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Ifo Institute: Joint Custody Strengthens Families After Separations
MUNICH, Germany, Sept. 19 -- ifo Institute issued the following news release:
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17 September 2026
Joint Custody Strengthens Families After Separations
When courts award joint custody rather than sole custody in contentious custody cases, fathers benefit financially and in terms of their health, and children benefit academically. Mothers do not suffer any measurable disadvantages as a result. This is shown by a new study from the ifo Institute based on Swedish court and register data.
"Public debates about custody arrangements often imply a conflict of interests: What benefits one parent
... Show Full Article
MUNICH, Germany, Sept. 19 -- ifo Institute issued the following news release:
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17 September 2026
Joint Custody Strengthens Families After Separations
When courts award joint custody rather than sole custody in contentious custody cases, fathers benefit financially and in terms of their health, and children benefit academically. Mothers do not suffer any measurable disadvantages as a result. This is shown by a new study from the ifo Institute based on Swedish court and register data.
"Public debates about custody arrangements often imply a conflict of interests: What benefits one parentcomes at the expense of the other parent or the child. However, our findings show that this assumption is not supported: Joint custody strengthens the economic stability of families after a separation and promotes children's development", says Helmut Rainer, Director of the ifo Center for Labor and Demographic Economics.
Fathers with joint custody earn higher incomes, particularly those with a low income level. In addition, the likelihood that they will take antidepressants decreases by 17 percentage points. Children improve their test results and are more likely to attend better schools.
There are neither positive nor negative effects for mothers. Nor does the data corroborate fears that joint custody increases the risk of domestic violence. "The study provides empirical evidence for the family policy debates on custody arrangements that are taking place in many countries," says Rainer.
For the study, the researchers analyzed 56,188 court rulings from 45 Swedish district courts between 1992 and 2021 and linked them to register data on income, education, health, and crime.
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2026 Article in Journal
Gemeinsames Sorgerecht nach der Trennung: Effekte auf Eltern und Kinder
Clara Albrecht, Stella Canessa, Gordon B. Dahl, Anna Hasselqvist, Costas Meghir, Susan Niknami, Marten Palme, Helmut Rainer, Olof Rosenqvist, Pengpeng Xiao
ifo Schnelldienst, 2026, 79, Nr. 9 45-49
Learn more (https://www.ifo.de/en/publikationen/2026/aufsatz-zeitschrift/gemeinsames-sorgerecht-nach-trennung-effekte-auf-eltern-und-kinder)
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2026 Journal (Complete Issue)
ifo Schnelldienst 09/2026: Unreformierbar?
Learn more (https://www.ifo.de/en/publikationen/2026/zeitschrift-einzelheft/ifo-schnelldienst-092026-unreformierbar)
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2026 Working Paper
Life After Divorce: Effects of Joint Custody on Parents and Children
Stella Canessa, Gordon B. Dahl, Anna Hasselqvist, Costas Meghir, Susan Niknami, Marten Palme, Helmut Rainer, Olof Rosenqvist, Pengpeng Xiao
CESifo Working Paper No. 12822
Learn more (https://www.ifo.de/en/cesifo/publications/2026/working-paper/life-after-divorce-effects-joint-custody-parents-and-children)
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Original text here: https://www.ifo.de/en/press-release/2026-09-17/joint-custody-strengthens-families-after-separations
[Category: ThinkTank]
Ifo Institute: Confidence in Residential Construction Grows
MUNICH, Germany, Sept. 19 -- ifo Institute issued the following news release:
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16 September 2026
Confidence in Residential Construction Grows
Sentiment in residential construction in Germany improved significantly in August. The business climate rose from -29.0 to -22.7 points. That was due primarily to companies' expectations: The indicator climbed from -35.6 to -23.3 points.
However, the assessment of the current business situation remained unchanged, though it is still characterized by a certain degree of dissatisfaction. "Companies can increasingly see light at the end of the tunnel,"
... Show Full Article
MUNICH, Germany, Sept. 19 -- ifo Institute issued the following news release:
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16 September 2026
Confidence in Residential Construction Grows
Sentiment in residential construction in Germany improved significantly in August. The business climate rose from -29.0 to -22.7 points. That was due primarily to companies' expectations: The indicator climbed from -35.6 to -23.3 points.
