No Adult Left Behind: How Politics Hijacks Education Policy and Hurts Kids

No Adult Left Behind: How Politics Hijacks Education Policy and Hurts Kids

Author: Cato Institute November 3, 2025 Duration: 1:01:40

It is often said that public schooling is the bedrock of democracy. It prepares children to be knowledgeable citizens, and some believe that it exemplifies democratic governance through its control by locally elected school boards. But what if such control is a bug, not a feature? What if it elevates the concerns of adults, many of whom do not even have children, over the children the schools are supposed to teach? And what if it turns education into a gladiatorial political arena rather than a peaceful realm for learning?


No Adult Left Behind sets aside the bromides, asks these tough questions, and reveals the dangerous flaws in democratically controlled education.


Join us to discuss!


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