Across the United States, educators, governors, and policymakers are rethinking what learning should look like in the 21st century. Innovation has become both a rallying cry and a necessity. From Indiana’s groundbreaking education reforms to Ohio’s ambitious push for artificial intelligence literacy and New York’s emphasis on hybrid learning, every region is experimenting with ways to prepare students for a rapidly evolving world. But even as these efforts multiply, skeptics warn that too much innovation without accountability risks turning education into a revolving door of fads rather than meaningful transformation.
Indiana’s Comprehensive Education Revolution
Indiana has emerged as one of the boldest states in reimagining K-12 education. Under Governor Mike Braun and Secretary of Education Katie Jenner, the state has launched a series of sweeping initiatives aimed at cutting bureaucracy, empowering parents, and modernizing classrooms. In October 2025, Indiana submitted a federal waiver requesting more flexibility and less red tape from Washington to continue building what Braun calls “a free-market education landscape.”
Since taking office, Braun has expanded eligibility for Indiana’s Choice Scholarship Program to all families in the state, giving every student the freedom to choose the school that best fits their needs. “Every child has a unique purpose and deserves opportunities to be prepared for future success,” Secretary Jenner said, emphasizing that innovation must be about personalizing education, not standardizing it.
The results have been striking. Private school enrollment has risen 22 percent, and charter schools have grown by 40 percent over the past decade, now serving more than 50,000 students. Indiana also leads the nation in the creation of microschools—small, flexible learning environments serving between 20 and 75 students. These are designed by education entrepreneurs who believe that “smaller settings can better nurture creativity and mastery.”
The Indiana Microschools Collaborative has built public charter networks offering competency-based learning models, where students advance by demonstrating mastery rather than logging seat time. “We are designing schools that reflect how real learning happens,” said one district leader involved in the program.
Legislators have also cleared the way for more innovation. House Bill 1515, signed by Braun in May, allows all public, charter, and private schools to operate in any zoning district, which has made it easier to open new schools where demand is high. Indiana now ranks third nationally in education choice, trailing only Florida and Arizona.
Braun’s administration has also redefined what it means to graduate from high school. The state board of education approved new diploma standards in 2024 that require courses in personal finance, computer science, communication, and college and career preparation. Students can also earn “readiness seals” for college enrollment, employment, or military service. Those earning the Enrollment Honors Plus seal are guaranteed admission to all seven public universities in Indiana.
These reforms are supported by $7.5 million annually for career coaching and $10 million each year for Career Scholarship Accounts that give students up to $5,000 for work-based learning programs. The state has also invested $170 million in literacy improvement, raising Indiana’s fourth-grade reading scores from 19th in the nation in 2022 to sixth by 2024. “There is no wait-and-see approach,” said Jenner. “We intervene early so every child has the foundation to succeed.”
Indiana’s focus on results extends to teachers. The Department of Education now rates teacher preparation programs based on alignment with the science of reading, and top-performing teachers can earn bonuses of up to $7,500. As Jenner put it, “We are rewarding excellence, not just effort.”
Ohio’s AI Fluency Initiative: Preparing for a New World
In higher education, Ohio is setting a national standard for integrating artificial intelligence into every discipline. The Ohio State University’s new “AI Fluency” initiative will ensure that by 2029, every graduate is proficient in using and understanding AI tools.
“Artificial intelligence is transforming the way we live, work, teach, and learn,” said Ohio State President Walter “Ted” Carter Jr. “Every job, in every industry, is going to be impacted in some way by AI. Ohio State has an opportunity and responsibility to prepare students not just to keep up, but to lead.”
Beginning in 2025, first-year students will be introduced to AI in their general education seminar and a new course titled “Unlocking Generative AI.” The course will teach students to use AI creatively and responsibly while exploring its ethical implications. Workshops and hackathons will provide hands-on experience, allowing students to apply AI across fields like agriculture, business, healthcare, and the arts.
Provost Ravi Bellamkonda described the vision this way: “Through AI Fluency, Ohio State students will be bilingual—fluent in their major field of study and in the application of AI in that area.”
