Federal Policy

News, analysis, and opinion about federal education laws, regulations, and proposals—and their impact
Photo collage of 3 photos. Clockwise from left: Scarlett Rasmussen, 8, tosses a ball with other classmates underneath a play structure during recess at Parkside Elementary School on May 17, 2023, in Grants Pass, Ore. Chelsea Rasmussen has fought for more than a year for her daughter, Scarlett, to attend full days at Parkside. A proposed ban on transgender athletes playing female school sports in Utah would affect transgender girls like this 12-year-old swimmer seen at a pool in Utah on Feb. 22, 2021. A Morris-Union Jointure Commission student is seen playing a racing game in the e-sports lab at Morris-Union Jointure Commission in Warren, N.J., on Jan. 15, 2025.
Federal education grant terminations and disruptions during the Trump administration's first year touched programs training teachers, expanding social services in schools, bolstering school mental health services, and more. Affected grants were spread across more than a dozen federal agencies.
Clockwise from left: Lindsey Wasson; Michelle Gustafson for Education Week
Education Funding Trump Slashed Billions for Education in 2025. See Our List of Affected Grants
We've tabulated the grant programs that have had awards terminated over the past year. See our list.
Mark Lieberman, January 27, 2026
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8 min read
Federal Quiz Quiz Yourself: How Polarized Do You Think Educators Are?
The EdWeek Research Center examined the degree to which K-12 educators are split along partisan lines. Quiz yourself and see the results.
Elle Butler, January 27, 2026
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1 min read
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee speaks during a news conference Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn.. Lee presented the Education Freedom Scholarship Act of 2024, his administration's legislative proposal to establish statewide universal school choice.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee speaks in favor of establishing a statewide, universal private school choice program on Nov. 28, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn. Tennessee lawmakers passed that proposal, and Lee is also opting Tennessee into the first federal tax-credit scholarship program that will make publicly funded private school scholarships available to families. Tennessee is one of 21 participating states and counting.
George Walker IV/AP
School Choice & Charters Federal Program Will Bring Private School Choice to At Least 4 New States
More state decisions on opting into the first federal private school choice program are rolling in.
Matthew Stone, January 26, 2026
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6 min read
A young man in the city looking at American flag in a surreal window. Concept art of change, solution, freedom, hope, life and environment. Conceptual artwork.
iStock/Getty + Education Week
Families & the Community Opinion ‘What Sort of Nation Terrorizes Children?’: A Teacher’s View From Minneapolis
My students live with the knowledge that anyone they love could be taken by ICE at any moment.
Italia Fittante, January 23, 2026
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4 min read
Illustration of luggage, airline tickets and visa document.
iStock
Recruitment & Retention Opinion What Trump's $100,000 Visa Fee Could Mean for Schools
An expert on teacher migration explains the possible consequences for international teachers.
Lora Bartlett, January 22, 2026
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5 min read
Photo collage of U.S. Capitol building and currency.
iStock
Education Funding Rebuking Trump, Congress Moves to Maintain Most Federal Education Funding
Funding for key programs like Title I and IDEA are on track to remain level year over year.
Mark Lieberman, January 20, 2026
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8 min read
swingspaces pgk 31
Education Funding In Trump's First Year, At Least $12 Billion in School Funding Disruptions
The administration's cuts to schools came through the Education Department and other agencies.
Mark Lieberman, January 16, 2026
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9 min read
Students at Merganthaler Vocational-Technical High School board MTA buses at the end of the school day on Dec. 13, 2024 , in Baltimore. federally funded programs allows students to access resources they might otherwise not get—like tutoring and after-school programs, according to Baltimore Superintendent Sonja Santelises.
Students at Merganthaler Vocational-Technical High School board buses at the end of the school day on Dec. 13, 2024 , in Baltimore. Federally funded programs in the city's schools allow students access to services they might otherwise not get, such as tutoring and after-school programs, Baltimore Superintendent Sonja Santelises said at a recent panel discussion of the finalists for AASA's Superintendent of the Year award.