However, the assessment of the current business situation remained unchanged, though it is still characterized by a certain degree of dissatisfaction. "Companies can increasingly see light at the end of the tunnel,"says Klaus Wohlrabe, Head of Surveys at ifo. "The rise in building permits is fueling hopes that the order situation will pick up in the coming months."
Yet there is little sign of this in order books so far. The share of companies reporting a lack of orders remained virtually unchanged at 41.3%. In addition, many projects are still being canceled: 13.4% of companies reported cancellations. On the other hand, the companies surveyed are finding it easier to obtain materials.
In August, only 2.9% reported bottlenecks for key intermediates, down from 8.5% in July. "To date, the improved sentiment is above all due to expectations moving forward," says Wohlrabe. "For a sustained recovery, the approved projects must now be translated into actual orders."
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More Information
Survey (https://www.ifo.de/en/facts/2026-09-16/confidence-residential-construction-grows)
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Original text here: https://www.ifo.de/en/press-release/2026-09-16/confidence-residential-construction-grows
[Category: ThinkTank]
Center for American Progress: Trump's $500 Health Care Check Falls Far Short as ACA Premiums Soar
WASHINGTON, Sept. 19 (TNSbrep) -- The Center for American Progress issued the following news release:
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Sep 17, 2026
Trump's $500 Health Care Check Falls Far Short as ACA Premiums Soar
Washington, D.C. -- A new analysis from the Center for American Progress finds that President Donald Trump's proposed one-time $500 checks for Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace enrollees would cover only a fraction of the higher health care costs families are facing after the enhanced premium tax credits expired. The "refunds" would prioritize households with the highest incomes, going only to nearly
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Sept. 19 (TNSbrep) -- The Center for American Progress issued the following news release:
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Sep 17, 2026
Trump's $500 Health Care Check Falls Far Short as ACA Premiums Soar
Washington, D.C. -- A new analysis from the Center for American Progress finds that President Donald Trump's proposed one-time $500 checks for Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace enrollees would cover only a fraction of the higher health care costs families are facing after the enhanced premium tax credits expired. The "refunds" would prioritize households with the highest incomes, going only to nearly1 million enrollees who do not receive premium tax credits, out of 19.2 million marketplace enrollees.
From 2025 to 2026, average monthly net premiums for marketplace enrollees increased 58 percent, or $780 annually, while the average deductible jumped 37 percent, or $1,027. Marketplace enrollment also fell 13 percent from February 2025 to February 2026.
"Families are paying hundreds or even thousands of dollars more for health coverage this year, and a one-time, $500 check does not come close to addressing those increases," said Natasha Murphy, director of Health Policy at CAP and co-author of the analysis. "Millions of people who are struggling with higher premiums would get nothing at all. If policymakers want to meaningfully lower costs, they should restore the enhanced premium tax credits that helped families afford coverage year after year."
Among the analysis' findings:
* A $500 check would cover only a small fraction of many families' premium increases. A 60-year-old earning $65,000 could pay more than $10,000 more for the same plan this year, meaning the check would cover less than 5 percent of the increase.
* Some households have seen their premium contributions more than triple. A 55-year-old couple earning $85,000 would see their annual contribution rise from $7,225 to $26,153. The $500 payment would cover less than 3 percent of that increase.
* Lower- and middle-income families would receive nothing. A family of four earning $75,000 is estimated to pay about $3,367 more this year but would not qualify because the family still receives premium tax credits.
* Consumers are increasingly moving into plans with higher out-of-pocket costs. Bronze plan selections rose from 7.3 million people in 2025 to 9.2 million people in 2026 as consumers sought lower monthly premiums.
* The administration's proposal reaches only a small share of marketplace consumers. CAP concludes that restoring the enhanced premium tax credits would benefit people across the 19.2 million-person marketplace and allow people who have been pushed out of the market to regain coverage.
