Advocacy

Education news, analysis, and opinion about efforts by individuals or groups to influence education or school policy
People rally outside LAUSD headquarters in support of 18-year-old high school senior Benjamin Marcelo Guerrero-Cruz, in Los Angeles, Calif., on Aug. 19, 2025. The rally was planned after Guerrero-Cruz was taken into custody by federal immigration officials in early August.
People rally outside Los Angeles Unified school district headquarters in support of 18-year-old high school senior Benjamin Marcelo Guerrero-Cruz, in Los Angeles, on Aug. 19, 2025. The rally was planned after Guerrero-Cruz was taken into custody by federal immigration officials in early August. Whether educators choose to advocate in such situations depends on multiple factors, survey data found.
Raquel G. Frohlich/Sipa via AP
School & District Management ‘Would You Protect Me?' Educators Weigh What to Do If ICE Detained a Student
Educators say they favor a district response to immigration enforcement over individual action.
Ileana Najarro, October 31, 2025
5 min read
Eric Marquez, a Global History teacher at ELLIS Preparatory Academy, holds a sign dedicated to his student, Dylan Lopez Contreras, who was detained by ICE agents on May 21, 2025, in New York City, as he poses for a portrait at Ewen Park in Marble Hill, New York, on Sept. 18, 2025.
Eric Marquez, a global history teacher at ELLIS Preparatory Academy in New York City, holds a sign dedicated to his student, Dylan Lopez Contreras, who was detained by ICE agents on May 21, 2025, as he poses for a portrait in Marble Hill, N.Y., on Sept. 18, 2025. An analysis of an EdWeek Research Center survey reveals when and why educators would advocate for students detained by ICE.
Mostafa Bassim for Education Week
School & District Management Would Educators Advocate for a Student Who Was Detained by ICE? See New Data
Many educators said their school or district should advocate for a student's release, a survey found.
Ileana Najarro & Alex Harwin, October 31, 2025
3 min read
Eric Marquez, a global history teacher at ELLIS Preparatory Academy, stands for a portrait at Ewen Park in the Marble Hill neighborhood of New York City on Sept. 18, 2025.
Eric Marquez, a global history teacher at ELLIS Preparatory Academy, stands for a portrait at Ewen Park in the Marble Hill neighborhood of New York City on Sept. 18, 2025. Immigration officers detained one of his students at a routine court hearing in May.
Mostafa Bassim for Education Week
English Learners Q&A 'Still Connected': How This School Supports a Student in Immigration Detention
Immigration officers detained New York City student Dylan Lopez Contreras in May.
Ileana Najarro, September 22, 2025
4 min read
TahSoGhay Collah, right, teaches a 3rd grade English learners class at the 700-student Worthington Intermediate School that serves grades 3 through 5, in Worthington, Minn., on Oct. 22, 2024.
TahSoGhay Collah, right, teaches a 3rd grade English-learners class at the 700-student Worthington Intermediate School that serves grades 3 through 5, in Worthington, Minn., on Oct. 22, 2024. English-learner advocates call for national leaders to protect federal dollars dedicated to these students.
Jessie Wardarski/AP
English Learners Advocates Push Congress to Protect Funding for English Learners
President Donald Trump has called for eliminating federal dollars set aside for English learners. Advocates make their case.
Ileana Najarro, August 27, 2025
3 min read
Standardized test answer sheet on school desk.
E+
Standards & Accountability How Teachers in This District Pushed to Have Students Spend Less Time Testing
An agreement a teachers' union reached with the district reduces locally required testing while keeping in place state-required exams.
Elizabeth Heubeck, August 13, 2025
6 min read
Superintendents Dr. Alex Marrero, Alberto Carvalho, and Joe Gothard
Denver Superintendent Alex Marrero, left, Madison Superintendent Joe Gothard, and Los Angeles Superintendent Alberto Carvalho are among district leaders who've pushed for the release of withheld federal K-12 funding. The three have also sought to explain the consequences to their own communities.
David Zalubowski/AP, Andy Clayton-King/AP, Anthony Behar/AP
School & District Management Worried About Withheld Education Funding? Here's How Leaders Can Speak Up
Education leaders must communicate the consequences of withheld K-12 funding to Congress and their own communities.
Evie Blad, July 16, 2025
6 min read
NEA President Becky Pringle sits for a portrait during the union's annual representative assembly in Portland, Ore., on July 4, 2025.
