--- description: A Florida school district is eliminating traditional homework for elementary students, asking that they read for 20 minutes each night title: A Florida School District Is Eliminating Homework in Favor of Reading image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt100b85b13366baee/6988d64b196cf41dd2041170/student-no-homework-policy.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Education](/tag/education/) ## Education Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # A Florida School District Is Eliminating Homework in Favor of Reading  by [Katie Reilly](/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 19, 2017 4:23 PM CUT  A boy in class at a school in Goerlitz on Feb. 3, 2017 in Goerlitz, Germany. A boy in class at a school in Goerlitz on Feb. 3, 2017 in Goerlitz, Germany.Florian Gaertner—Photothek/Getty Images  by [Katie Reilly](/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 19, 2017 4:23 PM CUT A Florida school district is eliminating traditional homework for all elementary school students this year, asking instead that they simply read for 20 minutes each night. The new policy — which will take effect when students return to school in Florida’s Marion County next month — is an example of the [ongoing debate](http://time.com/4462989/teacher-no-homework-policy-texas/ "undefined") over the [benefits and drawbacks of homework](http://time.com/4466390/homework-debate-research/ "undefined"), especially for younger students. The policy will not apply to students in middle school and high school. Heidi Maier, the new superintendent for the Marion County school district, [told the Washington _Post_](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2017/07/17/why-this-superintendent-is-banning-homework-and-asking-kids-to-read-instead/?utm%5Fterm=.30ee25243cc7 "undefined") this week that she made the policy decision based on research showing that reading boosts academic performance for younger students, while traditional homework might not. Maier cited research by University of Tennessee education professor [Richard Allington](https://tpte.utk.edu/faculty-and-staff/rallington/ "undefined"), who argues that reading is better alternative to a traditional homework assignment. A [2006 meta-analysis](http://rer.sagepub.com/content/76/1/1.abstract "undefined") by Duke University psychology professor Harris Cooper found evidence of a positive correlation between homework and student achievement, but the correlation was strongest for students in seventh through 12th grade. For younger students, there was a weak relationship between homework and performance. Cooper [told TIME last year](http://time.com/4466390/homework-debate-research/ "undefined") that he recommends a small amount of homework for young students. But other education experts [advocate for no-homework policies](http://time.com/4250968/why-parents-should-not-make-kids-do-homework/ "undefined"), arguing there is not enough evidence to indicate that homework has a positive effect on elementary students. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4864442/florida-school-no-homework-policy/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4864442/florida-school-no-homework-policy/"},"headline":"A Florida School District Is Eliminating Homework in Favor of Reading","datePublished":"2017-07-19T16:23:31.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T16:37:14.400Z","description":"Some education experts argue homework doesn't benefit younger students","url":"https://time.com/4864442/florida-school-no-homework-policy/","keywords":["Education","Parenting","School","Family","Florida","Homework","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt100b85b13366baee/6988d64b196cf41dd2041170/student-no-homework-policy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Katie Reilly","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt100b85b13366baee/6988d64b196cf41dd2041170/student-no-homework-policy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Student during class","caption":"Student during class","creditText":"Florian Gaertner—Photothek/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/education/","name":"Education"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4864442/florida-school-no-homework-policy/","name":"A Florida School District Is Eliminating Homework in Favor of Reading"}}]}] ```