Advocacy

Education news, analysis, and opinion about efforts by individuals or groups to influence education or school policy
Education Week Big Idea Protest 082023
Traci Daberko for Education Week
Families & the Community Reported Essay Parents’ Rights Groups Have Mobilized. What Does It Mean for Students?
Parents' rights groups have led the charge to limit teaching about race, sexuality, and gender. What will happen to students who miss out?
Libby Stanford, August 31, 2023
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12 min read
Fourth-grade students Briley Williams, 9, left, and Jacqueline Naula, 9, work together in their English Language Arts class at Israel Putnam Elementary School in Meriden, Conn., on Dec. 9, 2022. School accountability measures show Meriden schools making academic gains including attendance and addressing social-emotional learning needs.
Fourth-grade students Briley Williams, 9, left, and Jacqueline Naula, 9, work together in their English/language arts class at Israel Putnam Elementary School in Meriden, Conn., on Dec. 9, 2022. Meriden schools have made progress on attendance and addressing social-emotional learning needs.
Dave Zajac/Record-Journal via AP
Student Well-Being Social-Emotional Learning Persists Despite Political Backlash
Social-emotional learning has generated a political backlash, but states are keeping SEL in their standards.
Libby Stanford & Caitlyn Meisner, July 27, 2023
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7 min read
Moms for Liberty founders Tiffany Justice, right, and Tina Descovich speak at the Moms for Liberty meeting in Philadelphia, Friday, June 30, 2023.
Moms for Liberty founders Tiffany Justice, right, and Tina Descovich speak at the Moms for Liberty meeting in Philadelphia, Friday, June 30, 2023.
Matt Rourke/AP
Federal Moms for Liberty's National Summit: 5 Takeaways for Educators
Hundreds of members of the group gathered for a summit that featured former President Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis, as well as protesters.
Libby Stanford, June 30, 2023
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10 min read
Moms for Liberty co-founder Tiffany Justice speaks at their meeting, in Philadelphia, Friday, June 30, 2023.
Moms for Liberty co-founder Tiffany Justice speaks at the group's national summit in Philadelphia on Friday, June 30, 2023.
Matt Rourke/AP
Families & the Community 'Parents Can't Trust Their Schools,' Moms for Liberty Co-Founder Tiffany Justice Says
The co-founder of a national group that's become integral to Republican politics rejects criticism that her organization stokes division.
Libby Stanford, June 30, 2023
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6 min read
Kanya Redd, 15, explores an exhibit on segregation at the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park Visitor's Center on April 18, 2023 in Atlanta. The new cultural exchange initiative is sponsored by Martha's Table, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit committed to expanding opportunity and economic mobility. Approximately 75% of the participants traveled by plane for the first time to get to Atlanta.
Kanya Redd, 15, explores an exhibit on segregation at the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park Visitor's Center on April 18, 2023 in Atlanta. A new initiative is aiming to combine advocacy and legal strategies to increase school funding and support efforts to create more racially and socioeconomically balanced schools.
Nicole Craine/AP Images for Martha's Table
Education Funding Meet the New Group Promising to Tackle School Funding and Segregation Together
The group aims to boost litigation, research, and advocacy to support diverse, well-resourced public schools.
Mark Lieberman, June 19, 2023
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7 min read
Teachers walk out onto a field of speech bubble shaped holes.
Collage by Vanessa Solis/Education Week (Images: iStock/Getty Images)
Social Studies Social Studies Groups Are Training Teachers to Navigate 'Divisive Concepts' Laws
They're teaching how to defend the discipline against charges of indoctrination and maintain quality despite curricular restrictions.
Sarah Schwartz, June 8, 2023
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8 min read
Image of a shooting target being covered over by many hands with artwork.
melitas, Benjavisa, and CollideOscope/iStock/Getty
School Climate & Safety Opinion How Teachers Can Collectively Push Back Against Gun Violence
A teacher educator proposes concrete ways educators can raise their voices alongside parents and youth.
