Court Cases

Education news, analysis, and opinion about lawsuits and legal proceedings
The Tharpe family, pictured outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on April 28, 2025.
The Tharpe family, pictured outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on April 28, 2025.
Mark Walsh/Education Week
Law & Courts Supreme Court Decision Lets Students Sue Schools More Easily for Disability Bias
The justices ruled unanimously that students with disabilities need not meet a more stringent standard when suing under two federal laws.
Mark Walsh, June 12, 2025
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4 min read
A Morehouse College student lines up before the school commencement, May 19, 2024, in Atlanta. The Education Department announced on July 18, 2024, that it is cancelling an additional $1.2 billion in student loans for borrowers who work in public service.
A Morehouse College student lines up before the school commencement on May 19, 2024, in Atlanta. The U.S. Department of Education had started to work with the U.S. Department of the Treasury on transferring its student loan portfolio, a new court filing shows.
Seth Wenig/AP
Federal Trump Admin. Was Moving Ed. Dept. Programs Elsewhere Before a Court Intervened
The department had penned agreements with the U.S. departments of Labor and the Treasury to move programs, but was halted by court order.
Brooke Schultz, June 11, 2025
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8 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
School Choice & Charters Opinion The School Choice Landscape Is Shifting
What could two Supreme Court rulings—one recent and one impending—mean for educators and parents?
Rick Hess, June 10, 2025
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8 min read
Supporters hold signs and cheer Education Department employees as they leave after retrieving their personal belongings from the Education Department building in Washington, Monday, March 24, 2025.
Supporters hold signs and cheer Education Department employees as they leave after retrieving their personal belongings from the Education Department building in Washington, Monday, March 24, 2025. A judge has ordered the reinstatement of terminated department employees, but they have yet to return to work.
Jose Luis Magana/AP
Law & Courts A Court Told Trump to Reverse Ed. Dept. Layoffs. Will It Happen?
A judge ruled May 22 that the Trump administration had to reinstate laid-off Ed. Dept. staffers. They're still not back on the job.
Brooke Schultz, June 3, 2025
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6 min read
Books sit on shelves in an elementary school library in suburban Atlanta on Aug. 18, 2023.
Books sit on shelves in an elementary school library in suburban Atlanta on Aug. 18, 2023. A federal appeals court covering Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas has made it more difficult for public and school library patrons to challenge book removal decisions.
Hakim Wright Sr./AP
Law & Courts Appeals Court Ruling Raises Bar for Challenging School Book Bans
A federal appeals court rejected a challenge to book removals in a Texas public library and overruled a precedent on school library cases.
Mark Walsh, May 28, 2025
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6 min read
Liam Morrison, pictured in the "There Are Only Two Genders" shirt at the heart of his Supreme Court case, L.M. v. Town of Middleborough.
Liam Morrison, pictured in the "There Are Only Two Genders" shirt at the heart of his Supreme Court case, <i>L.M.</i>&nbsp;v.&nbsp;<i>Town of Middleborough</i>.
Courtesy of Alliance Defending Freedom
Law & Courts Supreme Court Won’t Hear ‘Two Genders’ Student T-Shirt Case
Over two justices' dissent, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case of a student barred from wearing an anti-transgender T-shirt.
Mark Walsh, May 27, 2025
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6 min read
031225 Reading Month Thumbnail KM BS
Kate Medley for Education Week
Reading & Literacy Court Dismisses Reading Lawsuit Against Lucy Calkins, Other 'Balanced Literacy' Proponents
Parents alleged the reading materials had been fraudulently marketed, but a federal court declined to adjudicate the research behind the programs.
Sarah Schwartz, May 22, 2025
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4 min read
Supporters of charter schools rally outside of the Supreme Court on Wednesday, April 30, 2025, in Washington.
Supporters of religious charter schools rally outside of the U.S. Supreme Court on April 30 as the justices weighed Oklahoma's approval of such a charter. On May 22, the court tied 4-4, leaving in place an Oklahoma Supreme Court ruling that said such religious charters were unconstitutional.
Mark Schiefelbein/AP
Law & Courts Religious Charter School Blocked After Supreme Court Deadlock
The U.S. Supreme Court's 4-4 split over a religious charter school affirms a lower court ruling against the school but sets no precedent.
Mark Walsh, May 22, 2025
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6 min read
Alejandra Rodriguez, 9, of Key Largo, Fla., watches as college students protest in support of the Department of Education, Thursday, March 20, 2025, outside the department in Washington.
Nine-year-old Alejandra Rodriguez of Key Largo, Fla., watches as college students protest in support of the Department of Education on March 20, 2025, outside the federal agency in Washington. A federal judge has ordered the department to reinstate all staff it has terminated since President Donald Trump's inauguration.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP
Federal Judge Tells Trump Admin. to Reverse Education Department Layoffs
The order also blocks the transfer of department functions to other agencies as well as an executive order aimed at dismantling the agency.
Brooke Schultz, May 22, 2025
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7 min read
3d Render Red glossy Glass Dollar Sign icon in circle Blue Soft Maze, problems, solutions, strategy concept
iStock/Getty
Education Funding Trump's Cancellation of States' COVID-Relief Funding Is on Hold Again
Pandemic-relief funds in 16 states have been temporarily restored—again—just days before they were set to expire.
Mark Lieberman, May 21, 2025
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3 min read
Rep. Laurel Libby, R-Auburn, speaks in opposition to a heating assistance package, Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2023, at the State House in Augusta, Maine.
State Rep. Laurel D. Libby speaks at the State House in Augusta, Maine, on Jan. 4, 2023. Libby's February social media post about a transgender athlete ultimately led to a White House confrontation between President Donald Trump and Maine Gov. Janet D. Mills that has escalated to the point of the U.S. Department of Education threatening the state's federal school funding.
Robert F. Bukaty/AP
Law & Courts Supreme Court Gives Relief to Maine Legislator in Transgender Sports Controversy
The U.S. Supreme Court temporarily restored voting privileges to a Maine lawmaker whose social media post criticized a transgender athlete.
Mark Walsh, May 20, 2025
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3 min read
Hannah Liu, 26, of Washington, holds up a sign in support of birthright citizenship on May 15, 2025, outside of the Supreme Court in Washington. "This is enshrined in the Constitution. My parents are Chinese immigrants," says Liu. "They came here on temporary visas so I derive my citizenship through birthright."
Hannah Liu, 26, of Washington, holds up a sign in support of birthright citizenship on May 15, 2025, outside of the Supreme Court in Washington. "This is enshrined in the Constitution. My parents are Chinese immigrants," says Liu. "They came here on temporary visas so I derive my citizenship through birthright."
Jacquelyn Martin/AP
Law & Courts Supreme Court Case on Birthright Citizenship Sparks Fears for School Funding
The justices are weighing whether to allow nationwide injunctions of President Donald Trump's executive order on birthright citizenship.
Mark Walsh, May 15, 2025
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5 min read
Man and woman waiting around speech bubble hole
E+/Getty
Law & Courts Opinion What the Supreme Court Case on LGBTQ+ Books Reminds Us About Parents’ Rights
Regardless of which side wins Mahmoud v. Taylor, we have a big problem.
Jamie Kudlats & Christopher D. Thomas, May 15, 2025
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5 min read
Illustration of a man pushing half of clock and half of a money coin forward on a red arrow
iStock/Getty Images Plus
Education Funding Billions for Schools Are in Limbo as Trump Admin. Denies State Funding Requests
Chaos and confusion continue to reign as states scramble to spend the last of their COVID relief funds under new deadlines.
Mark Lieberman, May 12, 2025
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8 min read
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