Parents

Education news, analysis, and opinion about how parents and other family members interact with schools and their children’s education
Row of three school desks. Each has a different color seat. One is red, one is white, and the third desk has a blue seat. Each desk has a voting booth on top with the familiar voting "American flag" and the word "VOTE".
Illustration by Taylor Callery for Education Week
States Education on the Ballot: EdWeek’s Guide to the 2026 Elections
Education Week reviewed what's on the ballot in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Matthew Stone, Emily Wright & Jennifer Vilcarino, September 24, 2026
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2 min read
The United States Capitol building as a bookcase filled with red, white, and blue policy books in a Washington DC landscape.
Luca D'Urbino for Education Week
School Choice & Charters Opinion What Do Parents Look for in a School?
Test scores aren’t the whole story. The CEO of GreatSchools talks about what parents want.
Rick Hess, September 22, 2026
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5 min read
Illustration by Nicole Xu showing an ELL specialist in a classroom of older students, looking at the window of the classroom door as other teachers walk by
Nicole Xu for Education Week
Special Report Supporting English Learners: Practical Solutions for Today’s Schools
How districts are navigating older English learners, AI tools, and early screening to build practical paths to success.
September 21, 2026
Illustration by Nicole Xu showing a teacher in a teacher-parent conference with a laptop that translates a distorted depiction of the student. The female parent of the EL student has a swirly white line of confusion circling her head.
Nicole Xu for Education Week
Artificial Intelligence Can Schools Trust AI to Translate for Non-English-Speaking Parents?
AI tools can translate school materials for non-English-speaking parents, but there are challenges around privacy and accuracy.
Alyson Klein, September 21, 2026
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10 min read
WASHINGTON, DC - AUGUST 17: The U.S. Department of Justice Building on August 17, 2026 in Washington, DC.
The U.S. Department of Justice Building on Aug. 17, 2026 in Washington. The Justice Department has teamed up with the U.S. Department of Education to fight school and state policies concerning transgender students it deems objectionable.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Law & Courts Trump Admin. Turns to Student Privacy Laws in Gender Identity Fights With Schools
The feds are increasingly citing student privacy laws in gender-identity battles with school districts.
Mark Walsh, September 17, 2026
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8 min read
An anti-AI flag is shown during a protest against artificial intelligence in San Francisco on July 11, 2026. Parents who are advocating against the overuse of technology in education say AI bans in schools are a good step to address their concerns, but they also want to see classroom restrictions on screen time and use of platforms such as YouTube.
An anti-AI flag is shown during a protest against artificial intelligence in San Francisco on July 11, 2026. Parents who are advocating against the overuse of technology in education say AI bans in schools are a good step to address their concerns, but they also want to see classroom restrictions on screen time and use of platforms such as YouTube.
Jason Henry/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Artificial Intelligence Banning AI Alone Won't Snuff Out the 'TechLash,' Parent Advocates Say
Parents worry about AI but also data privacy, video use, and screen time in general, advocates say.
Alyson Klein, September 16, 2026
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6 min read
Conceptual illustration of classroom conversations and fragmented education elements coming together to form a cohesive picture of a book of classroom knowledge.
Sonia Pulido for Education Week
English Learners Opinion Try These Strategies to Engage Parents of English Learners
Parents can be more than allies in their children’s education. They can be experts.
Larry Ferlazzo, September 14, 2026
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8 min read
HERNDON, VA - MAY 11: Carmen Quintanilla and her husband Cain Perez read a book to their daughter, Carolina Perez, 5, during a program with Coates Family Academy at Lutie Lewis Coates Elementary School in Herndon, Va., Thursday, May 11, 2023. The program is called Book Bounce, one of many designed by Coates Family Academy for parents to be more involved in their students' education. It's focused on immigrant and English-learning families.
Carmen Quintanilla and her husband Cain Perez read a book to their daughter Carolina Perez, 5, during a program with Coates Family Academy at Lutie Lewis Coates Elementary School in Herndon, Va., on May 11, 2023. New research shows a decline in parent-child shared book reading experiences since the pandemic.
Salwan Georges/The Washington Post via Getty Images
Early Childhood Parents Are Reading Less to Preschool-Age Kids at Home. What’s to Blame?
A new study uncovers factors tied to shared reading habits at home.
Elizabeth Heubeck, September 11, 2026
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4 min read
Yair Lev stands by as a screen displaying an itinerary for a Lower Merion Board of School Directors meeting at the Lower Merion School District Administration Building on May 11, 2026, in Ardmore, Pa.