Read the analysis: "A $500 Check Will Not Solve the Health Care Premium Crisis" (https://www.americanprogress.org/article/a-500-check-will-not-solve-the-health-care-premium-crisis/) by Brian Keyser and Natasha Murphy
For more information on this topic or to speak with an expert, please contact Christian Unkenholz at cunkenholz@americanprogress.org.
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Original text here: https://www.americanprogress.org/press/release-trumps-500-health-care-check-falls-far-short-as-aca-premiums-soar/
[Category: ThinkTank]
CSIS Issues Commentary: U.S.-China Summit - Too Big and Too Small to Fail
WASHINGTON, Sept. 19 -- The Center for Strategic and International Studies issued the following commentary:
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The U.S.-China Summit: Too Big and Too Small to Fail
Commentary by Scott Kennedy
September 18, 2026
Next week's summit between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping will be their second meeting of the year, with potentially two more engagements still to come. That the leaders of the world's two most powerful countries are meeting to talk about their bilateral relationship and international affairs is an achievement deserving appreciation. But the gap between their
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Sept. 19 -- The Center for Strategic and International Studies issued the following commentary:
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The U.S.-China Summit: Too Big and Too Small to Fail
Commentary by Scott Kennedy
September 18, 2026
Next week's summit between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping will be their second meeting of the year, with potentially two more engagements still to come. That the leaders of the world's two most powerful countries are meeting to talk about their bilateral relationship and international affairs is an achievement deserving appreciation. But the gap between theirlimited ambitions in terms of likely topics and outcomes on the one hand and the challenges facing the world on the other points to a growing vacuum of global leadership.
Too Important to Permit Failure
Both the United States and China have a strong self-interest in keeping the relationship at least superficially calm. The American economy has substantial strengths, driven mainly by investments in AI, but also glaring weaknesses, among them persistent inflation, rising unemployment, and ballooning debt. The bond market is already wobbly, with yields continuing to rise, suggesting increasing anxieties about deep-seated risks in the economy's foundations. With the midterms approaching, it is not in the Trump administration's self-interest to generate a crisis in the bilateral relationship right now.
Beijing likely is computing a similar calculus. Despite--or perhaps because of--its technology gains, its macroeconomic forecast is equally if not more shaky. Xi is in the early months of planning for the 21st Party Congress, to be held in the fall of 2027, which likely will give him a fourth five-year term as head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Like Trump, his political fortunes will be burnished by a stable international environment, which in large part comes down to keeping the peace with Washington.
Hence, observers can expect the current commercial ceasefire to be extended, with China permitting a greater flow of rare earths to the United States and others (Japan's access to rare earths is also a high priority for Washington) and the Trump administration not imposing cumulative tariffs on China higher than the rate in place as of the October 2025 Busan meeting. Beijing has reportedly sought to extend the current arrangement to the end of the Trump administration, whereas the United States prefers only a six-month extension. The obvious compromise would be one more year.
Too Small to Not Meet Expectations
The other reason the summit will not fail is because expectations have been whittled down to almost nothing. Beijing would likely prefer a long list of deliverables and Washington a shorter list, but neither has much ambition for path-breaking arrangements and compromises. Instead, expect limited deals, progress, and outcomes, such as both sides agreeing to reduce tariffs to standard levels for $30 billion of the other side's exports; more deals on Boeing planes, aircraft components, and agricultural goods; an initial discussion of AI safety issues; subtle adjustments in language about trying to end the conflicts in Ukraine and the Persian Gulf; and an emphasis on the importance of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and G20. Trump and Xi will likely meet in November in Shenzhen and in December in Miami for more of the same.
Not a G2
Although Trump and Xi will outwardly get along, this is not a G2. They are finding a way to manage the bilateral relationship, but they are not whatsoever working together as co-stewards of the international order. Nor is either interested in providing substantial public goods to provide conditions for a more enduring stability. This is a great power competition tempered by interdependence, a rough balance of power, and a need by both to handle challenges at home.
Given the widening global distribution of power, the decline of alliances, and the centrality of non-state actors, a G2 would never accurately reflect the significance of the U.S.-China relationship. That said, the meeting is a lost opportunity to tackle fundamental challenges, such as the international effects of macroeconomic imbalances, the growing risks from AI, the wars in Ukraine and Middle East, and climate change.
