The ten reasons listed here why FOSS makes sense in education, only implicitely notes what I would consider the most important one: FOSS promotes sharing, collaboration and free thinking. These are all essential for the progress of human knowledge and individual creativity.

Of course, in a corporate-centric culture where ownership and control are central, FOSS values are seen as promoting "thievery" and "piracy." If the DMCA had been in effect since the dawn of history, 99% of the world's art, literature, music and science would never have been created.

Important links mentioned in the article:

Organization for Free Software in Education and Training

SourceForge

Implementation Histories of Linux in Schools