NEA President Becky Pringle sits for a portrait during the union's annual representative assembly in Portland, Ore., on July 4, 2025. She is entering her final year as the president of the nation's largest teachers' union.
Kaylee Domzalski/Education Week
Teaching Profession Q&A 'We’re Not Done Yet': NEA President Becky Pringle on the Union's Next Steps
The leader of the nation's largest teachers' union promises more activism.
Sarah D. Sparks, July 7, 2025
4 min read
Sackets Harbor Central School District Superintendent Jennifer Gaffney poses with first-grade students during a school parade on May 16, 2025.
Sackets Harbor Central School District Superintendent Jennifer Gaffney poses with first-grade students during a school event on May 16, 2025.
Courtesy of Jennifer Gaffney
School & District Management Q&A How One District Fought to Get a Family Out of Immigration Detention
Jennifer Gaffney, the superintendent of the Sackets Harbor Central school district in New York, says leaders must do what is right for students.
Ileana Najarro, May 22, 2025
5 min read
President Donald Trump, with first lady Melania Trump and others, after signing the Take It Down Act during a ceremony in the Rose Garden at the White House, May 19, 2025. The new law criminalizes the creation and sharing of non-consensual intimate imagery online, which has been a growing challenge for schools.
President Donald Trump, with first lady Melania Trump and others, after signing the Take It Down Act during a ceremony in the Rose Garden at the White House, May 19, 2025. The new law criminalizes the creation and sharing of non-consensual intimate imagery online, which has been a growing challenge for schools.
Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP
Student Well-Being & Movement Trump Cracks Down Against Explicit AI Images. What It Means for Schools
A new federal law could give schools more leverage to deal with a growing challenge of sexually explicit AI-generated images and videos.
Olina Banerji, May 19, 2025
9 min read
California principal and NASSP Advocacy Champion award winner Terri Daniels poses with NASSP President Raquel Martinez and NASSP CEO Ronn Nozo.
Terri Daniels, the principal of Folsom Middle School in California, poses with National Association of Secondary School Principals President Raquel Martinez and NASSP CEO Ronn Nozo. Daniels was named the 2025 NASSP Advocacy Champion of the Year and recognized in Washington, D.C., on April 11.
Courtesy of NASSP
School & District Management Q&A Speaking Up for Students Is Part of This Principal's Job
Terri Daniels, the National Advocacy Champion of the Year, says principals must advocate on behalf of their students.
Olina Banerji, April 18, 2025
6 min read
Illustration collage of the U.S. Capitol steps with numerous silhouetted people walking up the steps. There is a yellow halo around them to show the collective power. In the background behind the U.S. Capitol is the back of a young school girl with her hand raised.
Gina Tomko/Education Week via Canva
School & District Management Opinion Lawmakers Don’t Know What Happens in Schools. Principals Can Help
School leaders must fight to take education funding off the political battlefield.
S. Kambar Khoshaba, April 15, 2025
3 min read
The homepage of Moms for Liberty University.
The homepage of Moms for Liberty University.
Families & the Community Moms for Liberty Has a 'University.' What Is It Teaching?
In 2025, the prominent conservative group Moms for Liberty launched Moms for Liberty University, or M4LU.
Jennifer Vilcarino, April 9, 2025
8 min read
Illustration of mass school shooting incidents news headlines collage behind orange cracked glass effect. Safety, Prevention,
E+/Getty + Vanessa Solis/Education Week via Canva
School Climate & Safety Opinion We Can’t Wait for Someone Else to Stop School Shootings
A clinical psychologist lays out what school leaders can do to keep our children safe from gun violence.
Erika Felix, September 10, 2024
4 min read
Moms for Liberty co-founder Tina Descovich speaks before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at the Moms for Liberty annual convention in Washington, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024.
Moms for Liberty co-founder Tina Descovich speaks before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump addressed the group's annual convention in Washington on Aug. 30. One popular session was about Moms for Liberty's lawsuit challenging the Biden administration's Title IX regulation.
Mark Schiefelbein/AP
Law & Courts How Moms for Liberty's Legal Strategy Has Upended Title IX Rules for Schools
The grassroots group's tactic is confounding schools across the country trying to keep up with which Title IX rules apply to them.
Mark Walsh, September 5, 2024
7 min read