Congress

Read more about members of Congress and the polices they enact that impact K-12 education
Deputy Secretary of Education nominee Penny Schwinn, left, and Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights nominee Kimberly Richey prior to testifying before the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee about their nominations for the Department of Education in Washington, D.C., on June 5, 2025.
Penny Schwinn, left, and Kimberly Richey speak prior to testifying before the U.S. Senate's Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee in Washington on June 5, 2025. Schwinn is President Donald Trump's nominee to serve as deputy secretary in the U.S. Department of Education. Richey is Trump's nominee to lead the department's office for civil rights.
Jason Andrew for Education Week
Federal Republicans Press Top Ed. Dept. Nominees to Commit to Trump's Agenda
Penny Schwinn and Kimberly Richey appeared before lawmakers for leadership in the department.
Brooke Schultz, June 5, 2025
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6 min read
Tennessee Commissioner of Education Penny Schwinn is greeted by students at Fairmount Elementary in Bristol, Tenn., on Monday morning, June 14, 2021, during her "Accelerating TN Tour 2021." The students at Fairmount are taking part in the Summer S.T.R.E.A.M. Camp.
Penny Schwinn, then the commissioner of education in Tennessee, is greeted by students at Fairmount Elementary in Bristol, Tenn. on June 14, 2021. Schwinn, President Donald Trump's nominee to serve as deputy secretary of education, will appear before senators on June 5 for her confirmation hearing.
David Crigger/Bristol Herald Courier via AP
Federal Top Trump Ed. Dept. Nominee Penny Schwinn Makes Her Case to Senators Next Week
Schwinn, a former Tennessee state schools chief who has drawn bipartisan praise, has a confirmation hearing scheduled for June 5.
Brooke Schultz, May 29, 2025
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5 min read
Penelope Koutoulas holds signs supporting school choice in a House committee meeting on education during a special session of the state legislature Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn.
Penelope Koutoulas holds signs supporting school choice in a House committee meeting on education during a special session of the state legislature Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. While a number of states, including Tennessee, have passed new programs funding private school tuition in recent years, the first major federal foray into private school choice is now making its way through Congress.
George Walker IV/AP
School Choice & Charters What to Know About the Private School Choice Program Moving Through Congress
A new federal program would offer up to $5 billion in tax credits a year to fuel private school attendance nationwide.
Mark Lieberman, May 22, 2025
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10 min read
Education Secretary Linda McMahon appears before the House Appropriation Panel about the 2026 budget in Washington, D.C. on May 21, 2025.
U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon appears before a House appropriations panel on May 21, 2025, to speak about her department's 2026 budget proposal. The budget would cut department spending by 15%.
Jason Andrew for Education Week
Education Funding Linda McMahon Offers Few New Specifics on Ed. Dept. Budget Cuts
The Education Department wants to cut billions in spending but has offered few specifics on funding streams it wants to consolidate.
Brooke Schultz, May 21, 2025
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5 min read
Vector illustration of business persons tightening the purse/finances.
iStock/Getty
Education Funding Trump Asks Congress to Slash Billions in Education Funding—and 'Preserve' Title I
A White House budget proposal calls for consolidating grants, eliminating key funding streams, and ramping up charter school investments.
Mark Lieberman, May 2, 2025
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8 min read
Image of a dollar bill with the Capitol in the center.
DigitalVision Vectors
Education Funding Trump's Spending Plans Are Late—Raising Worries About K-12 Funds
The executive branch has three opportunities in the near future to detail its education funding priorities in writing—but it hasn't yet.
Mark Lieberman, May 1, 2025
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10 min read
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., speaks before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at a campaign event, Sept. 27, 2024 in Walker, Mich.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., speaks a campaign event for then candidate Donald Trump on Sept. 27, 2024 in Walker, Mich. President Trump has announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, now led by Kennedy, would handle “special needs and all of the nutrition programs and everything else.”
Carlos Osorio/AP
Federal Trump Says RFK Jr. Will Oversee Special Education, Child Nutrition
Advocates are wary as the president's comments don't specify when or how the transition will happen.
Mark Lieberman, Brooke Schultz & Evie Blad, March 21, 2025
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7 min read
Elementary, middle, high school principals from Missouri met senior staffers at R-Rep. Eric Schmitt's office on March 12, 2025.
Principals from Missouri met senior staffers at Republican Rep. Eric Schmitt's office on March 12, 2025. School leaders say advocacy is an important part of their job.
Courtesy of Jenny Hayes
School & District Management How Principals Are Shaping Education Policy Through Advocacy
Principals share advice for advocating to state and federal lawmakers on behalf of schools.
Olina Banerji, March 19, 2025
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6 min read
Broken and repaired: 3D symbol of a Dollar.
Education Week and Getty
Education Funding What the Latest Federal Funding Law Means for Schools
The new federal spending resolution leaves the door open for continued disruption to federal education funding.
Mark Lieberman, March 17, 2025
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6 min read
031425 Principal Hill Visit 4 BS
Monique Vaz, a legislative aide for Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., meets with Massachusetts principals Stephen Wiltshire, Andrew Rebello, Chris LaBreck, and Mike Rubin (from left to right) on March 12, 2025. Principals across the country were at the U.S. Capitol to ask their representatives to protect school funding.
Courtesy of Mike Rubin
School & District Management Principals Make Nervous Appeals on Capitol Hill: Protect Our Funding
On Capitol Hill, school leaders advocated to sustain federal funding that helps the most vulnerable students in their schools.
Olina Banerji, March 14, 2025
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7 min read
Students eat lunch in the cafeteria at Lowell Elementary School in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Aug. 22, 2023.
Students eat lunch in the cafeteria at Lowell Elementary School in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Aug. 22, 2023. A proposal by congressional Republicans would force 24,000 schools out of a program that allows them to serve federally subsidized free school meals to all students, a new analysis finds.
Susan Montoya Bryan/AP
School & District Management Congressional Budget Cuts Threaten Free School Meals for Millions
More than 12 million children could lose access to federally subsidized free school meals if Congress changes program requirements.
Evie Blad & Arianna Prothero, March 13, 2025
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5 min read
The United States Capitol building as a bookcase filled with red, white, and blue policy books in a Washington DC landscape.
Luca D'Urbino for Education Week
Federal Opinion Under Trump, the Chairman of the House Ed. Committee Lays Out His Agenda
Rep. Tim Walberg shares the committee's priorities for K-12 education, including "streamlining" the education department.
Rick Hess, March 11, 2025
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9 min read
A photograph of a stack of dollar bills frozen inside of a large block of ice on a white background
iStock/Getty
Education Funding Education Groups Demand Congress' Help to Reverse Trump's Grant Terminations
More than 100 education organizations want top congressional lawmakers to help reinstate grant funding for teacher prep programs.
Mark Lieberman, March 4, 2025
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5 min read
Linda McMahon, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be Secretary of Education, testifies during her Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee confirmation hearing, at the U.S. Capitol, in Washington, on Feb. 13, 2025.
Linda McMahon testifies during her Feb. 13, 2025, confirmation hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee at the U.S. Capitol. The Senate has confirmed McMahon to serve as the next secretary of education.
Graeme Sloan for Education Week
Federal Linda McMahon Is Confirmed by Senate as Education Secretary
The former wrestling mogul will become the nation's 13th secretary of education, and she has pledged to be its last.
Brooke Schultz & Matthew Stone, March 3, 2025
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4 min read
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