Federal Policy

News, analysis, and opinion about federal education laws, regulations, and proposals—and their impact
Collage-style illustration of tall vertical clippings of green lockers, a school bus and a wooden desk, all split apart. In between the images are clippings of text from the IRS webpage that has information about the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit.
Illustration by Emily Wright for Education Week + Getty
School Choice & Charters Opinion Don’t Be Fooled by Claims That Tax-Credit Scholarships Can Help Public Education
The latest federal school choice scheme is a Trojan horse, argue Miguel Cardona and Robert Kim.
Miguel Cardona & Robert Kim, October 23, 2026
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5 min read
Maria Contreras, right, opens the door for her son, Ian Contreras, before taking him to school on Thursday, April 9, 2026, in Fort Worth, Texas.
Maria Contreras, right, opens the door for her son, Ian Contreras, before taking him to school on Thursday, April 9, 2026, in Fort Worth, Texas. Private school choice programs—such as Texas' education savings accounts—are shaping debates in close races in a handful of states.
Julio Cortez/AP
School Choice & Charters School Choice Could Prove Pivotal in Some Midterm Races This Fall
"The politics of school choice are being scrambled in real time," says one advocate.
Arianna Prothero, October 20, 2026
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8 min read
Federal tax dollars flow into a public school. Federal school choice funding.
Vanessa Solis/Education Week + Getty
School Choice & Charters Q&A How Much Will Federal School Choice Benefit Public Schools?
"The money is there," says a researcher trying to project how much is there for public school students.
Arianna Prothero, October 15, 2026
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5 min read
Image of a computer and money
Collage with Getty
Artificial Intelligence We Need Research on AI in Schools. The Feds Should Fund It, Report Says
More research would help schools make better decisions about AI use in classrooms, educators say.
Lauraine Langreo, October 15, 2026
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5 min read
Elaine Wilson, left, and Lois Curtis are shown in this April 10, 1999 file photo. States may have to place people with mental disabilities in homelike settings if they can fare just as well there as in state hospitals, the Supreme Court said Tuesday, June 22, 1999. The decision did not provide the final word in the legal battle of the two Georgia women who sued Georgia to get out of a state mental hospital in Atlanta. Elaine Wilson and Lois Curtis had been approved for community-based care but faced long waiting lists. Now in group homes, both women attended the Supreme Court arguments for their case in April.
Plaintiffs Elaine Wilson and Lois Curtis, shown here on April 10, 1999, during their Supreme Court battle, were the two Georgia women whose lawsuit established the landmark <i>Olmstead</i> decision requiring community-based care for adults with disabilities. The U.S. Department of Justice in July issued new guidance that said it will no longer rely upon the <i>Olmstead</i> decision in its enforcement of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
John Bazemore/AP
Special Education Q&A How New Federal Guidance on Disability Could Impact K-12 Special Education
New federal DOJ guidance deemphasizing independent living skills could affect special education transition plans.
Caitlynn Peetz Stephens, October 14, 2026
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4 min read
Government research, State budgets, public education, back on track, Education Agenda
Vanessa Solis/Education Week + Getty
Federal Opinion Margaret Spellings and Arne Duncan: The Ed. Agenda We Can Agree On
We need to get education back on track, write the former Ed. Secretaries. Let’s start at the top.
Margaret Spellings & Arne Duncan, October 12, 2026
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5 min read
Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., speaks during a prayer vigil held by the Chesapeake Coalition of Black Pastors at The Mount (Mount Lebanon Baptist Church) in Chesapeake, Va., Sunday, Nov. 27, 2022, for the six people killed at a Walmart in Chesapeake, Va., when a manager opened fire with a handgun before an employee meeting Tuesday night.
Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., speaks during a prayer vigil in Chesapeake, Va., on Nov. 27, 2022. Scott is the ranking Democrat on the U.S. House of Representatives' education committee and will seek the panel's chairmanship if Democrats win a House majority in next month's elections.