The initiative includes substantial support for faculty as well. The Michael V. Drake Institute for Teaching and Learning will provide funding and mentorship to instructors who redesign courses to integrate AI. “Our faculty are already pioneers in AI research and discovery,” said Peter Mohler, executive vice president for research. “This initiative will amplify their work and prepare our students to shape the future of learning itself.”
Ohio State’s plan is part of a larger Education for Citizenship 2035 strategy aimed at reshaping the university into a center of adaptable, mission-driven education that merges technical skills with ethical leadership.
New York’s Hybrid Learning Push
New York is taking a broader approach, blending technology and traditional teaching to expand access and flexibility. Ranked third nationally in educational innovation by the nonprofit SmileHub, the state has made progress in hybrid and virtual learning programs that allow schools to continue teaching during disruptions such as illness or weather closures.
SmileHub’s report praised New York for “its commitment to progressive education methods and creative learning environments.” The state’s efforts include expanding computer science programs, encouraging Montessori and experiential learning models, and supporting study abroad opportunities. New York earned 70.26 points in SmileHub’s national innovation index, trailing only California and Massachusetts.
Measuring What Works
As innovation spreads, policymakers are grappling with how to measure its real impact. Colorado Governor Jared Polis, who chairs the National Governors Association’s “Let’s Get Ready” initiative, argues that traditional measures like test scores and graduation rates no longer tell the full story. “Our mission is to learn how to better measure success so we can expand and scale what works, and change what doesn’t,” he said. “With two job openings for every jobseeker, we have to do a better job equipping students with the skills they need to succeed.”
Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt agrees, saying, “If kids aren’t leaving high school college ready or career ready, we haven’t done our job.” He and other governors are emphasizing apprenticeships and internships as real-world indicators of readiness.
Economist Emily Oster highlighted the problem of vague accountability: “If we’re going to have a policy around vocational training, we need a way to measure that. How do we measure college and career readiness? There’s no systematic way people are measuring that.”
Journalist Kara Swisher added another layer of concern, warning that “ninety-nine percent of intelligence is going to be digital or AI-generated in the future, and one percent will be human. We have to think about what that means for jobs.” She argues that education must focus on skills that AI cannot replicate—creativity, teamwork, and critical thinking.
When Innovation Goes Too Far
Despite the excitement, not everyone is convinced that innovation is always good. Education analyst Rick Hess from the American Enterprise Institute warns that “the fascination with innovation is a huge problem.” He argues that schools often chase new trends without asking whether they actually help students learn. “It all suggests that the new and different should be preferred to the familiar,” Hess said. “And that, if I can be blunt, is stupid.”
Harvard’s Jal Mehta agrees, saying the system is “obsessed with superficial innovation and resistant to the deeper changes we really need.” He points out that even charter schools, which were designed to be laboratories of innovation, have largely “fallen victim to copying the same models they were created to challenge.”
Mehta believes real transformation must go beyond technology. “Education continues to be a largely passive enterprise centered on endless worksheets and trivial tasks,” he said. “We need human schools where learners’ identities are known, their joy is nurtured, and their growth is the central concern of those who teach them.”
The Balance Between Technology and Humanity
As states push forward with reform, one lesson is becoming clear: innovation must serve people, not replace them. Whether through Indiana’s school choice model, Ohio’s AI integration, or New York’s hybrid classrooms, the best innovations combine data and technology with human connection and purpose.
The challenge for policymakers is to ensure that education reform does not become a race for the latest gadget or policy trend. As Hess put it, “If we banned the word innovation and forced people to be specific about what’s not working and what needs to change, schools would improve overnight.”
The future of education will depend not on how new the ideas are, but on how effectively they help students think, create, and thrive. True innovation will not be measured by technology alone, but by how deeply it restores the human spirit of learning.
FAM Editor: This is an area where we worry a great deal about America’s future. Often innovation comes at the cost of basic learning. And often a lack of discipline in the classroom, leads to a lack of responsibility and work ethic resulting in students not learning very well – lacking in basic math and reading skills (much less writing). Sometimes you just have to do the work and sometimes you have to make children do the work.
Also, if you are going to offer rewards for teachers who are well prepared, you must be able to fire teachers who are consistently unprepared.
