Federal Policy

News, analysis, and opinion about federal education laws, regulations, and proposals—and their impact
Democrat Jay Jones speaks on stage at an election night watch party for Democrat Abigail Spanberger after Jones was declared the winner of the Virginia attorney general's race Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, in Richmond, Va.
Democrat Jay Jones speaks on stage after he was declared the winner of the Virginia attorney general's race Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, in Richmond, Va. As attorney general, Jones could join multistate coalitions of Democratic state attorneys general suing the Trump administration over its education policies.
AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough
States 4 Education-Related Takeaways From This Week's Elections
How results from Tuesday could affect K-12 schools, and the trajectory of Trump's education policies.
Brooke Schultz, November 5, 2025
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5 min read
SPED Base Aide Veronica Turbinton listens to a student carefully articulate an incident in her room at Benfer Elementary on Oct. 30, 2025, in Klein, TX.
Veronica Turbinton listens to a student in her room at Benfer Elementary in Klein, Texas, on Oct. 30, 2025. Turbinton is among hundreds of students pursuing a teaching degree who are losing federal support that's covered tuition and other expenses after the Trump administration discontinued teacher-training grants under the Augustus F. Hawkins Centers of Excellence grant program.
Annie Mulligan for Education Week
Teacher Preparation Ed. Dept. Cuts Grants That Were Helping College Students Become Teachers
Ten universities collectively lost more than $20 million for efforts to diversify the teacher workforce.
Mark Lieberman, November 4, 2025
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9 min read
Gehring Academy of Science and Technology students attend an assembly on Nov. 22, 2024, to honor their achievement as a 2024 Blue Ribbon School.
Gehring Academy of Science and Technology students attend an assembly on Nov. 22, 2024, to honor the Las Vegas school's designation as a 2024 Blue Ribbon School. The Trump administration in August ended the U.S. Department of Education school recognition program that began in 1982 and has recognized public and private schools for academic achievement each year.
K.M. Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal
States Ed. Dept. Scraps Blue Ribbon Schools Honor. Some States Launch Their Own Versions
The Trump admin. said it was axing the recognition "in the spirit of returning education to the states."
Brooke Schultz & Caitlynn Peetz Stephens, November 3, 2025
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6 min read
Molly Kaldahl (right) and Ava Nkwocha, who attend Millard South High School in Omaha, Neb., meet with their senator’s legislative staff to discuss the National Student Council’s federal legislative agenda on Oct. 28, 2025, in Washington, D.C.
Molly Kaldahl, right, and Ava Nkwocha, who attend Millard South High School in Omaha, Neb., meet with the legislative staff of U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., to discuss the National Student Council’s federal legislative agenda on Oct. 28, 2025, in Washington.
Courtesy of Allyssa Hynes/NASSP
Education Funding Students Make Appeals to Congress to Protect K-12 Funding
National Student Council representatives shared perspectives on challenges schools are facing.
Lauraine Langreo, October 30, 2025
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6 min read
Photo of the United States Capitol with overlayed computer circuitry and the letters "AI".
iStock/Getty
Artificial Intelligence Congress Wants to Protect Kids Using AI. Are Their Ideas the Right Ones?
Two bills in Congress aim to build guardrails for kids' use of artificial intelligence.
Alyson Klein, October 30, 2025
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5 min read
Volunteers with Houston Independent School District and the Houston Food Bank distribute food on May 18, 2024, at Sam Houston Math, Science and Technology Center in Houston.
Volunteers with the Houston school district and the Houston Food Bank distribute food following a destructive storm on May 18, 2024, at Sam Houston Math, Science, and Technology Center in Houston. Schools, which often team with community organizations to respond to crises, are preparing for a lapse in SNAP funding that could leave students and some staff vulnerable to hunger.
Jon Shapley/Houston Chronicle via AP
Families & the Community Schools Scramble as SNAP Lapse Nears, Affecting Students and Staff
Schools prepared by partnering with food pantries to provide food for families.
Evie Blad, October 30, 2025
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5 min read
Social worker Mary Schmauss, right, greets students as they arrive for school on Oct. 1, 2024, at Algodones Elementary School in Algodones, N.M.
