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Education news, analysis, and opinion about people who specialize in education policy or are employed by education-related businesses
A copy of Project 2025 is held during the Democratic National Convention, Aug. 21, 2024, in Chicago.
A copy of Project 2025 is held during the Democratic National Convention, Aug. 21, 2024, in Chicago. The Trump administration has added the author of the conservative policy document's chapter on education to the U.S. Department of Education's staff.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Federal Trump Admin. Adds Project 2025 Author to Education Department Staff
The appointment comes as Trump has already begun to embrace plans outlined in the controversial 900-page conservative policy agenda.
Brooke Schultz, June 9, 2025
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4 min read
Phil Rosenfelt, center, an attorney with the Office of the General Counsel at the Department of Education, is greeted by supporters after retrieving personal belongings from the Education Department building in Washington on March 24, 2025.
Phil Rosenfelt, center, an attorney with the office of general counsel at the U.S. Department of Education, is greeted by supporters after retrieving personal belongings from the Education Department building in Washington on March 24, 2025, the last day of work for hundreds of agency employees. The Trump administration has had to bump back the day it planned to stop paying laid-off staff.
Jose Luis Magana/AP
Federal Trump Admin. Pauses Ed. Dept. Layoffs After Judge's Order
The U.S. Department of Education is slowly complying with a federal court order to reinstate staff.
Brooke Schultz, June 6, 2025
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3 min read
Attorneys from the Education Department's General Counsel Office Emily Merolli, second left, and Shaw Vanze in the back, second right, are greeted by supporters after retrieving their personal belongings from the Education Department building in Washington on March 24, 2025.
Attorneys from the U.S. Education Department's General Counsel Office Emily Merolli, second left, and Shaw Vanze in the back, second right, are greeted by supporters after retrieving their personal belongings from the department's headquarters in Washington on March 24, 2025. The Trump administration has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to undo a federal district court injunction that would reinstate some 1,400 employees laid off from the department.
Jose Luis Magana/AP
Law & Courts Trump Administration Asks Supreme Court to Reinstate Ed. Dept. Layoffs
The administration asks the U.S. Supreme Court to remove an injunction blocking the layoffs of nearly 1,400 department employees
Mark Walsh, June 6, 2025
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4 min read
Deputy Secretary of Education nominee Penny Schwinn, left, and Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights nominee Kimberly Richey prior to testifying before the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee about their nominations for the Department of Education in Washington, D.C., on June 5, 2025.
Penny Schwinn, left, and Kimberly Richey speak prior to testifying before the U.S. Senate's Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee in Washington on June 5, 2025. Schwinn is President Donald Trump's nominee to serve as deputy secretary in the U.S. Department of Education. Richey is Trump's nominee to lead the department's office for civil rights.
Jason Andrew for Education Week
Federal Republicans Press Top Ed. Dept. Nominees to Commit to Trump's Agenda
Penny Schwinn and Kimberly Richey appeared before lawmakers for leadership in the department.
Brooke Schultz, June 5, 2025
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6 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
Tennessee Commissioner of Education Penny Schwinn is greeted by students at Fairmount Elementary in Bristol, Tenn., on Monday morning, June 14, 2021, during her "Accelerating TN Tour 2021." The students at Fairmount are taking part in the Summer S.T.R.E.A.M. Camp.
Penny Schwinn, then the commissioner of education in Tennessee, is greeted by students at Fairmount Elementary in Bristol, Tenn. on June 14, 2021. Schwinn, President Donald Trump's nominee to serve as deputy secretary of education, will appear before senators on June 5 for her confirmation hearing.
David Crigger/Bristol Herald Courier via AP
Federal Top Trump Ed. Dept. Nominee Penny Schwinn Makes Her Case to Senators Next Week
Schwinn, a former Tennessee state schools chief who has drawn bipartisan praise, has a confirmation hearing scheduled for June 5.
Brooke Schultz, May 29, 2025
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5 min read
Trump legal lawsuits
Laura Baker/Education Week via Canva
Federal What 100 Ed. Dept. Investigations Say About Trump's Agenda for Schools
Education Week has confirmed 100 Education Department investigations aligned with key Trump administration priorities.
Brooke Schultz, May 22, 2025
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10 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
The U.S. Department of Education in Washington pictured on Friday, March 28, 2025, during a rally to support departing employees.
The U.S. Department of Education in Washington pictured on Friday, March 28, 2025, during a rally to support departing employees. A federal judge on Friday questioned the Trump administration's arguments in favor of dismantling the federal agency.
Moriah Ratner for Education Week
Law & Courts Judge Casts Doubt on Trump’s Authority to Gut Education Dept. Staff
Twenty-one states and a coalition of unions and school districts are challenging the president's dismantling of the Education Department.
Mark Lieberman, April 25, 2025
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3 min read
Evaluate Score, Forecast, Businessman Holding Telescope on Performance Measure
iStock/Getty
Assessment Fewer Subjects, Students, Data Points: Feds to Scale Back NAEP
Some 4th and 12th grade tests won't proceed as planned, following sweeping cuts to the U.S. Department of Education research arm last month.
Sarah Schwartz, April 21, 2025
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5 min read
Photograph of a classroom of English learners at their desks with paper and digital tablets.
iStock/Getty
English Learners Who Will Support English Learners? Experts Warn of Crisis
The U.S. Department of Education's reduced staff and eliminated the office of English language acquisition as a standalone agency.
Ileana Najarro, April 21, 2025
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8 min read
Illustration of setting computer security settings. Vector illustration of computer privacy management.
iStock/Getty
Privacy & Security Could Trump Budget Cuts Lead to More Cyberattacks Against Schools?
Schools stand to lose vital cybersecurity support as the Education Department is forced to suspend a cybersecurity initiative.
Arianna Prothero & Lauraine Langreo, April 4, 2025
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10 min read
Supporters gather outside the U.S. Department of Education in Washington to applaud Education Department employees as they depart their offices for the final time on Friday, March 28, 2025. The rally brought together education supporters, students, parents, and former employees to honor the departing staff as they arrived in 30-minute intervals to collect their belongings.
Supporters gather outside the U.S. Department of Education in Washington to applaud Education Department employees as they depart their offices for the final time on Friday, March 28, 2025. Two organizations representing researchers are suing the department in an attempt to restore the agency's data and research arm, the Institute of Education Sciences.
Moriah Ratner for Education Week
Law & Courts Groups Sue Over Trump's Cuts to Education Department Research Arm
This suit seeks the restoration of Institute of Education Sciences staff and contracts abruptly canceled by the Trump administration.
Brooke Schultz, April 4, 2025
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3 min read
Closeup photo of a white adolescent exhaling smoke from an e-cigarette
iStock/Getty
Student Well-Being Federal Efforts Have Curbed Teen Vaping. Will the Recent Cuts Change That?
Efforts to curtail youth vaping may be in peril after dramatic federal staffing cuts.
Evie Blad & Mark Walsh, April 2, 2025
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6 min read
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