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Basis of Presentation
9 Months Ended
Feb. 28, 2025
Accounting Policies [Abstract]  
Basis of Presentation BASIS OF PRESENTATION
 
Principles of consolidation
 
The accompanying condensed consolidated interim financial statements (referred to as the “Financial Statements” herein) include the accounts of Scholastic Corporation (the “Corporation”) and all wholly-owned and majority-owned subsidiaries (collectively, “Scholastic” or the “Company”). The Company reviews its relationships with other entities to identify whether it is the primary beneficiary of a variable interest entity (“VIE”). If the determination is made that the Company is the primary beneficiary, then the entity is consolidated. Intercompany transactions are eliminated in consolidation.

The Company’s fiscal year is not a calendar year. Accordingly, references in this document to fiscal 2025 relate to the twelve-month period ending May 31, 2025. Certain prior period amounts have been reclassified to conform with the current year presentation.

Noncontrolling Interest

On June 1, 2023, the Company acquired the remaining shares of Make Believe Ideas Limited ("MBI"), a UK-based children's book publishing company, which represented a 5.0% noncontrolling interest, increasing the Company's total ownership from 95.0% to 100%.

Prior to June 1, 2023, the founder and chief executive officer of MBI retained a 5.0% noncontrolling ownership interest in MBI. The Company fully consolidated MBI as of the acquisition date and the 5.0% noncontrolling interest was classified within stockholder's equity.

Interim Financial Statements

The accompanying Financial Statements have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP”) and Article 10 of Regulation S-X of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) for interim financial information, and should be read in conjunction with the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2024. The Financial Statements presented in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q are unaudited; however, in the opinion of management, the Financial Statements reflect all adjustments, consisting solely of normal, recurring adjustments, necessary for the fair presentation of the Financial Statements for the periods presented. 

Seasonality
 
The Company’s Children’s Book Publishing and Distribution school-based book club and book fair channels and most of its Education Solutions businesses operate on a school-year basis; therefore, the Company’s business is highly seasonal. As a result, the Company’s revenues in the first and third quarters of the fiscal year generally are lower than its revenues in the other two fiscal quarters. Typically, school-based channels and magazine revenues are minimal in the first quarter of the fiscal year as schools are not in session. Education channel revenues are generally higher in the fourth quarter. Trade channel and Entertainment segment revenues can vary throughout the year due to the timing of published titles' release dates and program production deliveries and the start dates of distribution license agreements.

Use of Estimates
 
The preparation of these Financial Statements involves the use of estimates and assumptions by management, which affects the amounts reported in the Financial Statements and accompanying notes. The Company bases its estimates on historical experience, current business factors, and various other assumptions believed to be reasonable under the circumstances, all of which are necessary in order to form a basis for determining the carrying values of certain assets and liabilities. Actual results may differ from those estimates and assumptions. On an on-going basis, the Company evaluates the adequacy of its reserves and the estimates used in these calculations, including, but not limited to:
Accounts receivable allowance for credit losses
Pension and postretirement benefit plans
Uncertain tax positions
The timing and amount of future income taxes and related deductions
Inventory reserves
Cost of goods sold from book fair operations during interim periods based on estimated gross profit rates
Sales tax contingencies
Royalty advance reserves and royalty expense accruals
Expected economic useful life of film and television program assets
Impairment testing for goodwill, other intangibles and other long-lived assets and investments
Assets and liabilities acquired in business combinations
Variable consideration related to anticipated returns
Allocation of transaction price to contractual performance obligations

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

In Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2024 the Company included a description of its significant accounting policies. Except as set forth below, as of the date of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q there have been no material changes to the significant accounting policies described in the Company’s Annual Report for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2024.

The below significant accounting policies relate to the Company's entertainment business, which includes the operations of 9 Story and Scholastic Entertainment Inc. ("SEI"). Refer to Note 7, "Acquisitions" for further details regarding the acquisition of 9 Story.

Revenue recognition
The Company’s revenue recognition policies for its entertainment business include the following:

Film and TV production - Revenue is deferred during production and recognized when the film or episodes have been delivered and are available for showing or exploitation.
Production services - Revenue is recognized using the percentage-of-completion method based on the proportion of costs incurred in the current period to total expected costs.

Licensing - Revenue from the sale or granting of broadcast license rights to third parties is recognized when the licensed content is available to the customer and the customer has the contractual right to broadcast or stream the content.

Royalty income - Revenue from sales and usage-based royalties related to licenses is generally recognized when the subsequent sale or usage occurs.

Investment in film and television programs
Investments in film and television programs are stated at the lower of cost or net realizable value. Investment in film and television programs includes all direct production and financing costs incurred during production and minimum guarantee payments made to acquire distribution rights. Interest costs are capitalized to the cost of the film or television program until substantially all of the activities required for delivery are complete. Investments in film and television programs are amortized using the declining-balance method with rates ranging from 50% to 90% at the time of initial episodic delivery and at rates ranging from 10% to 25% annually thereafter. The determination of the rates is based on the expected economic useful life of the film or television program and includes factors such as rights retained by the Company, the availability of rights to renew licenses for episodic television programs in various territories, and the availability of secondary market revenue. The Company regularly reviews the recoverability of these capitalized costs based on expected future cash flows.

Government financing and assistance
The Company has access to government programs and tax credits that are designed to assist film, television and digital media production and distribution. Amounts received and amounts receivable which relate to the Company's film and television program assets are recorded as a reduction in the production costs of the related asset.
New Accounting Pronouncements

In November 2024, Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") 2024-03, "Income Statement—Reporting Comprehensive Income—Expense Disaggregation Disclosures (Subtopic 220-40) - Disaggregation of Income Statement Expenses." This ASU improves financial reporting by requiring that public business entities disclose additional information about specific expense categories in the notes to financial statements at interim and annual reporting periods. In January 2025, the FASB issued ASU 2025-01,""Income Statement—Reporting Comprehensive Income—Expense Disaggregation Disclosures (Subtopic 220-40) - Clarifying the Effective Date" to clarify the effective date of ASU 2024-03 for non-calendar year-end entities. ASU 2024-03 is effective for the Company's fiscal year 2028, and interim periods starting in fiscal year 2029. Early adoption is permitted. The amendments in this ASU are to be applied retrospectively to all prior periods presented in the financial statements. The Company is currently assessing the impact of the disclosure requirements on its consolidated financial statements.

In December 2023, the FASB issued ASU 2023-09, "Income Taxes (Topic 740)." The amendments in this update enhance the transparency and decision usefulness of income tax disclosures to provide information to better assess how an entity’s operations and related tax risks and tax planning and operational opportunities affect its tax rate and prospects for future cash flows. The amendments in this ASU require more transparency about income tax information through improvements to income tax disclosures primarily related to the rate reconciliation and income taxes paid information. This ASU is effective for the Company's fiscal year 2026. The amendments are to be applied prospectively, but may be applied retrospectively to all prior periods presented in the financial statements. The Company is currently assessing the impact of the disclosure requirements on its consolidated financial statements.

In November 2023, the FASB issued ASU 2023-07, “Segment Reporting (Topic 280) - Improvements to Reportable Segment Disclosures.” This ASU improves reportable segment disclosure requirements, primarily through enhanced disclosures about significant segment expenses. This ASU is effective for the Company's fiscal year 2025, and interim periods starting in fiscal year 2026. The amendments in this ASU are to be applied retrospectively to all prior periods presented in the financial statements. The Company is currently assessing the impact of the disclosure requirements on its consolidated financial statements.

Refer to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2024 for more information on current applicable authoritative guidance and its impact on the Company's financial statements.