Florida school district bans homework as children rejoice

There is no better time to be a kid in Florida than at this exact moment.

Elementary school students in 31 Marion County, Florida schools are free of homework for good after their superintendent issued a county-wide "no homework" mandate.

According to Chicago Tribune, superintendent Heidi Maier made the decision to cut traditional homework from the curriculum based on "solid research" stating that homework in elementary school doesn't effect academic achievement and has only a slight effect on older students in terms of improving academic performance.

But not so fast -- these kids aren't getting off that easy. In lieu of traditional homework, students are expected to read for 20 minutes every night. Even though it is something, it's way better than sitting down and completing math worksheets or book reports for hours on end. To back up the switch to nightly reading, Maier cited the work of Richard Allington, an expert on reading acquisition. Allington said, "The quality of homework assigned is so poor that simply getting kids to read replacing homework with self-selected reading was a more powerful alternative."

Maier said students are allowed to pick their own reading material and will get help from teachers and librarians. Resources will be made available for children who do not have an adult at home to help them read.

"We need to make our message clear and explain why this is beneficial," Maier said of the decision. The feedback on the change has been both positive and negative, and town halls will be held soon for more skeptical parents.

Although middle and high school students will still get homework each night, these elementary school students are in the clear. Enjoy it now, kids -- you'll never get this kind of break again.