Carolyn Kaster/AP
Federal Q&A A Top Democrat Breaks Down His Party's Plans for K-12 in a House Majority
If Democrats retake the House, Rep. Bobby Scott may be in a position to set his chamber’s K-12 agenda.
Alyson Klein, October 9, 2026
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5 min read
A tutor helps students at Benjamin O. Davis Middle School in Compton, Calif., on Feb. 6, 2025.
A tutor works with students at Benjamin O. Davis Middle School in Compton, Calif., on Feb. 6, 2025. The federal tax-credit scholarship program that launches next year can cover select expenses for public school students, including for tutoring. But to receive revenue from the program, public schools could have to set up systems to charge fees that the federally bankrolled scholarships can then cover.
Eric Thayer/AP
Budget & Finance Trump's School Choice Program Could Push Public Schools to Charge New Fees
Districts that charge new fees will likely confront tricky logistical, legal, and philosophical questions.
Mark Lieberman, October 9, 2026
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9 min read
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., the top Democrat in the Republican-majority House, is joined by Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., chair of the House Democratic Caucus, as they criticize President Donald Trump and his policies while talking to reporters about the approaching midterm election, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries speaks at the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 17, 2026. He's joined by Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., who chairs the House Democratic Caucus. If Democrats gain a majority of either chamber of Congress after next month's elections, they'll be able to hold oversight hearings on and launch investigations into the dismantling of the U.S. Department of Education.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Federal What a Democratic Congress Could Mean for Trump's K-12 Agenda
They may try to reverse—or at least investigate—the Trump admin.'s efforts to dismantle the Ed. Dept.
Alyson Klein, October 8, 2026
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9 min read
Image of file folders with tabs called "funding" "grants" "projects" and a blank note paper paperclipped to the outside.
Collage by Laura Baker/Education Week + Getty
Federal The Future of Education Research: More Partisan and Largely Left to States?
As Trump administration works to change federal grants, outside researchers try to regroup.
Sarah D. Sparks, October 6, 2026
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6 min read
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Educational posters and stickers are displayed in a Head Start center classroom in Athens, Pa., on Aug. 13, 2026. The Trump administration has proposed sweeping changes to Head Start regulations.
MD. ZOBAYER HOSSAIN JOATI for Education Week
Early Childhood Here’s Where RFK Jr.’s Head Start Deregulation Would Hit Hardest
The Trump administration has proposed dismantling several key Head Start regulations.
Elizabeth Heubeck, October 6, 2026
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6 min read
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, center, is joined from left by Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., the GOP whip, and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., as he speaks to reporters ahead of a Wednesday meeting with President Donald Trump, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, June 23, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., speaks to reporters at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, June 23, 2026.
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., speaks to reporters ahead of a meeting with President Donald Trump at the Capitol in Washington on June 23, 2026. Cotton is one of the sponsors of a bipartisan bill that would create a grant program for states to implement school cellphone bans or restrictions.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Federal Bipartisan Bill in Congress Would Help Schools Put Cellphone Bans or Restrictions in Place
The bill would establish a federal grant program to support state efforts to restrict cellphones.
Lauraine Langreo, October 2, 2026
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5 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
Education Funding Opinion An Expert Explains How the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit Will Work
A former Ed. Dept. official predicts the program will generate $3 billion for scholarships in 2027.
Rick Hess, October 2, 2026
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9 min read
MINNEAPOLIS, MN, January 22, 2026: Students move through the halls at Washburn High School in Minneapolis, MN.
The Trump administration has released proposed regulations outlining how the first nationwide school choice program will operate when it launches next year. The regulations leave some major questions unaddressed but clarify other aspects for the tax-credit scholarship program.
Caroline Yang for Education Week
School Choice & Charters Explainer New Rules for Federal School Choice: What You Need to Know
Proposed rules from the IRS offer some details on how the first nationwide school choice program will work.
Arianna Prothero, Mark Lieberman & Matthew Stone, October 1, 2026
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14 min read