But the Trump administration is inherently constrained from doing more. It is pursuing an imperial foreign policy built primarily on a rigid emphasis on sovereignty, hard power, and bilateral interactions. Concerns about international legitimacy and multilateral norms that set guidelines for responsible behavior that constrain everyone, including the United States itself, are off the table. It also does not see a similar level of danger from climate change or AI safety as others do. Moreover, the breakdown of the interagency process means the Trump administration is typically bouncing from one problem to another and is insufficiently prepared to handle complex challenges over an extended period.
As a result, the administration's strategy is encountering obstacles on both the trade and security fronts, with problems in one area (e.g., an uneasy truce with Beijing) hindering success in others (e.g., gaining Beijing's help on Ukraine and Iran). Washington increasingly finds itself playing defense simultaneously on multiple fronts.
Conversely, Beijing could conceivably do much more, but it is content running out the clock on the Trump administration and keeping pressure from the European Union and others at bay, all while gradually advancing its own approach to global governance in the various fora it leads, such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (WAICO). Although Xi will likely bring an impressive group of corporate executives from some of China's leading high-tech firms, if past is prologue, they are unlikely to be given room to showcase their companies and expertise, meaning a lost opportunity for China to present a more nuanced picture of its society to an important audience.
A Lost Opportunity
Whenever the leaders of the planet's two most powerful countries--and some of their top companies--get together, there is a chance to do big things. But that would require sustained commitment from both parties, which does not currently seem possible in either capital. If nothing goes horribly wrong--and Xi expresses faux admiration at the White House's new helipad--the two sides will consider the gathering a success. But others should not.
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Scott Kennedy is senior adviser and Trustee Chair in Chinese Business and Economics at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C.
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Original text here: https://www.csis.org/analysis/us-china-summit-too-big-and-too-small-fail
[Category: ThinkTank]
CSIS Issues Commentary: Six Charts to Explain the Global Energy Crisis
WASHINGTON, Sept. 19 -- The Center for Strategic and International Studies issued the following commentary:
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Six Charts to Explain the Global Energy Crisis
Commentary by Joseph Majkut, Masha Kotkin, Caroline Russell, and Alex Garcia
September 17, 2026
The six charts in this analysis aim to illustrate the implications of the partial closing of the Strait of Hormuz on global energy markets. The conflict with Iran, which began with strikes by Israel and the United States on February 28, effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway which enables 25 percent of seaborne crude oil and
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Sept. 19 -- The Center for Strategic and International Studies issued the following commentary:
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Six Charts to Explain the Global Energy Crisis
Commentary by Joseph Majkut, Masha Kotkin, Caroline Russell, and Alex Garcia
September 17, 2026
The six charts in this analysis aim to illustrate the implications of the partial closing of the Strait of Hormuz on global energy markets. The conflict with Iran, which began with strikes by Israel and the United States on February 28, effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway which enables 25 percent of seaborne crude oil andaround 20 percent of liquified natural gas (LNG) to reach global energy markets. Energy prices did not spike as dramatically as in similar crises in 1973 and 1979 due to several important market conditions. In February 2026, ample amounts of crude loaded on tankers proceeded to customers, the International Energy Agency (IEA) secured pledges from its members to release 400 million barrels of crude from their strategic reserves, the United States filled supply gaps by increasing exports, and China and Japan significantly curtailed imports.
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1. Oil Prices Followed War Development
The initial closure of strait removed a large share of seaborne crude, placing an upward pressure on the price of oil, refined products, and natural gas. Brent crude prices responded to the disruption of energy flows, rising from around $70 per barrel in February to $145 in April, settling around $90 per barrel by the end of August. However, benchmark prices rose far less than expected due to several mitigating factors. In March, the IEA secured commitments from its members to release 400 million barrels from strategic reserves, with around 290 million barrels released by the end of July. By June, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) redirected crude exports through the Red Sea, exporting 5.0 million barrels per day (mb/d) and 4.3 mb/d, respectively. Iraq also redirected its supply of crude by sending around 1,000 tanker trucks per day through Syria to export via the Baniyas refinery complex.