Rebecca Woodard, May 11, 2023
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5 min read
Keesha Ceran of Teaching for Change participates in the Freedom to Learn rally in front of the College Board Headquarters in Washington D.C. Demonstrators and speakers gathered to protest the College Board’s decision to alter their African American Studies curriculum, as well as to protest book bans and other divisive actions being taken in regards to education, on Wednesday, May 3, 2023.
Keesha Ceran of Teaching for Change participates in the Freedom to Learn rally in front of the College Board Headquarters in Washington, D.C. Demonstrators and speakers gathered to protest the College Board’s decision to alter their African American Studies curriculum, as well as to protest book bans and other divisive actions being taken in regards to education, on Wednesday, May 3, 2023.
Sam Mallon/Education Week
Equity & Diversity Demonstrations Staged Nationwide Denounce Restrictions on Teaching, Book Bans
On May 3, education and civil rights leaders led rallies and teach-ins against efforts to limit race discussions in public education.
Ileana Najarro & Eesha Pendharkar, May 3, 2023
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6 min read
Photo of principal in staff meeting.
E+ / Getty
School & District Management Advocacy Is a Key Duty for Principals, Too
Principals don't always consider themselves advocates, but a Maryland principal says advocacy goes hand in hand with school leadership.
Denisa R. Superville, April 13, 2023
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4 min read
Assessment review data 599911460
vladwei/iStock/Getty<br/>
School & District Management Better Principal Data Is Critical to Close Equity Gaps, Groups Tell Feds
Advocates argue that the data will help state policy makers, preparation programs, and advocates make better decisions.
Denisa R. Superville, March 30, 2023
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5 min read
The U.S. Capitol Dome
Principals from across the country are visiting Congress this week to advocate for more supports for mental health and staff recruitment and retention.
Patrick Semansky/AP
School & District Management Principals Head to Congress to Make a Case for More Support
Hundreds of principals are in Washington to lobby lawmakers. Their main agenda: mental health and recruitment and retention.
Denisa R. Superville, March 27, 2023
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5 min read
A young boy reaches into the open door of a school bus to grab a plastic bag of food handed to him by an adult.
A Jefferson County School District student receives several bags with free meals in Fayette, Miss.
Rogelio V. Solis/AP
Education Funding A Surge in Funding for Homeless Students Is Waning. What Now?
COVID homeless aid helped schools locate more families and connect them to services. Advocates want to make the increase permanent.
Evie Blad, March 21, 2023
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3 min read
Protesters gather outside the Moms for Liberty National Summit, July 15, 2022, in Tampa, Fla. Republican groups that sought to get hundreds of “parents’ rights” activists elected to local school boards largely fell short in Tuesday’s elections. The push has been boosted by Republican groups including the 1776 Project PAC, but just a third of its roughly 50 candidates won.
Protesters gather outside the Moms for Liberty National Summit on July 15, 2022, in Tampa, Fla. A new effort by the Campaign for Our Shared Future seeks to serve as a counterweight to the group, offering support for educators who must navigate new laws prohibiting certain topics.
Lauren Witte/Tampa Bay Times via AP
Teaching Profession A Hotline for Educators: Advocacy Group Pledges Support in Midst of Ugly Politics
A nonpartisan group says it will offer educators a range of supports for educators accused of violating new restrictions on what can be taught in class.
Madeline Will, March 7, 2023
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6 min read
A woman holds a sign and attends a rally to stop AAPI (Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders) hate at the Logan Square Monument in Chicago on March 20, 2021.
A woman holds a sign and attends a rally to stop AAPI (Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders) hate at the Logan Square Monument in Chicago on March 20, 2021.
Nam Y. Huh/AP
Social Studies The Demand for Asian American History Is Growing. See Where
Florida is among states facing the possibility of requiring Asian American and Pacific Islander history in K-12 curriculum.
Ileana Najarro, February 24, 2023
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5 min read
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