Federal Policy

News, analysis, and opinion about federal education laws, regulations, and proposals—and their impact
The Department of Education headquarters in Washington, D.C. on Friday, July 17, 2026.
The Department of Education headquarters in Washington on Friday, July 17, 2026. Federal funding for education research may be starting to flow, even as the overall spending picture remains unclear.
Eric Lee for Education Week
Federal After Months of Standstill, Ed. Dept. Announces New Federal Research Funding
The agency outlined its fiscal 2027 grantmaking amid questions about its sluggish spending.
Stephen Sawchuk & Mark Lieberman, August 11, 2026
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7 min read
Karen Locken plays with children in an Early Head Start program in Pasadena, California on Friday, April 18, 2025 .
Karen Locken plays with children in an Early Head Start program in Pasadena, California on Friday, April 18, 2025 .
Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times/TNS
Early Childhood Trump Admin. Moves to Dismantle Head Start Quality Standards
The Trump administration announced plans to dismantle the federal regulations that have defined Head Start for decades.
Elizabeth Heubeck, August 6, 2026
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5 min read
Third graders at Oak Ridge Elementary School, Ben Vue, 9, left, Genesis Cortez, 9, Grettell Dominguez, 9, and Vanessa Guerra 8, right, sit together while eating lunch on Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023 , in Oak Park .
Third graders at Oak Ridge Elementary School in Oak Park, Calif., sit together while eating lunch on Feb. 22, 2023. Several schools across the country have announced they're no longer providing free meals to all students because they've stopped qualifying for the federal Community Eligibility Provision.
Lezlie Sterling via TNS
Student Well-Being & Movement Some Schools Stop Free Meals for All as SNAP Enrollment Falls
A rising number of schools no longer qualify for a federal program to provide free meals to all students.
Caitlynn Peetz Stephens, August 6, 2026
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6 min read
The U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C. on Friday, July 17, 2026.
The U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C. on Friday, July 17, 2026.
Eric Lee for Education Week
Education Funding Video What's in Store for School Funding for 2026-27?
A new education tax credit, federal budget negotiations, and more are in store.
Mark Lieberman, Marvin Joseph & Yi-Jo Shen, August 5, 2026
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1 min read
A collage-style illustration of images of the U.S. Department of Education building, the U.S. Capitol building, and dollar bills on top of a wooden school desktop with a pencil on it and a school bus underneath. The dollar bills appear to have been punched out with a hole punch in a few areas, and those missing circles are sprinkled on the desk and school bus below.
Illustration by Emily Wright for Education Week + Getty
Education Funding Trump's Education Department Is Letting Tens of Millions of Dollars Expire
Education Week found the agency didn't spend its full budget last year and appears on track to do so again.
Mark Lieberman, August 4, 2026
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10 min read
An illustration of three school leaders at a desk and one is holding an umbrella. They are all looking up into the sky where a sun is peeking through several clouds that are depicting dollar bills.
Illustration by Robert Neubecker for Education Week
Education Funding From the Feds on Down, School Funding Is Uncertain. What to Know
Federal turbulence during the Trump administration highlights the precarity of state and local funding, too.
Mark Lieberman, August 3, 2026
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7 min read
Dr. Stephanie Cross, a professor at Georgia State University, photographed in her home in Brookhaven, Georgia.
Stephanie Lee Behm Cross, a professor at Georgia State University, stands in her home in Brookhaven, Ga., on July 13, 2026. Cross ran a teacher-residency program funded by a U.S. Department of Education grant until the funding was abruptly terminated in February 2025.
Dustin Chambers for Education Week
Education Funding Trump Cut Their Education Grants. Here’s What Happened Next
Grantees whose work ground to a halt last year lament broken promises and abandoned projects.
Mark Lieberman, July 31, 2026
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15 min read
AT LEFT, US Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) listens as US Senator Tim Kane (D-VA) speaks regarding the Special Education Administration Act (S. 5038), and the profit the transfer of certain offices to other Federal Agency (S.5046) Act during a Health, Education, Labor and Pension Executive Session at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill, Washington, DC on Thursday, July 30, 2026.
