Court Cases

Education news, analysis, and opinion about lawsuits and legal proceedings
A group prays outside of the Supreme Court ahead of the court's ruling on whether transgender girls and women can play on school athletic teams, on June 30, 2026, on Capitol Hill in Washington.
A group prays outside of the U.S. Supreme Court ahead of the court's ruling on whether transgender girls and women can play on school athletic teams, on June 30, 2026, in Washington. The court upheld two state laws barring transgender girls from joining girls' school sports teams.
Jose Luis Magana/AP
Law & Courts What Schools Need to Know About the Supreme Court’s Transgender Sports Ruling
The justices upheld two state laws that bar transgender girls from participating in female sports.
Mark Walsh, July 2, 2026
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10 min read
Graduates of the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley attend their commencement ceremony at the schools parking lot on Friday, May 7, 2021, in Edinburg, Texas. Graduate degrees, once touted as the new bachelor’s degrees, are becoming less crucial to get jobs. Today, more college graduates than ever hold advanced degrees, and graduate programs are the only area of higher education that saw enrollment increases during the worst of the pandemic.
Graduates of the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley attend their commencement ceremony in Edinburg, Texas, on May 7, 2021. The Trump administration has expanded its list of graduate degrees it considers "professional" for purposes of determining how much students can borrow to fund their studies.
Delcia Lopez/The Monitor via AP
Federal Ed. Dept. Leaves Most K-12 Fields Off Expanded List of 'Professional' Degrees
Whether a degree is considered "professional" now determines how much graduate students can borrow.
Matthew Stone, July 1, 2026
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4 min read
An empty Chicago Public Schools classroom is seen on Dec. 15, 2025 .
An empty Chicago public school classroom is seen on Dec. 15, 2025. Schools in Illinois are preparing to lay off staff as fallout from federal grant cuts continues.
Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune via TNS
Education Funding Schools Lay Off Staff as Lawsuits Challenging Federal Grant Cuts Continue
Recent lawsuits have challenged federal grant cuts affecting special education and English-learner teachers.
Mark Lieberman, July 1, 2026
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6 min read
Graduates in the School of Education hold up books as their degrees are conferred during Harvard's 371st Commencement, on May 26, 2022, in Cambridge, Mass.
Graduates in the School of Education hold up books during Harvard's 371st Commencement on May 26, 2022, in Cambridge, Mass. The Trump administration excluded education fields when it set a definition of "professional" degree to implement a new law instituting graduate student borrowing limits.
Mary Schwalm/AP
Law & Courts Judge Voids Trump Admin. Rule Excluding Education From ‘Professional’ Degrees
A judge ruled the agency didn't have the authority to adopt such a narrow definition.
Matthew Stone, June 25, 2026
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4 min read
TahSoGhay Collah, right, teaches a third-grade English learners class at the 700-student intermediate school that serves grades 3 through 5, in Worthington, Minn., on Oct. 22, 2024.
TahSoGhay Collah, right, teaches a third-grade English learners class at the 700-student intermediate school that serves grades 3 through 5, in Worthington, Minn., on Oct. 22, 2024. The Education Department discontinued grants last year that would help develop teachers of English learners.
Jessie Wardarski/AP
Education Funding Federal Grant Cuts for English Learners Face Lawsuit
Last year, the federal agency ended 28 grants for training teachers working with English learners.
Ileana Najarro, June 17, 2026
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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
Law & Courts Opinion How State Courts Are Quietly Shaping U.S. Education
In education, the real action is often at the state level, not in Washington, explains Derek Black.
Rick Hess, June 9, 2026
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8 min read
Portrait of nine-year-old African-American student Linda Brown as she poses outside Sumner Elementary School, Topkea, Kansas, 1953. When her enrollment in the racially segregated school was blocked, her family initiated the landmark Civil Rights lawsuit 'Brown V. Board of Education,' that led to the beginning of integration in the US education system. (Photo by Carl Iwasaki/Getty Images)
Nine-year-old African-American student Linda Brown poses outside Sumner Elementary School in Topeka, Kan., in 1953. When her enrollment in the racially segregated school was blocked, her family initiated the landmark civil rights lawsuit <i>Brown</i> v. <i>Board of Education</i> that led to the Supreme Court decision outlawing racial segregation in U.S. schools. A new lawsuit in Massachusetts challenges persistent segregation in that state's schools.
