Advocacy

Education news, analysis, and opinion about efforts by individuals or groups to influence education or school policy
Families depart the Mansfield ISD Center For The Performing Arts Center where families were reunited with Timberview High School Students, Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2021 in Mansfield, Texas. Police in Texas have arrested a student suspected of opening fire during a fight at his Dallas-area high school, leaving four people injured.
Families were reunited Oct. 6 in Mansfield, Texas, after a student opened fire at Timberview High School in Arlington, leaving four people injured. Data show that the start of this school year has been particularly violent compared to previous years.
Tony Gutierrez/AP
School Climate & Safety A Rise in School Shootings Leads to Renewed Calls for Action
A return to in-person learning means a return to school shootings, advocates warn.
Madeline Will, October 7, 2021
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5 min read
Conceptual illustration of a large pencil erasing a member of a community.
Vanessa Solis/Education Week and Nadia Bormotova/iStock
Equity & Diversity Opinion You Can't Legislate Away Black and Gay Educators and Students
Students and teachers shouldn’t see their identity as a subject so taboo that the state must ban all references to it in schools.
Rafael Walker, October 5, 2021
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5 min read
Protesters against a COVID-19 mandate gesture as they are escorted out of the Clark County School Board meeting at the Clark County Government Center, on Thursday, Aug. 12, 2021, in Las Vegas.
Protesters against a COVID-19 mask mandate gesture as they are escorted out of the Clark County School Board meeting in Las Vegas in August.
Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP
Federal School Boards Ask Biden to Review Threats and Violence as Possible 'Domestic Terrorism'
The White House should aid education leaders facing rising disruptions and harassment over COVID-19 rules, a national group says.
Andrew Ujifusa, September 30, 2021
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5 min read
Burned playground equipment stands in front of a flattened structure at Walt Tyler Elementary School after the school was destroyed by the Caldor Fire on Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021, in the in the Grizzly Flats community of El Dorado County, Calif. Winds spawned by the arrival of a new weather system Monday afternoon pushed the monstrous Dixie Fire to within about 8 miles (12.8 kilometers) of Susanville, population about 18,000, while to the southeast a small blaze called the Caldor Fire exploded through through Grizzly Flats, a town of about 1,200.
Walt Tyler Elementary School in El Dorado County, Calif., was destroyed by wildfire this August.
Sara Nevis/The Sacramento Bee via AP
Student Well-Being & Movement Opinion Climate Change Is an Education Emergency
Extreme weather events and rising temperatures take a toll on students that cannot be ignored even during a pandemic, writes Adam Brumer.
Adam Brumer, September 28, 2021
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5 min read
Image shows a multi-tailed arrow hitting the bullseye of a target.
DigitalVision Vectors/Getty
Families & the Community Opinion A New Group Battling for Freedom of Thought in Education
Rick Hess speaks with the founder of a new network of teachers and parents who support freedom of thought and expression in education.
Rick Hess, September 23, 2021
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7 min read
Students line up to have their temperature taken as they return for the first time as their school, The Learning Community, reopens to in-person learning after it closed for the pandemic a year ago, in Central Falls, R.I., on March 29, 2021.
Students line up to have their temperature taken as they return for the first time as their school, The Learning Community, reopens to in-person learning after it closed for the pandemic a year ago, in Central Falls, R.I., on March 29, 2021.
David Goldman/AP
Law & Courts Families Sue Rhode Island's Governor to Overturn His School Mask Mandate
The families say mask-wearing threatens to cause serious and long-lasting damage on their children's physical and emotional well-being.
Linda Borg, The Providence Journal, September 17, 2021
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2 min read
Julia Longoria has joined a federal lawsuit by Disability Rights Texas against Texas Governor Greg Abbott over his ban on mask mandates in public schools. Longoria argues that the executive order prevents her child, Juliana, who is medically at-risk, from being able to attend school safely. Juliana Ramirez, 8, a third grader at James Bonham Academy in San Antonio, Texas, has ADHD and severe asthma which puts her at risk of complications from COVID-19.
Julia Longoria has joined a federal lawsuit by Disability Rights Texas against Texas Gov. Greg Abbott over his ban on mask mandates in public schools. Longoria argues that the executive order prevents her child, Juliana, 8, who is medically at risk, from being able to attend school safely.
Julia Robinson for Education Week
Families & the Community 'I Need You to Wear a Mask to Protect My Child.' A Mom Fights for Vulnerable Students
Some parents see a tension between their medically vulnerable children's safety and their educational needs during the pandemic.
Evie Blad, September 16, 2021
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8 min read
In this Aug. 28, 2021 photo, demonstrators held a rally in Kansas City, Mo. against laws forbidding teaching critical race theory in classrooms.
Demonstrators held a rally in Kansas City, Mo., on Saturday against laws forbidding teaching critical race theory in classrooms.
Photo courtesy of SURJ-KC
Social Studies Teachers Rally Against Laws Aimed at Limiting Classroom Discussion of Racism
Some teachers are speaking out against new legislation. But others are holding back, for fear of repercussions.
Sarah Schwartz, August 30, 2021
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5 min read
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Pratya Vuttapanit/iStock/Getty
Education Funding School Infrastructure Funding in Flux as Senators Advance Package Funding Electric Buses
Groups are warning school infrastructure could get shortchanged as Democrats negotiate a sweeping $3.5 trillion budget deal.
Andrew Ujifusa, July 29, 2021
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5 min read
Conceptual image.
Collage by Laura Baker/Education Week (Images: DigitalVision Vectors and iStock/Getty)
States Interactive Who's Really Driving Critical Race Theory Legislation? An Investigation
Education Week reporting documents a complex web of individuals and conservative organizations supporting this far-reaching legislation.
Sarah Schwartz, July 19, 2021
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15 min read
Image of lights on police cruiser
Getty
School Climate & Safety Opinion The Police-Free Schools Movement Made Headway. Has It Lost Momentum?
Removing officers from school hallways plays just one small part in taking down the school policing system.
Judith Browne Dianis, June 21, 2021
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4 min read
Derrick Lawson, the principal of Indio High School in Desert Sands, Calif., was the National Association of Secondary Schools Principals Advocacy Champion of the Year this month.
Derrick Lawson, the principal of Indio High School in Desert Sands, Calif., is Advocacy Champion of the Year for the National Association of Secondary Schools Principals.
Photo courtesy of Derrick Lawson
School & District Management This Principal Is an Unabashed Advocate. Here's How That's Helping Students
Principal Derrick Lawson relentlessly fought for broadband access, food, and other services for students whose families have been hit hard in the pandemic. 
Denisa R. Superville, May 20, 2021
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4 min read
Illustration of a cluster of faces.
Kubkoo/iStock/Getty
Social Studies 'Divisive' or 'Necessary'? Comments on Grant Priorities Show Divide on Teaching About Race
Thousands of comments on a history education grant proposal appear to have been submitted through a group that opposes "woke" education.
Evie Blad & Andrew Ujifusa, May 19, 2021
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8 min read
Image of a scale.
wildpixel/iStock/Getty
Equity & Diversity Group Seeks Federal Probes Into Schools That Pledge to Address Systemic Racism
Parents Defending Education, a group critical of anti-racism and "woke" education, says such district efforts may violate federal law.
Andrew Ujifusa, May 17, 2021
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8 min read
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