Yair Lev stands by as a screen displaying a document for a school district board of directors meeting at the Lower Merion school district administration building on May 11, 2026, in Ardmore, Pa. Lev is among a group of parents who have sued the Philadelphia-area school district seeking the ability to opt their children out of the required use of school technology.
Joe Lamberti/AP
Law & Courts These Parents Want to Opt Their Kids Out of Ed Tech. Can They Win in Court?
Parents in a Pennsylvania district say ed tech distracts from more meaningful learning.
Mark Walsh, September 8, 2026
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10 min read
Acting Deputy Executive Associate Director at Homeland Security Investigations Matthew Millhollin holds a Department of Justice folder during a news conference to announce charges being brought against Chinese nationals involved in a marriage fraud scheme at the Department of Justice on Aug. 12, 2026 in Washington, D.C. The group have been accused of running a scheme where foreign nationals paid money to American citizens for fraudulent marriages in order to receive green cards then immediately filed for divorce once permanent residency in the U.S. had been established. (Photo by Samuel Corum/Sipa USA)
An official holds a Department of Justice folder during a news conference on Aug. 12, 2026 in Washington. The DOJ sued the Kansas City, Kan., public schools over guidelines addressing how school staff address students who request to go by pronouns that differ from their sex at birth.
Samuel Corum/Sipa USA via AP
Law & Courts Trump Admin. Says School District Facilitates 'Gender Transitions,' Files Suit
The lawsuit comes after several months of back and forth with the Kansas City, Kan., public schools.
Sofi Zeman, The Kansas City Star, September 1, 2026
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2 min read
MEAD, CO - AUGUST 18: Parents watch and and take photos of their kids as they enter the school during their first day of class at the Big Sky PK-8 School in Mead on Aug. 18, 2026.
Parents watch their kids as they enter the school on the first day of class at the Big Sky PK-8 School in Mead, Colo., on Aug. 18, 2026. As schools face growing backlash from parents over their use of educational technology, a school communications professional has some pointers on how schools can communicate with parents about how they're using technology.
Joel Solis/MediaNews Group/Boulder Daily Camera via Getty Images
Classroom Technology Q&A Facing 'Techlash,' How Should Schools Talk to Parents About Tech Use?
A school communications expert explains how schools should approach their messaging around tech.
Arianna Prothero, August 21, 2026
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5 min read
Imran, left, confers with his math partner Nataly as the fifth graders solve a problem using base-10 rods at Hawthorne Elementary School, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2023 , in Seattle .
Imran, left, confers with his math partner Nataly as the 5th graders solve a problem using base-10 rods at Hawthorne Elementary School in Seattle on Jan. 24, 2023. Some parents in the city, which issues devices to all students, have opted their children out of school-issued technology.
Ken Lambert/Seattle Times via TNS
Classroom Technology These Kids Are Learning Without Tech in a District That Gives Out Devices to All
Some parents in this city opted their children out of school-issued devices.
Claire Bryan, The Seattle Times, August 17, 2026
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10 min read
Karen Locken plays with children in an Early Head Start program in Pasadena, California on Friday, April 18, 2025 .
Karen Locken plays with children in an Early Head Start program in Pasadena, California on Friday, April 18, 2025 .
Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times/TNS
Early Childhood Trump Admin. Moves to Dismantle Head Start Quality Standards
The Trump administration announced plans to dismantle the federal regulations that have defined Head Start for decades.
Elizabeth Heubeck, August 6, 2026
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5 min read
Students, from left, Araiza Maldonado Basilio, Alexa Velasquez Mendoza and Leslie Sandoval Reyes, open letters in 2023 informing them which Minnesota colleges and universities they were pre-accepted to as part of the state's Direct Admissions program.
From left, students Araiza Maldonado Basilio, Alexa Velasquez Mendoza, and Leslie Sandoval Reyes open letters in 2023 informing them which Minnesota colleges and universities they were pre-accepted to as part of the state's Direct Admissions program. As families conduct college searches, AI is playing a growing role in helping families understand and discover college choices, a new survey found.
Anthony Soufflé/The Minnesota Star Tribune/TNS
College & Workforce Readiness AI Gains Ground as a College-Search Tool for Parents
A survey of parents of high school students finds more are turning to AI for information about college choices.
Mark Walsh, August 6, 2026
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2 min read