Carl Iwasaki/Getty
Equity & Diversity Decades After Brown v. Board, New Lawsuit Challenges Persistent K-12 Segregation
Segregation violates a state constitution's right to an adequate education for all, plaintiffs argue.
Mark Lieberman, May 20, 2026
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6 min read
The Los Angeles Unified School District, LAUSD headquarters building is seen in Los Angeles, Sept. 9, 2021.
The Los Angeles Unified School District, LAUSD headquarters building is seen in Los Angeles, Sept. 9, 2021.
Damian Dovarganes/AP
School & District Management LAUSD Tries to Reclaim $22 Million After Alleged Money-Laundering Scheme
A district manager allegedly steered work to a company in exchange for kickbacks, a lawsuit claims.
Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times, May 12, 2026
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6 min read
lgbtq student backpack with rainbow spectrum flag on stairs isolated
Education Week + iStock/Getty
Law & Courts Opinion Why the Supreme Court’s Ruling on Conversion Therapy Matters for Schools
A recent case puts religiously motivated speech ahead of the well-being of LGBTQ+ youth.
Jonathon E. Sawyer , April 17, 2026
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5 min read
Young people making posts, writing social network publications. Modern media influencer, poster & blogger man and woman using mobile phones app concept.
Education Week + iStock
Ed-Tech Policy Opinion We’re Finally Holding Tech Accountable for Harming Teens. What Happens Next?
For young people, mitigating the risks of social media isn’t as simple as just logging off.
Kaya Henderson, April 8, 2026
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5 min read
President Donald Trump signs an executive order on birthright citizenship in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Jan. 20, 2025.
President Donald Trump signs an executive order on birthright citizenship in the Oval Office of the White House on Jan. 20, 2025. The order, now before the U.S. Supreme Court, seeks to limit citizenship for some children born in the United States to immigrant parents without permanent legal status.
Evan Vucci/AP
Law & Courts Birthright Citizenship Case Raises Stakes for Schools and Undocumented Students
Educators are paying close attention to the case on Trump's birthright citizenship order.
Mark Walsh, March 30, 2026
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10 min read
Texas Governor Greg Abbott speaks to a group of event attendees for his Parent Empowerment Night event where he advocated for school choice and vouchers at Temple Christian School in Fort Worth on Thursday, March 6, 2025.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott speaks to attendees of his Parent Empowerment Night event where he advocated school choice and vouchers at Temple Christian School in Fort Worth on March 6, 2025. Texas is accepting applications for its new private school choice program for two more weeks after a judge intervened in a lawsuit claiming religious discrimination for the state's exclusion of Islamic schools.
Chris Torres/Fort Worth Star-Telegram via TNS
School Choice & Charters Families Get 2 More Weeks to Apply for Nation's Largest School Choice Program
Lawsuits say Texas is discriminating by excluding Islamic schools from the private school choice program.
Jennifer Vilcarino, March 18, 2026
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3 min read
Seen is the drawing made by Viejo Elementary School first-grader B.B. that was entered into evidence. B.B. gave the drawing to her classmate, M.C., who is African American. M.C. thanked B.B.
Pictured is a drawing by a 1st grader in California and given to a Black classmate that is at the center of a First Amendment legal challenge over the student's alleged punishment.
U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit
Law & Courts Appeals Court Revives Lawsuit Over 1st Grader’s Black Lives Matter Drawing
A court revived a 1st grader 's claim she was punished for giving a drawing to a Black classmate.
Mark Walsh, March 11, 2026
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4 min read
A student adds a note to others expressing support and sharing coping strategies, as members of the Miami Arts Studio mental health club raise awareness on World Mental Health Day, Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2023, at Miami Arts Studio, a public 6th-12th grade magnet school, in Miami.
A student adds a note expressing support and sharing coping strategies during a World Mental Health Day activity on Oct. 10, 2023, at Miami Arts Studio, a magnet school in Miami. Most recipients of two federal school mental health services grants the Trump administration has attempted to cancel over the past year will see their funding continue at least through June 1.
Rebecca Blackwell/AP
Education Funding School Mental Health Projects Get 3-Month Reprieve as Court Rules Against Trump
The projects to expand school-based services have faced nearly a year of funding uncertainty and legal limbo.
Matthew Stone, March 9, 2026
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5 min read