Court Cases

Education news, analysis, and opinion about lawsuits and legal proceedings
A commuter walks past the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Education, which were ordered closed for the day for what officials described as security reasons amid large-scale layoffs, Wednesday, March 12, 2025, in Washington.
A commuter walks past the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Education on Wednesday, March 12, 2025, in Washington. The department this week announced it was shedding half its staff. Twenty-one states have sued over the mass layoff.
Mark Schiefelbein/AP
Law & Courts States Sue Trump Over Education Department Firings
The challenge from 21 attorneys general comes just days after the Education Department announced it would shrink its staff by roughly half.
Brooke Schultz, March 13, 2025
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4 min read
The U.S. Supreme Court is seen near sunset in Washington, Oct. 18, 2018.
The Trump administration has filed briefs supporting conservative positions in two high-profile U.S. Supreme Court cases on religion and public education.
Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP
Law & Courts Trump Admin. Backs Catholic Charter, LGBTQ+ Lesson Opt-Outs in Supreme Court
The Trump administration filed briefs supporting conservative positions in two big cases on religion and public education
Mark Walsh, March 13, 2025
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5 min read
California Attorney General Rob Bonta speaks at a press conference to announce a lawsuit against the Trump administration over budget cuts to teaching training funds, at the Ronald Reagan Federal Building on Thursday, March 6, 2025, in Los Angeles.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta announces a lawsuit against the Trump administration over the cancellation of teacher-training grants on March 6, 2025, in Los Angeles. A judge on March 10 ordered the temporary reinstatement of the funds in California and seven other states.
Juliana Yamada/Los Angeles Times via TNS
Education Funding Trump Admin. Ordered to Temporarily Restore Teacher-Prep Grants in 8 States
A federal judge chided the Trump administration for offering what amounted to "no explanation at all" for terminating the grants.
Mark Lieberman, March 11, 2025
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4 min read
California Attorney General Rob Bonta speaks at a press conference to announce a lawsuit against the Trump administration over budget cuts to teacher training funds at the Ronald Reagan Federal Building on March 6, 2025, in Los Angeles.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta speaks at a press conference to announce a lawsuit against the Trump administration over budget cuts to teacher training funds at the Ronald Reagan Federal Building on March 6, 2025, in Los Angeles.
Juliana Yamada/Los Angeles Times via TNS
Law & Courts 8 States Sue Trump Administration for Cuts to Teacher-Training Grants
Lawsuit claims Trump’s education cuts will worsen teacher shortages in STEM, special ed, and bilingual programs.
Jaweed Kaleem, March 7, 2025
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6 min read
Vector illustration of a businessman's hands tearing a piece of paper in half with a large red dollar sign on it.
DigitalVision Vectors
Education Funding Teacher-Prep Programs Sue Trump to Get Their Funding Restored
The programs say the grant terminations hurt their ability to prepare aspiring teachers and hurt the schools that depend on them.
Mark Lieberman, March 4, 2025
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4 min read
Students walk to class on the Indiana University campus, Oct. 14, 2021, in Bloomington, Ind.
The U.S. Supreme Court on March 3 declined to take up a challenge to the bias-response policy of Indiana University, including at its Bloomington campus shown above.
Darron Cummings/AP
Law & Courts Supreme Court Won't Take Up Case on Schools' Bias-Response Policies
Over the dissents of two justices, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to weigh a case about educational institutions' bias-reporting policies.
Mark Walsh, March 3, 2025
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3 min read
The Supreme Court building is seen on June 13, 2024, in Washington.
The U.S. Supreme Court, seen here on June 13, 2024, on Feb. 21 issued a ruling that means private whistleblowers may pursue lawsuits alleging fraud under the federal E-rate program that provides internet connections to schools.
Mark Schiefelbein/AP
Law & Courts Schools May Get Relief From Overcharges After Supreme Court Ruling on E-Rate
The ruling potentially bolsters schools that have been overcharged by telecommunications companies.
Mark Walsh, February 21, 2025
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5 min read
A person holds up LGTBQ+ pride flags during the Pride Parade in New York, June 24, 2018.
LGTBQ+ pride flags during the Pride Parade in New York City in 2018. A federal appeals court has rejected a parental rights claim against a Massachusetts district's policy of supporting students' gender transitions.
Steve Luciano/AP
Law & Courts Parents Lose Appeal Over School’s Gender Identity Notification Policy
A federal appeals court ruled for a district in the case of a 9th grader who did not want officials to notify parents of gender transition.
Mark Walsh, February 19, 2025
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6 min read
President Donald Trump listens as Elon Musk speaks in the Oval Office at the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in Washington.
President Donald Trump listens as Elon Musk speaks in the Oval Office at the White House, Feb. 11, 2025, in Washington. Musk's Department of Government Efficiency is reviewing federal agencies’ data systems, which includes personal information.
Alex Brandon/AP
Federal Teachers’ Union Sues Over Sensitive Data Accessed by Elon Musk's DOGE
The American Federation of Teachers and others allege that three federal agencies improperly disclosed sensitive information.
Lauraine Langreo, February 12, 2025
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4 min read
The Supreme Court in Washington, June 30, 2024.
The U.S. Supreme Court has granted review in a potentially landmark case about whether a state may, or even must, include a religious school in its public charter school funding program.
Susan Walsh/AP
Law & Courts Are Religious Charter Schools Legal? The Supreme Court Will Decide Soon
The court's ruling could fundamentally alter the line between church and state in education.
Mark Walsh, January 24, 2025
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5 min read
John Kluge, a former Indiana teacher, pictured in an undated photo.
John M. Kluge is an Indiana teacher who was dismissed for refusing to use transgender students' chosen names and pronouns.
Courtesy of Alliance Defending Freedom
Law & Courts Legal Fights Highlight Clashes Over Transgender Students’ Pronouns in Schools
A federal court weighs the case of a teacher who refused to use students' chosen names and pronouns, as similar questions arise elsewhere.
Mark Walsh, January 23, 2025
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9 min read
The Supreme Court on Wednesday afternoon, April 19, 2023, in Washington.
A view of the Supreme Court in the afternoon on April 19, 2023, in Washington.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP
Law & Courts Can Parents Opt Kids Out of Reading LGBTQ+ Books? The Supreme Court Will Decide
The U.S. Supreme Court will take up a school district's policy of refusing to let parents opt out their children from LGBTQ+ storybooks.
Mark Walsh, January 17, 2025
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3 min read
Sarah Baus, left, of Charleston, S.C., and Tiffany Cianci, who says she is a "long-form educational content creator," livestream to TikTok outside the Supreme Court, on Jan. 10, 2025, in Washington.
Sarah Baus, left, of Charleston, S.C., and Tiffany Cianci, who says she is a "long-form educational content creator," livestream to TikTok outside the Supreme Court, on Jan. 10, 2025, in Washington.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP
Law & Courts How Educators Feel About the Supreme Court's Decision to Uphold TikTok Ban
The Supreme Court upheld a law targeting TikTok, increasing the uncertainty for an app highly popular among U.S. educators and students.
Mark Walsh & Lauraine Langreo, January 17, 2025
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6 min read
Scales of justice and Gavel on wooden table and Lawyer or Judge working with agreement in Courtroom, Justice and Law concept.
Pattanaphong Khuankaew/iStock
Law & Courts After 50 Years, This School District Is No Longer Segregated, Court Says
A federal appeals court panel declared that the Tucson, Ariz., district was now legally desegregated a half century after it was first sued.
Mark Walsh, January 15, 2025
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3 min read
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