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2. U.S. Exports of Crude Oil Jumped After the Start of the War
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The United States entered the war with strong domestic production and exports of 3.9 mb/d of crude and 6.6 mb/d of refined petroleum products. The surge in U.S. exports helped fill supply gaps in the global market and demonstrated the flexibility of the U.S. refining system. Rising prices for crude and refined products outside of the United States incentivized the surge in exports. The structural changes of the sector in the last decade--namely the shale revolution, investment in Gulf Coast pipelines in the United States, refining capacity, and export terminals--made this surge in supply possible. Customers in Asia moved to increase purchases from U.S. suppliers, thereby minimizing conflict-related disruptions and ensuring their energy security.
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3. Chinese Oil Imports Dropped Precipitously
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China, the world's largest crude importer, entered the war with nearly 1.4 billion barrels in combined commercial and government stocks. Following years of stockpiling its strategic oil inventories, China cut crude imports by about 32 percent, from the average 11.6 mb/d in 2025 to 8.0 mb/d. China's ability to maintain these deep cuts over time is a key determinant in how long the global economy can withstand significant traffic disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz. China's crude imports increased in July and August 2026, which may result in a tighter supply of crude in global markets. In April, Japan's imports of crude from Saudi Arabia and the UAE contracted sharply to 853,329 b/d, a decline of nearly 66 percent. In May, Japan agreed to cooperate on oil procurement and swaps with South Korea, importing additional crude from North America.
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4. U.S. LNG Exports Shift to Asia
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Asia's share of U.S. LNG exports rose from about 12 percent in January to about 40 percent in May. Iranian strikes on Qatar's Ras Laffan export facility and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz cut Qatar's LNG supply to Asia, which tightened global supply and raised prices. To fill supply gaps and maximize profit, U.S. LNG facilities increased plant utilization to peak at over 100 percent in March. However, committing LNG vessels to lengthy voyages to Asia combined with the scheduled maintenance season resulted in a decline in available vessels and plant utilization by the summer. After the end of the 2025-26 heating season, Europe needed to refill its gas storage during the summer of 2026. During its last energy crisis, triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, European consumers and businesses absorbed the brunt of the elevated gas prices. This year, European leaders were willing to take a gamble and delay refilling their storage, hoping for lower gas prices. Now, Europe has filled just 68 percent of its gas storage, significantly short of its winter storage target of 80 percent. European gas prices continue to rise due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, along with reduced pipeline gas supply from Algeria and Norway. Europe now faces its heating season with below-average inventories, gas prices as high as in December 2022, and limited capacity to absorb additional supply and demand shocks.
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5. Oversupply of LNG Delayed
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According to BloombergBNEF, hostilities with Iran also pushed back projected oversupply of LNG from 2027 to 2028. Instead of excess LNG supply of 1.7 million metric tons (Mt) estimated for 2026, conflict-related disruptions will create a shortage of 3.3 Mt in 2027, with peak supply of LNG at 104 Mt projected for 2031. Needed repairs, constrained by supply chain bottlenecks, reduced Qatar's prewar export capacity and also further delayed the expansion of the North Field, potentially reaching completion in the next three to five years. During the conflict, the United States emerged as a global swing supplier due to the significant expansion of LNG capacity and offtake flexibility.
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6. Helium Price Index
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Prior to the closing of the Strait of Hormuz, Qatar provided about one-third of the world's helium, mostly supplying semiconductor manufacturers producing AI-grade chips in Asia. The conflict temporarily shut in helium supply from the Gulf. Russia's partial ban on helium exports in April put additional pressure on the price and supply of helium. To fill supply gaps, Asia's chipmakers turned to U.S. natural gas producers to source helium, a byproduct of LNG production. U.S. industry ramped up production of LNG to fill the supply gap created by the conflict, which also increased production of helium. In the first five months of 2026, South Korea and Taiwan pivoted from Qatar and sourced the bulk of their helium from the United States. South Korea's imports of U.S. helium rose from 28 percent to 56 percent, and Taiwan's U.S. helium imports rose from just under 4 percent to around 60 percent. To reduce supply-side risk, Samsung and SK Hynix also signed long-term contracts with U.S. helium suppliers Air Products and Linde in April.