U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., left, listens as U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., speaks during a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committee meeting at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington on July 30, 2026. The committee advanced two bills related to reading, as well as another opposing the transfer of certain U.S. Department of Education offices to other agencies.
Demetrius Freeman for Education Week
Reading & Literacy Federal 'Science of Reading' Bill Advances
A Senate committee also passed a proposal to classify dyslexia separately under federal disability law.
Sarah Schwartz, July 31, 2026
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5 min read
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U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., listens as Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., speaks during a Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee session on July 30, 2026 in the U.S. Capitol in Washington. The committee voted to advance a measure that would block many of the Trump administration's transfers of Education Department programs to other agencies.
Demetrius Freeman for Education Week
Federal Senate Panel Advances Bill to Block Much of Trump Admin.’s Ed. Dept. Dismantling
The bill pushes back, but only partially, against Trump's efforts to end the 46-year-old department.
Caitlynn Peetz Stephens, July 30, 2026
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5 min read
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Seniors line up during their graduation rehearsal at the Capital City Public Charter School in Washington on June 11, 2026. A new analysis breaks down the number of students in each state who could qualify for financial awards under the new federal tax-credit scholarship program launching next year. The awards could cover private school tuition as well as certain expenses for traditional public and charter school students.
Marvin Joseph/Education Week
School Choice & Charters Vast Majority of Students Could Qualify for Trump's School Choice Program
Although most students are expected to be eligible, four factors will shape its ultimate size.
Matthew Stone, July 30, 2026
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7 min read
Florida SexEd Curriculum 24267748051016
Materials for teens and parents on pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections provided by Teen Health Mississippi are displayed on Sept. 26, 2023, in Jackson, Miss. Dozens of organizations nationwide that ran teen pregnancy prevention efforts had their federal funding abruptly terminated last month.
Rogelio V. Solis/AP Photo
Education Funding School Pregnancy Prevention Efforts Shut Down as Trump Emphasizes Abstinence
The administration has canceled funding for more than 50 teen pregnancy prevention programs.
Mark Lieberman & Lauraine Langreo, July 29, 2026
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9 min read
A look at the state of teaching with English learner students in Antioch, Tenn.
English learners work through disecting a speech at John F. Kennedy Middle School in Antioch, Tenn. on Dec. 3, 2025. National professional development grants focus on developing more teachers to work with these students.
William DeShazer for Education Week
Education Funding Federal English-Learner Grant Returns This Fall Under New Oversight
The national professional development grant program has experienced upheaval in the last year.
Ileana Najarro, July 27, 2026
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4 min read
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The Department of Education headquarters in Washington on July 17, 2026. The Trump administration has been transferring day-to-day management of the agency's programs to other Cabinet-level departments. The administration recently announced the transfer of its civil rights enforcement arm to the Department of Justice.
Eric Lee for Education Week
Federal Ed. Dept. Shifts Civil Rights to the Justice Dept.: What It Means for Schools
The office for civil rights has already changed dramatically. What more will change in the Justice Dept.?
Alyson Klein, July 27, 2026
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13 min read
Chief Leschi Schools senior Gerald Dillon, 18, who spends time as a teaching assistant for a second grade class through the school's career and technical education program, look son Wednesday, March 18, 2026, at Chief Leschi Schools in Puyallup, Wash.
The Education Department just withdrew 60-year-old regulations holding school districts responsible for "disparate impact" of their policies across racial and ethnic student groups. It also rescinded similar regulations for career-technical education programs. A March 18, 2026 photo shows a senior who works part time through the career's CTE program at Chief Leschi Schools in Puyallup, Wash.
Lindsey Wasson/AP
Equity & Diversity Education Department Scraps Longstanding Discrimination Rules
Districts will no longer be liable for "disparate impact"—in discipline, course access, or CTE programs.
Mark Walsh & Stephen Sawchuk, July 23, 2026
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7 min read