Opponents of court-ordered desegregation plans in the 1960s and 1970s touted freedom of choice plans. Such plans perpetuated highly segregated school districts; they were not a constitutional means of ensuring equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment. In the early 21^st century, advocates of school choice emphasize a parent’s right to choose where their children matriculate. Akin to a past era, those touting choice are neglecting the reality that choice has profound implications in a democratic republic. The emphasis on individual choice ignores the contemporary truism that citizens are interconnected and the choices that people make have a discernible impact on others. The author provides a juxtaposition between defenders of traditional public education in the common school vision of Horace Mann, on one hand, and advocates of school choice in the philosophical vein of Milton Friedman, on the other. Former President Barack Obama is analyzed using the dual perspectives about education reform. A discussion of John Dewey’s democratic ideals is included to counter the assault on public education by those who seek to privatize the great equalizer in American society.

Educators and legislators in various states have debated whether faculty are indoctrinating students with certain perspectives and avoiding discussions of alternate viewpoints. This study explores the effects of a provision of a Florida law purporting to promote intellectual freedom and viewpoint diversity at public universities. This law requires universities to conduct annual assessments to explore the extent to which students, faculty, and staff feel free to express beliefs and the extent to which they feel competing ideas and perspectives are presented at the university. The researchers circulated an online survey with quantitative and qualitative questions to faculty at four public universities. A total of 187 faculty completed the survey. Most faculty believed the provision would have adverse effects on faculty morale and intellectual freedom at universities. Many faculty expressed concerns about the assessment’s validity and potential misuse of its findings against faculty members.