Looking Ahead
The status of the Strait of Hormuz remains dynamic, but several factors can shape energy markets in the short to medium term. Coordinated releases of nearly 300 million barrels of emergency crude reserves by IEA members, increases in U.S. exports of oil and gas, and Japan's and China's significant reductions of crude imports stabilized energy markets. Soon, the European Union, the United States, and others will need to refill their strategic reserves, competing for supply in a tight market, driving crude prices ever higher. Europe also needs to refill its natural gas storage for the winter heating season. Europe's commitment to decouple from Russian pipeline gas by November 1, 2027, rests on the availability and affordability of LNG. The elevated cost of LNG may slow down Europe's economy and delay its complete elimination of Russian-piped gas. The Houthi attacks in September further damaged Saudi energy infrastructure and constrained the country's ability to export crude through the Yanbu (East-West) pipeline and the Red Sea. Finally, China's role as a swing crude consumer during this conflict may make it challenging for the United States to achieve its economic priorities during the planned Trump-Xi summit on September 24.
This commentary is made possible by general funding to CSIS and the CSIS Energy Security and Climate Change Program.
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Joseph Majkut, Director, Energy Security and Climate Change Program
Masha Kotkin, Fellow, Energy Security and Climate Change Program
Caroline Russell, Associate Fellow, Energy Security and Climate Change Program
Alex Garcia, Intern, Energy Security and Climate Change Program
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Original text here: https://www.csis.org/analysis/six-charts-explain-global-energy-crisis
[Category: ThinkTank]
America First Policy Institute Issues Commentary: Constitution Day Reminds Us - A Republic Cannot Survive If We Do Not Teach It
WASHINGTON, Sept. 19 -- The America First Policy Institute issued the following commentary:
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Constitution Day Reminds Us: A Republic Cannot Survive If We Do Not Teach It
September 17, 2026
By Katie Gorka and Trish Duggan
On Constitution Day, Americans celebrate a world-changing document that begins with "We the People." It was the first-ever governing document to take power out of the hands of elites and place it in the hands of everyday citizens.
Our Founders felt strongly that their extraordinary experiment in self-government and individual freedom would require, for its success, citizens
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Sept. 19 -- The America First Policy Institute issued the following commentary:
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Constitution Day Reminds Us: A Republic Cannot Survive If We Do Not Teach It
September 17, 2026
By Katie Gorka and Trish Duggan
On Constitution Day, Americans celebrate a world-changing document that begins with "We the People." It was the first-ever governing document to take power out of the hands of elites and place it in the hands of everyday citizens.
Our Founders felt strongly that their extraordinary experiment in self-government and individual freedom would require, for its success, citizenswho know their rights, take their responsibilities seriously, and possess the moral character required for self-government. The Constitution can limit government on paper, but only an informed people can preserve liberty in practice.
That makes America's teachers essential to our nation's future.
Most teachers enter the classroom because they are filled with a passion to help kids learn. But instead of being trusted to do their jobs, they are often buried in paperwork, boxed in by mandates, and told to carry out political agendas they had no part in creating. Then, when students fall behind, or parents push back against woke policies, teachers are left taking the blame for decisions that were never theirs in the first place.
This Constitution Day, the America First Policy Institute is launching the Let Teachers Teach coalition to change that. The coalition will elevate educators who believe in the pursuit of knowledge, parental partnership, and putting students first. It will equip teachers to advocate for strong curriculum, work effectively with local school boards, and restore honest civics and history instruction.
This comes at an important time for civics education in America.
AFPI's 2026 report, "Restoring Civics Education to Revitalize Our Republic," found that only seven states require students to complete a full-year civics or government course, while 12 states have no such requirement. Although 36 states and the District of Columbia require some civics coursework in high school, only five require it in middle school. Even many teacher-preparation programs fail to require meaningful coursework in American history and government.
The result is a generation too often asked to have opinions about government before it has been taught how government works.
