Policy & Politics

Education news, analysis, and opinion about the legislation, guidance, policies and people involved in federal and state government
Federal Democrats Challenge Plan to Dismantle Office for English Learners
The Education Department notified Congress in February of its plans to dismantle OELA.
Ileana Najarro
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6 min read
School Choice & Charters A Large Democratic-Led State Says Yes to Trump’s School Choice Program
Thirty-one states are on track to participate in the first major federal foray into private school choice.
Matthew Stone
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5 min read
Education Funding Trump Holds Back $2 Billion for Education Grants. What Will Happen Next?
The White House is keeping congressionally approved money locked up through a little-known process.
Mark Lieberman
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11 min read
Standards & Accountability The U.S. Is in a 'Learning Recession.' Is NCLB's End to Blame?
“Our challenge didn’t start or end with the pandemic,” said one of the authors of a new report.
Sarah Schwartz
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6 min read
Anjanette McNeely teaches a reading block with her kindergarten students at Windridge Elementary School in Kaysville, Utah, on Dec. 4, 2025.
What's to blame for huge decreases in student achievement over the past decade? Some say a less intensive federal role in school accountability after the No Child Left Behind law was replaced. Anjanette McNeely remembers the pressure of making sure her school met "adequate yearly progress" during the NCLB era. The teacher leads a reading block with her kindergarten students at Windridge Elementary School in Kaysville, Utah, on Dec. 4, 2025.
Niki Chan Wylie for Education Week
Federal Opinion Trump's K-12 Leader: Let’s Improve Assessment Without Sacrificing Accountability
The Ed. Dept. is shrinking the federal footprint but raising academic expectations, says Kirsten Baesler.
Kirsten Baesler
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4 min read
A pencil leaning against the wall. The shadow of a ladder shade reflected on the wall.
Education Week + E+/Getty
Federal 'Creative' or 'Illegal?' Congress Debates Trump's Dismantling of Education Dept.
Republicans praised Linda McMahon for shrinking the federal K-12 footprint. Democrats raised concerns.
Alyson Klein
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6 min read
Education Secretary Linda McMahon arrives to testify during the House Education and Workforce Committee hearing titled "Examining the Policies and Priorities of the Department of Education," in Rayburn building on Thursday, May 14, 2026.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon arrives to testify during the House Education and Workforce Committee hearing on Thursday, May 14, 2026. She defended the movement of dozens of her department's programs to other agencies and a budget proposal that would eliminate dozens of federal education programs.
Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP
States Opinion How Education Leaders Can Overcome Political Divisions
"Bipartisan education policy is not only possible; it is already happening," say several leaders.
Jose Muñoz, Charlene Russell-Tucker, Eric Mackey & Keven Ellis
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4 min read
Illustration of blue and red arrows merging for create purple arrow.
Education Week + Getty

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More Policy & Politics

  • Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks as President Donald Trump listens before the signing of a proclamation in the Oval Office at the White House, Tuesday, May 5, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
    Federal Trump Brings the Presidential Physical Fitness Award Back, Reviving Annual Test
    Trump is bringing back a competitive fitness test that was a public-school fixture for decades.
    The Associated Press, May 5, 2026
    •
    2 min read
    FemaGrant Maiorella 02
    A new gym under construction in Wisconsin's Cuba City school district, pictured April 16, 2026, would have also served as a tornado shelter, thanks to an $8.8 million FEMA grant. But nearly four years after it was awarded the grant, the district still doesn't have the money.
    Arthur Maiorella for Education Week
    Education Funding A School Wants a Tornado Shelter. A Federal Grant Keeps Getting in the Way
    The district still can't spend a FEMA grant it was originally awarded in 2022.
    Mark Lieberman, May 1, 2026
    •
    9 min read
    Financial literacy and education concept. A woman looks up at a broken ladder to knowledge.
    Vanessa Solis/Education Week + iStock/Getty
    Federal Trump Admin. Doesn't Deem Education Degrees 'Professional' in Student Loan Rule
    The regulation confirms new limits on graduate student borrowing under Trump's major policy bill.
    Evie Blad, May 1, 2026
    •
    3 min read
    Five middle school students, who helped stop a bus after their driver passed out during a medical emergency, stand outside a bus in Hancock County, Miss., on Thursday, April 23, 2026.
    Five middle school students, who helped stop a bus after their driver passed out during a medical emergency, stand outside a bus in Hancock County, Miss., on Thursday, April 23, 2026.
    WLOX via AP
    States A Bus Driver Blacked Out. Middle School Students Prevented a Crash
    A group of Mississippi students grabbed the wheel and hit the brakes after their driver passed out on a highway.
    The Associated Press, April 30, 2026
    •
    1 min read
    The Plumbing department, located in the school's well-equipped shop facility, alongside other trades including masonry and carpentry.
    The plumbing department in a New Jersey technology high school. As the Trump administration invites states to request waivers from federal school accountability requirements, two have proposed changes that would emphasize career-oriented tests as opposed to more traditional academic knowledge tests.
    Oliver Farshi for Education Week
    Every Student Succeeds Act These States Want to Move Away From a 'College for All' Approach to Testing
    Two states have pitched changes to their high school assessments to emphasize workforce preparation.
    Alyson Klein, April 28, 2026
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    7 min read
    LindaMcMahon03B
    Secretary of Education Linda McMahon prepares to testify before a Senate appropriations subcommittee on the U.S. Department of Education's fiscal 2027 budget proposal in Washington on April 28, 2026.
    Marvin Joseph for Education Week
    Federal McMahon Still Wants to Relocate Special Ed.—And Other Budget Hearing Takeaways
    The education secretary also told skeptical lawmakers that Ed. Dept. program transfers are working.
    Mark Lieberman, April 28, 2026
    •
    6 min read

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EdWeek Market Brief

Meeting District Needs Market Analysis Do Students Really Have Critical Thinking Skills? Inside the Market's Race to Assess the 'Unquantifiable'
A growing number of companies are racing to respond as a long-simmering demand for new, skills-based methods for measuring student success is starting to boil over in school districts across the country.
Emma Kate Fittes
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15 min read
Education Market Industry Insight From ESSER Boom to Market Reset: States Bolster High-Dosage Tutoring’s Next Phase
When the windfall of pandemic-era federal stimulus money that helped districts weather the crisis expired in 2024, it raised a key question: Would the tutoring programs school systems scrambled to implement during that period prove to be temporary?
David Saleh Rauf
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11 min read
Education Market Market Analysis Budget Strain, Enrollment Losses and Policy Shifts Complicate Texas’ K–12 Market for Vendors
Deep in West Texas — near the epicenter of the Lone Star State’s oil country — one school system is grappling with a consequential shift: fewer students, tighter budgets, and the process of downsizing.
David Saleh Rauf
•
14 min read
Regulation & Policy K-12 Market News All Ed Tech Contracts Are Under Review As Part of LAUSD Initiative to Limit Screen Time
One of the largest school systems in the country is reviewing all of its current contracts related to classroom technology as part of a push to limit student screen time.
Emma Kate Fittes
•
3 min read
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