Amy Davis/Baltimore Sun/TNS
School & District Management How 4 Superintendents Are Bracing for Federal Funding Uncertainty Under Trump
Superintendent of the Year finalists discussed how they're preparing for potential cuts.
Caitlynn Peetz Stephens, January 16, 2026
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3 min read
Image of students using laptops in the classroom.
E+
Classroom Technology Should Schools Curtail the Use of Technology? Congress Fuels Debate
Experts told lawmakers ed tech hurts student mental health without improving learning outcomes.
Alyson Klein & Lauraine Langreo, January 15, 2026
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9 min read
Notes from students expressing support and sharing coping strategies paper a wall, as members of the Miami Arts Studio mental health club raise awareness on World Mental Health Day on Oct. 10, 2023, at Miami Arts Studio, a public 6th-12th grade magnet school, in Miami.
Notes from students expressing support and sharing coping strategies paper a wall at the Miami Arts Studio, a middle and high school magnet school, on Oct. 10, 2023 in Miami. Federal grants to improve student mental health have had bipartisan support, but a recent blip in funding has made school districts and providers nervous.
Rebecca Blackwell/AP/AP
Student Well-Being & Movement Trump Admin. Pulls Student Mental Health Grants, Restores Them a Day Later
The Trump administration abruptly canceled a slate of mental health grants, only to reinstate them the next day.
Evie Blad, January 15, 2026
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5 min read
Art teacher Lindsay Johnson, center, has students explore how to use generative AI features in Canva at Roosevelt Middle School, on June 25, 2025, in River Forest, Ill. The Education and Workforce Committee held a hearing on Wednesday over the lack of federal regulation and guidance for how schools and other organizations should use AI.
Art teacher Lindsay Johnson, center, has students explore how to use generative AI features in Canva at Roosevelt Middle School, on June 25, 2025, in River Forest, Ill. The U.S. House of Representatives' Education and Workforce Committee held a hearing on Wednesday over the lack of federal regulation and guidance for how schools and other organizations should use AI.
Nam Y. Huh/AP
Artificial Intelligence Fed Regulation of AI Is Virtually Nonexistent. Is This a Problem for Schools?
The Trump administration wants to unleash AI to let it innovate in education and other sectors.
Jennifer Vilcarino, January 14, 2026
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4 min read
President Donald Trump signs his signature bill of tax breaks and spending cuts at the White House on July 4, 2025, in Washington.
President Donald Trump signs his signature bill of tax breaks and spending cuts, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, at the White House on July 4, 2025, in Washington. States are considering whether to incorporate the tax changes into their own tax codes, which will results in lower state revenue collections that could strain school budgets.
Evan Vucci/AP
Education Funding Schools Brace for Mid-Year Cuts as 'Big, Beautiful Bill' Changes Begin
State decisions on incorporating federal tax cuts into their own tax codes could strain school budgets.
Mark Lieberman, January 13, 2026
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7 min read
Students in Chad Wright’s construction program work on measurements at the Regional Occupational Center on Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2023, in Bakersfield, Calif.
Students in Chad Wright’s construction program work on measurements at the Regional Occupational Center on Jan. 11, 2023, in Bakersfield, Calif. A newly released policy agenda from a coalition of center-left Democrats focuses heavily on career training.
Morgan Lieberman for Education Week
Federal A Major Democratic Group Thinks This Education Policy Is a Winning Issue
An agenda from center-left Democrats could foreshadow how they discuss education on the campaign trail.
Alyson Klein, January 9, 2026
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4 min read
Protesters demonstrate against ICE agents near the the Whipple Federal Building on Jan. 8, 2026.
Protestors gather after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and killed a woman in Minneapolis, on Jan. 7, 2026. The incident later prompted the Minneapolis school district to cancel classes amid broader federal immigration operations.
Richard Tsong-Taatarii/The Minnesota Star Tribune via TNS
School & District Management Minneapolis Schools Close in Wake of Deadly Shooting, Immigration Enforcement
The districtwide closure marks a departure from schools' responses to ICE presence.
Ileana Najarro, January 8, 2026
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6 min read
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