In some schools, traditional civics has been displaced by "action civics," which steers students toward progressive public policies rather than giving them the knowledge to reach their own conclusions. Students are encouraged to see America principally through the lens of grievance, privilege, and oppression while spending too little time studying the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, federalism, the separation of powers, and the rule of law.
Most educators did not enter the profession to serve as partisan activists. They came to teach children how to read, write, reason, and participate responsibly in American life. They want classrooms where students can ask difficult questions, examine competing ideas, and learn the truth about our history, including its triumphs, its failures, and the enduring principles that have allowed generations of Americans to correct injustice and expand liberty.
Let Teachers Teach will give those educators practical support. At launch, the coalition is releasing three toolkits designed to help teachers engage their local school boards, evaluate and advocate for high-quality curriculum, and strengthen civics and history instruction. These are tools teachers can use to identify bias, raise concerns constructively, and let their voices echo where educational decisions are made.
Constitution Day should remind us of the obligation we all have to understand the inheritance we received and hand it on to those who come next. Great teachers should be recognized for helping students master academic content, not for complying with the latest ideological demand. Schools should reduce administrative burdens that steal time from instruction, protect teachers who reject political coercion, and give educators the freedom to teach age-appropriate, knowledge-rich lessons.
Benjamin Franklin famously described our new form of government as "a republic, if you can keep it." Keeping it requires citizens who understand it. And producing those citizens requires teachers who are trusted, equipped and free to teach.
That begins with a simple conviction that teachers should be accountable to students, families and the truth. Partisanship has no place in American classrooms.
If we want our children to inherit the blessings of liberty, we must ensure they know where those blessings came from. This Constitution Day, it is time to stand with the educators prepared to do that work and to let teachers teach.
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Katie Gorka is the Executive Director of the Freedom 250 Civics Education Coalition at America First Policy Institute. Trish Duggan is an accomplished artist, experienced entrepreneur, human rights advocate, and dedicated philanthropist.
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Original text here: https://americafirstpolicy.com/issues/constitution-day-reminds-us-a-republic-cannot-survive-if-we-do-not-teach-it/
[Category: ThinkTank]
AFPI Celebrates Constitution Day by Putting Constitution Books in the Hands of Over 50,000 Students
WASHINGTON, Sept. 19 -- The America First Policy Institute issued the following news release:
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AFPI Celebrates Constitution Day by Putting Constitution Books in the Hands of Over 50,000 Students
September 17, 2026
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- This Constitution Day, the America First Policy Institute (AFPI) is taking action to strengthen civics education by putting illustrated Constitution books in the hands of more than 50,000 students around the country and launching the Let Teachers Teach Coalition to support educators in advancing strong civics and history instruction.
These Constitution books,
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Sept. 19 -- The America First Policy Institute issued the following news release:
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AFPI Celebrates Constitution Day by Putting Constitution Books in the Hands of Over 50,000 Students
September 17, 2026
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- This Constitution Day, the America First Policy Institute (AFPI) is taking action to strengthen civics education by putting illustrated Constitution books in the hands of more than 50,000 students around the country and launching the Let Teachers Teach Coalition to support educators in advancing strong civics and history instruction.
These Constitution books,which break down founding principles through easy-to-understand illustrations, are being delivered directly today to schools across the country for students to read on Constitution Day.
This effort comes as AFPI launches a new coalition of teachers, called Let Teachers Teach, which will equip educators from around the country to advocate for strong curriculum, partner with parents and local school boards, and help ensure students know America's history and founding principles.
"America's constitutional republic depends on each generation understanding what it has inherited from our Nation's Founders. Today on Constitution Day, we're putting those principles directly into the hands of more than 50,000 students, alongside launching the Let Teachers Teach Coalition, to strengthen civics education nationwide. If we want the next generation to preserve our freedoms, we have to teach them what those freedoms are and where they came from," said Katie Gorka, who is the Executive Director of the Freedom 250 Civics Education Coalition at America First Policy Institute.
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Original tex there: https://americafirstpolicy.com/issues/afpi-celebrates-constitution-day-by-putting-constitution-books-in-the-hands-of-over-50000-students/
[Category: ThinkTank]
