We Must Address Discrimination Against Religion

1 month ago | cato.org | Neal McCluskey

Generated with ElevenLabs AI technology. In a decision that surprised me in its rapidity, but not its outcome, the Supreme Court deadlocked four to four, leaving in place an Oklahoma Supreme Court decision against the creation of a Roman Catholic cyber charter school.
Four Reasons School Choice Is Good, but Federal Is Bad

1 month ago | cato.org | Neal McCluskey

Generated with ElevenLabs AI technology. A $5 billion scholarship tax credit is a part of the budget reconciliation bill just introduced in Congress. As a member of the Educational Freedom Supporters of America in good standing, few would doubt that I think school choice is an excellent thing. And I certainly understand the desire to take it nationwide via one big, beautiful, federal bill.
To Improve Education in America, Reduce Washington's Role

2 months ago | cato.org | Neal McCluskey

They are also all that experience supports. The federal role in ending forced racial school segregation in many states was necessary and appropriate. So has been supplying school choice in Washington, DC, through the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program. Other than those things, there is not much to be impressed by.
Trump’s School Discipline Executive Order: Both Right and Too Far?

2 months ago | cato.org | Neal McCluskey

The federal government should not be telling schools what their discipline policies will and will not be. Ideally, those decisions would be made by freely operating educators and families in a system of school choice. Absent that, schools and districts ought to be able to make their own decisions, and the feds should only intervene if there is significant evidence of discipline driven by racial or other group-based animus.
The Department of Education is Unconstitutional - and Unnecessary

Mar 24, 2025 | cato.org | Neal McCluskey

In the U.S., education has always been a state, local and family responsibility. Few people throughout our history would have imagined putting an often distant federal government in charge, and the Constitution gives it no power over education. Thus, eliminating the department, and possibly moving some of its core functions to other executive offices, would hardly cause “chaos.” While federal officials have gotten too deep into education, nothing they do is essential.
Top 5 Reasons to End the US Department of Education

Mar 20, 2025 | cato.org | Neal McCluskey

Generated with ElevenLabs AI technology. The US Department of Education is in the Trump administration’s crosshairs. Here are five major reasons it should be:It’s unconstitutional: Education is nowhere among the specific, enumerated powers given to the federal government. That means the feds have no authority to govern in education. Even the big-government administration of Franklin Delano Roosevelt knew that.
Book Review: Education and Social Control

Mar 13, 2025 | cato.org | Neal McCluskey

While it might be surprising to hear that government-driven mass education did not start in order to give all kids an equal chance at lifetime success, Paglayan’s basic thesis should not be especially controversial to students of education history. It is well established, for instance, that shaping patriotic citizens was an explicit goal for many founding era American public education proponents.
On Transgender Athletes and the Federal Government

Feb 6, 2025 | cato.org | Neal McCluskey

“But even if they can, should they?”I asked that question last week in response to President Trump’s executive order on “indoctrination” in public schools. The question asked specifically: Even if federal officials have the constitutional and legal authority to take sides on values-laden education decisions, is it wise to do so?
Public Schooling, Trump, and the “Book Ban Hoax”

Jan 28, 2025 | cato.org | Neal McCluskey

On January 24, the US Department of Education announced that it was ending “Biden’s book ban hoax” by dismissing eleven active and six pending complaints with the Office of Civil Rights over public schools removing books from library shelves. Complainants alleged that the removals created a hostile environment for students. The department also eliminated the position of “book ban coordinator” created under the Biden administration.
The Latest International Exam Scores Look Bad-Are They?

Dec 4, 2024 | cato.org | Neal McCluskey

Generated with ElevenLabs AI technology. This morning, Americans woke up to the latest scores from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), tests taken by students in 63 countries and other jurisdictions in fourth grade and 45 in eighth grade. The United States has participated since the exams began in 1995. In fourth-grade math, the US average hit its lowest level in the history of the exam: 517, dipping below the previous 1995 and 2003 low of 518.