Federal Policy

News, analysis, and opinion about federal education laws, regulations, and proposals—and their impact
President Donald Trump holds up an executive order after signing it at an indoor Presidential Inauguration parade event in Washington, Jan. 20, 2025.
President Donald Trump holds up an executive order after signing it at an indoor presidential inauguration parade event in Washington on Jan. 20, 2025. Trump's executive actions prompted legal challenges virtually from the moment he took office, and education-related policies were not immune.
Matt Rourke/AP
Law & Courts Trump's Education Policies Spurred 71 Lawsuits in 2025. How Many Is He Winning?
The legal challenges show which policies have had a big impact and how 2026 could go.
Matthew Stone, December 22, 2025
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5 min read
President Ford at work in the Oval Office on Jan. 27, 1976.
President Gerald Ford, pictured in the Oval Office on Jan. 27, 1976, signed into law the predecessor to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in 1975.
Courtesy of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library & Museum
Special Education 50 Years of IDEA: 4 Things to Know About the Landmark Special Education Law
The nation's primary special education law details schools' obligations to students with disabilities.
Evie Blad, December 19, 2025
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5 min read
Children disembark from a school bus in a largely Hispanic neighborhood that has been the subject of patrols and detentions by Border Patrol agents, during a federal immigration crackdown in Kenner, La., on Dec. 10, 2025.
Children disembark from a school bus in a largely Hispanic neighborhood that has been the subject of patrols and detentions by Border Patrol agents, during a federal immigration crackdown in Kenner, La., on Dec. 10, 2025. This year, the EdWeek Research Center included questions related to immigration in national surveys.
Gerald Herbert/AP
School & District Management From Our Research Center What Surveys Revealed This Year About Educators and Immigration
Immigration enforcement fueled fear, debate, and new pressures in schools.
Ileana Najarro, December 17, 2025
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4 min read
Parents attend a basic facts bee at Stevenson Elementary School in Southfield, Mich., on Feb. 28, 2024.
Parents attend a "basic facts" bee at Stevenson Elementary School in Southfield, Mich., on Feb. 28, 2024. The school has been a recipient of a federal Full-Services Community Schools grant that has allowed it to add an on-site health clinic, a parent-resource room, a therapy dog, and other services parents would otherwise have to seek elsewhere.
Samuel Trotter for Education Week
Education Funding Federal Funds for Community Schools Fall Victim to a New Round of Trump Cuts
The latest round of grant cuts hits a program that helps schools provide more social services on site.
Mark Lieberman, December 15, 2025
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6 min read
Learning helps to achieve goals and success, motivation or ambition to learn new skills, business education concept, smart businessman climbing on a stack of books to see the future.
Fahmi Ruddin Hidayat/iStock/Getty
Federal The Ed. Dept.'s Research Clout Is Waning. Could a Bipartisan Bill Reinvigorate It?
Advanced education research has bipartisan support even as the federal role in it is on the wane.
Sarah D. Sparks, December 12, 2025
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5 min read
2 silhouetted figures dismantle the Department of Education Seal and carry away the parts.
Vanessa Solis/Education Week + DigitalVision Vectors/Getty
Education Funding Education Week's 2025 Word of the Year Is ...
Trump's efforts to reshape the federal role in education caused uncertainty for schools.
Evie Blad & Mark Lieberman, December 12, 2025
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6 min read
Country school; Iowa.
iStock/Getty
Education Funding Congress Revived a Fund for Rural Schools. Their Struggles Aren't Over
Federal funds will again flow to districts with national forest land—but broader funding uncertainties remain.
Mark Lieberman, December 12, 2025
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6 min read
Image of hands taking care of a student with a money symbol in the background.
Getty and Education Week
Education Funding Amid Cancellations and Legal Fights, Trump Admin. Awards New Mental Health Grants
The grants came from a competition the Ed. Dept. redesigned to erase Biden administration priorities.
Matthew Stone, December 11, 2025
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3 min read
The U.S. Department of Justice is suing Minneapolis Public Schools for discrimination in its efforts to shield teachers of color from layoffs and reassignments.
The U.S. Department of Justice is suing Minneapolis Public Schools for discrimination in its efforts to shield teachers of color from layoffs and reassignments.
Carlos Gonzalez/The Minnesota Star Tribune via TNS
Equity & Diversity Trump Admin. Accuses Minneapolis Schools of Racism in Protecting Minority Teachers
The Justice Department has filed its latest suit alleging racism for efforts to boost teacher diversity.
Anthony Lonetree, Star Tribune, December 11, 2025
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2 min read
Policy & Politics Reports Partisan Polarization & K-12 Education: Results of a National Survey
This report takes stock of the dimensions and impacts of polarization in education based on a survey of teachers and K-12 administrators.
December 8, 2025
A student visits a sensory room at a Topeka, KS elementary school, on Nov. 3, 2021.
A student visits a sensory room at an elementary school in Topeka, Kan., on Nov. 3, 2021. Schools have expanded their student mental health services in recent years, many with support from hundreds of millions of dollars in federal grants that the Trump administration pulled earlier this year and have since been caught up in legal proceedings.
Charlie Riedel/AP
Education Funding A Guide to Where School Mental Health Grants Stand After a New Legal Twist
Temporary relief for one set of projects raises questions for other initiatives vying for federal money.
Matthew Stone, December 8, 2025
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5 min read
President Donald Trump signs an executive order on birthright citizenship in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington.
President Donald Trump signs an executive order to on birthright citizenship in the Oval Office on Jan. 20, 2025. The U.S. Supreme Court will consider the legality of Trump's effort to limit birthright citizenship, another immigration policy that could affect schools.
Evan Vucci/AP
Law & Courts Supreme Court to Weigh Birthright Citizenship. Why It Matters to Schools
The justices will review President Trump's bid to end birthright citizenship, a move that could affect schools.
Mark Walsh, December 5, 2025
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4 min read
Illustration of dollar symbol in rollercoaster.
iStock
Education Funding Funding Ends for School Mental Health Projects After a 'Roller Coaster' Year
Schools, universities, and others thought they had five years to boost student mental health services.
Matthew Stone, December 2, 2025
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11 min read
Education Secretary Linda McMahon appears before the House Appropriation Panel about the 2026 budget in Washington, D.C., on May 21, 2025.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon appears before a U.S. House of Representatives panel in Washington on May 21, 2025. McMahon's agency has inked seven agreements shifting core functions, including Title I for K-12 schools, to other federal agencies. Those moves, announced in November, have now drawn a legal challenge.
Jason Andrew for Education Week
Law & Courts 20 States Push Back as Ed. Dept. Hands Programs to Other Agencies
The Trump admin. says it wants to prove that moving programs out of the Ed. Dept. can work long-term.
Matthew Stone, December 1, 2025
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4 min read
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