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Homework Banned In One Florida County

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OCALA (CBSMiami) – Twenty-thousand Florida elementary school students are probably celebrating after learning they won't have any homework for the upcoming school year.

The superintendent of the Marion County school district has banned homework for all elementary school students and is instead asking parents to read to their children for 20 minutes every night, the Ocala Star-Banner reports.

The "no homework" mandate was issued by Superintendent Heidi Maier on Wednesday to teachers at 31 elementary schools for the 2017-2018 school year. She cited research that shows young children do better in school when they are given a break from the rigors of a typical school day.

The research was conducted by Richard Allington, a University of Tennessee professor of Theory and Practice in Teacher Education. Allington's research found that reading to a child has more positive effects on children than homework does.

Maier added that parents should remember that the "no homework" mandate does not mean the children will not still have some homework. She noted some assignments, like science projects or research papers, will be assigned on occasion. However, daily homework will no longer be part of a school life.

The "no homework" mandate does not apply to middle and high school students.

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