A social worker greets students as they arrive for school on Oct. 1, 2024, at Algodones Elementary School in Algodones, N.M. A judge on Oct. 27 said the Trump administration couldn't cancel about four dozen mental health grants that funded school district hiring of school social workers, counselors, and psychologists to boost school mental health services.
Roberto E. Rosales/AP
Law & Courts Ed. Dept. Can't Cancel Dozens of School Mental Health Grants, Judge Rules
The grants, valued at $1 billion, help schools employ more mental health professionals.
Matthew Stone, October 28, 2025
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5 min read
Spike the Fine Motor Hedgehog and Botley the Coding Robot (bottom right), two educational toys created by Learning Resources Inc.
Spike the Fine Motor Hedgehog and Botley the Coding Robot (bottom right), two educational toys created by Learning Resources Inc. The Illinois company is one of two related educational toy makers challenging President Donald Trump’s tariffs before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Courtesy of Learning Resources
Law & Courts Educational Toy Companies Lead Supreme Court Battle Over Trump Tariffs
Two Illinois family-owned educational toy companies are challenging the president’s tariff policies.
Mark Walsh, October 28, 2025
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8 min read
Illustration in blue of huge hands holding money as silhouette people run towards it.
iStock/Getty
Budget & Finance School Districts Prepare to Go Without Some Federal Funds Next Year
Some school finance chiefs are preparing for worst-case scenarios as federal funding uncertainty persists.
Mark Lieberman, October 23, 2025
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7 min read
Alliance for Community Empowerment, Director of Early Learning Tanya Lloyd, right, interacts with a child in the Head Start program on Sept. 28, 2023, in Bridgeport, Conn. Head Start programs serving more than 10,000 disadvantaged children would immediately lose federal funding if there is a federal shutdown, although they might be able to stave off immediate closure if it doesn't last long.
Tanya Lloyd, director of early learning at the Alliance for Community Empowerment, interacts with a child in the Head Start program on Sept. 28, 2023, in Bridgeport, Conn. More than 100 Head Start programs that are due to receive their annual federal funding allocations on Nov. 1 could go without that funding if the federal government is still shut down.
Jessica Hill/AP
Early Childhood 100-Plus Head Start Programs Will Go Without Federal Funds If Shutdown Drags On
The programs were due to receive their federal funding allocations Nov. 1.
Caitlynn Peetz Stephens, October 23, 2025
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4 min read
Peggy Carr, Commissioner of the National Center for Education, speaks during an interview about the National Assessment of Education Process (NAEP), on Oct. 21, 2022, in Washington.
Peggy Carr, the former commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, speaks during an interview about the National Assessment of Education Process, on Oct. 21, 2022, in Washington. Carr shared her thoughts about the Trump administration's massive staff cuts to the Education Department in a recent webinar.
Alex Brandon/AP
Federal Fired NCES Chief: Ed. Dept. Cuts Mean 'Fewer Eyes on the Condition of Schools'
Experts discuss how federal actions have impacted equity and research in the field of education.
Jennifer Vilcarino, October 22, 2025
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3 min read
Wheelchair user obstacle metaphor. Conquering adversity. Hurdle on way concept. Overcoming obstacle on road. Vector illustration 3d isometric design. Barrier on way to success.
iStock/Getty Images + Vanessa Solis/Education Week
Special Education Opinion ‘Educational Exile’: How Trump’s Layoffs Threaten Students With Disabilities
Here’s what’s at stake for millions of students if we lose federal enforcement of IDEA.
Susan Haas, October 21, 2025
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4 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
Education Funding Opinion The Federal Shutdown Is a Rorschach Test for Education
Polarization, confusion, and perverse incentives turn a serious discussion into a stylized debate.
Rick Hess, October 20, 2025
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7 min read
Education Secretary Linda McMahon appears before the House Appropriation Panel about the 2026 budget in Washington, D.C., on May 21, 2025.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon appears before U.S. House of Representatives members to discuss the 2026 budget in Washington on May 21, 2025. The U.S. Department of Education laid off 465 employees during the federal government shutdown. The layoff, if it goes through, will virtually wipe out offices in the agency that oversee key grant programs.
Jason Andrew for Education Week
Federal Education Department Layoffs Would Affect Dozens of Programs. See Which Ones
Entire teams that work on key funding streams may not return to work even when the shutdown ends.
Mark Lieberman, October 16, 2025
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3 min read
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