Federal Policy

News, analysis, and opinion about federal education laws, regulations, and proposals—and their impact
Students listen to social studies teacher Ella Pillitteri during a seventh grade civics class at A.D. Henderson School in Boca Raton, Fla., Tuesday, April 16, 2024. When teachers at the K-8 public school, one of the top-performing schools in Florida, are asked how they succeed, one answer is universal: They have autonomy.
Students listen to their social studies teacher during a 7th grade civics class at a school in Boca Raton, Fla., on April 16, 2024. New proposed legislation would create a model national civics curriculum—something that has never successfully been tried.
Rebecca Blackwell/AP
Social Studies Q&A A New Bill Calls for a Model Civics Curriculum at a Polarized Moment
A Democratic senator has introduced bills to boost hands-on civic learning and create a national civics curriculum.
Sarah Schwartz, March 18, 2026
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9 min read
State stamps coming apart on a data textured background
Vanessa Solis/Education Week + Getty
Every Student Succeeds Act See Which States Want Ed. Dept.'s OK to Change Testing, Federal School Funding
States are seeking potentially significant changes to implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act.
Alyson Klein, March 16, 2026
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1 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 The Trump Administration Has Mostly Dismantled the Ed. Dept. Should You Care?
Here’s how much the administration has really changed federal education policy.
Rick Hess, March 16, 2026
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7 min read
Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, center, arrives for a tree planting ceremony at the Department of Education to announce plans to create the Green Ribbon Schools competition which will "raise environmental literacy," inside and outside the classroom and reduce a school's environmental footprint, on April 26, 2011. A Texas oak tree was planted at the ceremony.
Then-Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, center, arrives for a tree-planting ceremony on April 26, 2011, at the U.S. Department of Education to announce plans to create the Green Ribbon Schools competition. The Trump administration ended the recognition—which honored schools for reducing their environmental impact and offering hands-on environmental education—last year.
Tom Williams/Roll Call via Getty Images
Federal Ed. Dept. Quietly Ends an Honor for Schools’ Environmental Work
Applicants found out when the online portal for award submissions never opened.
Caitlynn Peetz Stephens, March 13, 2026
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5 min read
Job seekers listen for information on employment during a hiring fair at Fair Park in Dallas, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026.
Job seekers during a hiring fair at Fair Park in Dallas, on Jan. 14, 2026. States must improve their academic standards and identify the skills students need to compete for evolving jobs, said a workforce commission assembled by the Bipartisan Policy Center. A new report from the commission includes recommendations for employers, government, and K-12 education.
LM Otero/AP
College & Workforce Readiness Bold Changes Needed to Prepare Students for AI-Fueled Disruption, Commission Says
A commission calls for a unified federal strategy to address rapidly changing workforce needs.
Evie Blad, March 12, 2026
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6 min read
Illustration of office chairs moving into different spaces.
Laura Baker/Education Week + Getty
Federal The Ed. Dept. Is Sending 118 Programs to Other Agencies. See Where They're Going
The Trump administration is partnering with at least four other agencies as it tries to shutter the Education Department.
Mark Lieberman, Matthew Stone & Maya Riser-Kositsky, March 12, 2026
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1 min read
North Dakota Superintendent of Public Instruction Kirsten Baesler announces the gathering of a task force to look into future options the state has for the assessment of students during a press conference May 8, 2015, at the state Capitol in Bismarck, N.D.
Kirsten Baesler, then North Dakota's schools superintendent, talks to the press on May 8, 2015, at the state capitol in Bismarck. Baesler, now the assistant secretary of elementary and secondary education in the Trump administration, spoke with Education Week about the administration's approach to flexibility from federal education requirements.
Mike McCleary/The Bismarck Tribune via AP
Every Student Succeeds Act Q&A Trump's Top K-12 Official: Returning Ed. to States Isn't Just Waiving Rules
Kirsten Baesler spoke with EdWeek about the Education Department's approach to testing and accountability.
Alyson Klein, March 12, 2026
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5 min read
Education Secretary Linda McMahon and former Secretary of State Condeleeza Rice, right, are seen after a roundtable discussion on college sports in the East Room of the White House, on March 6, 2026, in Washington. McMahon last year encouraged states to seek flexibility from federal requirements. Now, states have begun to respond to that invitation.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon is pictured with former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice after a roundtable discussion on college sports in the East Room of the White House on March 6, 2026. McMahon last year encouraged states to seek flexibility from federal education requirements. States are responding to that invitation.
Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP
Every Student Succeeds Act In 'Returning Education to the States,' How Far Will Trump's Ed. Dept. Go?
States' requests for new flexibility from the feds will test just how far the department can go.
Alyson Klein, March 11, 2026
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9 min read
President Donald Trump speaks during a roundtable discussion on college sports in the East Room of the White House, Friday, March 6, 2026, in Washington.
President Donald Trump during a recent roundtable discussion in the East Room of the White House, on March 6, 2026, in Washington. Trump's administration is using new ways to incorporate its policy priorities into grantmaking that will affect schools and other recipients of other grants.
Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP
Education Funding Federal Funding Disruptions for Schools Are Far From Over
Signs are piling up that schools could experience more funding turbulence in the coming months.
Mark Lieberman, March 11, 2026
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12 min read
New graduates line up before the start of a college commencement at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J, May 17, 2018. A proposed regulation could exclude education from a list of "professional" graduate degrees, limiting federal loans for students in the field.
New graduates line up before the start of a college commencement at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J, May 17, 2018. A proposed regulation could exclude education from a list of "professional" graduate degrees, limiting federal loans for students in the field.
Seth Wenig/AP
Federal Why K-12 Educators Are Alarmed About Proposed Student Loan Limits
They worry that the new loan limits could put a leak in the teacher and administrator pipeline.
Evie Blad, March 10, 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
Large hand making pressure over group of small, silhouetted figures. Oppressions, manipulation. Contemporary art collage. Photocopy effect. Concept of world crisis, business, economy, control
Education Week + iStock
Federal Opinion We Shouldn’t Have to Choose Between Federal Overreach and Abandonment in K-12
Why is federal power being used to occupy our cities but not protect our students’ civil rights?
Sally Iverson, March 4, 2026
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4 min read
A first grade classroom at a school in Colorado Springs, on Feb. 12, 2026.
A 1st grade classroom at a school in Colorado Springs, Colo., on Feb. 12, 2026. The U.S. Department of Education released a proposal to rework a decades-old program charged with helping states and school districts problem-solve and deploy new initiatives, calling the current structure “duplicative” and “confusing.”
Kevin Mohatt for Education Week
Federal Ed. Dept. Wants to Revamp Assistance Program It Calls 'Duplicative,' 'Confusing'
The department's Comprehensive Centers have already been through a year of shakeups.
Matthew Stone, March 2, 2026
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3 min read
A look at the state of teaching in Fresno, Calif.
Jose Valadez, a new teacher working towards state certification, teaches his 3rd grade students at Birney Elementary on November 6, 2025 in Fresno, Calif. Groups representing teacher colleges have put out a plan calling for a $2.5 billion federal investment in scholarships and supports for aspiring teachers.
Andri Tambunan for Education Week
Teacher Preparation Education Groups Push $2.5 Billion Plan to Rebuild Teacher Preparation
Teachers' colleges lead push to 'rebuild' after years of disruption and falling enrollment.
Sarah D. Sparks, February 26, 2026
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6 min read
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