The 90th Scripps National Spelling Bee is underway this week just outside Washington, D.C., with 291 students competing for the championship.

The youngest speller is 6-year-old Edith Fuller, a homeschooled kindergartner from Oklahoma. The pint-sized competitor—the youngest in bee history—got a rock star welcome from her fellow spellers, many of whom are twice her age and asked for selfies with her in the convention center hallways. Most of the competitors are in middle school, with 12- and 13-year-olds making up more than half the field. Fuller is one of 21 homeschoolers in this year’s bee. The majority of students—65.6 percent—go to public school. About one-quarter come from private or parochial schools.

Although bee organizers don’t track competitors’ ethnicity, students from the Indian-American community have dominated the contest for the last decade and appear poised to take the championship again this year. Their success is due in large part to two “minor league” bees open only to Indian-American students. Earlier this month, I profiled a speller from Houston going to the national bee for the first time. Raksheet Kota, like many of the contestants, began competing in the North-South Foundation spelling bee in first grade.

North-South Foundation spellers have won the Scripps bee for the last nine years. And for the last three years, the contest has ended in a tie. This year, organizers announced new tie-breaking rules. Before beginning the on-stage verbal spelling contest today, students completed a written spelling and vocabulary test Tuesday. In the event of a tie after tomorrow’s final round, the judges will turn to the written test in hopes of crowning a single champion.

After two rounds, both Fuller and Kota remain in the competition. Fuller made it through Round 2 by correctly spelling nyctinasty. Kota correctly spelled bienvenue.

Watch the rest of the competition on ESPN.

Redefining free speech on college campuses

Lawmakers in Wisconsin are trying to quell college protests that drown out speakers—mostly conservatives—sharing unpopular views on campus.

A string of violent demonstrations at colleges and universities across the country this year made national headlines. College administrators cancelled several speeches out of fear they could not control angry crowds of students. In November, University of Wisconsin-Madison students shouted down former Breitbart editor and conservative columnist Ben Shapiro.

A bill proposed by Republican state lawmakers calls for suspension or expulsion of students caught engaging in violence or disorderly conduct during a speech or presentation. Although the bill’s sponsors say it will protect free speech, critics note it stifles the speech of protesters and warn it will lead to a rash of “witch hunt” complaints filed by students from both ends of the political spectrum.

Wisconsin lawmakers will vote on the bill sometime in June. Although it might create more problems than it solves, free speech advocates say something must be done to shore up appreciation for the First Amendment on college campuses. Jeffrey Herbst, president and CEO of Newseum, warns changing attitudes about free speech threaten the foundation of democracy.

“With little comment, an alternate understanding of the First Amendment has emerged among young people that can be called ‘the right to non-offensive speech,’” he wrote in a recent white paper. “This perspective essentially carves out an exception to the right of free speech by trying to prevent expression that is seen as particularly offensive to an identifiable group, especially if that collective is defined in terms of race, ethnicity, gender, or sexual identity. The crisis is not one of the very occasional speaker thrown off campus, however regrettable that is; rather, it is a generation that increasingly censors itself and others, largely silently but sometimes through active protest.” —L.J.

Public school pulls Bible elective after lawsuit

A West Virginia school district has suspended its optional Bible class for elementary school students following a lawsuit filed by the Freedom From Religion Foundation. Last week, the Mercer County board of education voted to halt the Bible in the Schools program for one year while it reviews the curriculum. High school students can still sign up for “The Bible and Its Influence,” a course used for academic study that has broad acceptance in the educational community, according to Superintendent Deborah Akers. The Freedom From Religion Foundation wants to see all Bible-related classes removed from public schools. Mercer County offers the courses in 15 elementary schools and three middle schools. The classes are financed by donations but administered by the district. West Virginia schools gained permission to teach classes about the Bible in 1985 when then–Attorney General Charlie Brown declared them constitutional, as long as they focus on historical and literary qualities and do not try to produce a “personal religious commitment.” First Liberty Institute is representing the school district in the lawsuit. —L.J.

Free Ride 101

College students in New York can begin applying for the state’s new free tuition program June 7. Excelsior Scholarships, signed into law by Gov. Andrew Cuomo earlier this year, will cover tuition at four-year state universities for students from families earning $125,000 or less annually. While Cuomo touted the program as a way to make college more affordable, critics say it only benefits middle-class students whose parents make too much to qualify for existing aid programs. Poor students already get tuition assistance, and Excelsior only pays for costs not already covered by other grants or aid. It also doesn’t cover room and board, often the most expensive part of going to college. Despite the criticisms, education analysts expect to see other states adopt similar programs in the coming years. I’m looking into how these initiatives will affect Christian colleges and universities across the country. —L.J.