Florida school district bans homework, replaces it with daily reading

Elementary school students in Marion County, Fla. will have more free time after school this year as the school district implements a controversial "homework ban." 

Marion County School District Superintendent Heidi Maier said they decided to implement a "no homework" policy for 31 elementary schools because research shows students perform better when given a break from homework, WKMG-TV reported.

Maier points to research from University of Tennessee professor Richard Allington, which found that reading to a child has more positive effects than homework.

Instead of homework, the school will ask children to read or be read to for 20 minutes each night. The students can choose the books they want to and will be given guidance from teachers and librarians. 

David Borer, whose 10-year-old son Maddox spends over two hours on homework each night, agrees with Marion County's superintendent's no homework policy for elementary school kids.

"When they give them too much homework what's it doing? Taking away from them being kids playing," he told WTSP.

The teachers will have the authority to assign occasional take-home work for projects and research papers, according to the school district.