Policy & Politics

Education news, analysis, and opinion about the legislation, guidance, policies and people involved in federal and state government
Law & Courts These Parents Want to Opt Their Kids Out of Ed Tech. Can They Win in Court?
Parents in a Pennsylvania district say ed tech distracts from more meaningful learning.
Mark Walsh
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10 min read
Education Funding Ed. Dept. Risks Letting $180 Million for Research Expire as Deadline Looms
Spending by the agency's research arm has lagged most significantly compared with previous years.
Mark Lieberman
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6 min read
Law & Courts Title IX Doesn't Require Transgender Athletes' Exclusion, Judge Rules
A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit from the Trump administration alleging California violated Title IX.
Kevin Rector, Los Angeles Times
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4 min read
States Courts Lets a State Law Limiting Race, Gender Classroom Discussions Take Effect
The 2021 Oklahoma law was part of a wave of state laws limiting classroom race and gender discussions.
Curtis Killman, Tulsa World, Okla.
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2 min read
EDUCWeek TracyByrd 23
Books in a Minneapolis high school classroom are seen on Jan. 22, 2026.
Caroline Yang for Education Week
States New California Laws Aim to Protect Kids From Social Media, AI Chatbot Risks
The laws penalize tech companies for harm to kids and let families opt out of school laptops.
The Associated Press
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3 min read
Maria Raine, center, holds a photo of her son, Adam Raine, while listening to speakers between Assemblymembers Josh Lowenthal, left, and Rebecca Bauer-Kahan at the Bay Area Discovery Museum, on Sept. 10, 2026, in Sausalito, Calif.
Maria Raine, center, holds a photo of her son, Adam Raine, while listening to speakers between Assemblymembers Josh Lowenthal, left, and Rebecca Bauer-Kahan at the Bay Area Discovery Museum, on Sept. 10, 2026, in Sausalito, Calif. Adam died by suicide last year, after being “coached” by a chatbot. A new set of laws in California aim to protect children from social media and AI chatbot risks.
Jeff Chiu/AP
School Choice & Charters Could Trump's School Choice Program Rival Title I or IDEA in Size?
A new report looks at how much money could be raised under different scenarios.
Arianna Prothero
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6 min read
President Donald Trump, center right, walks with Education Secretary Linda McMahon, center left, and guests after a back to school event in the Rose Garden of the White House, Monday, Aug. 24, 2026, in Washington.
President Donald Trump, center right, walks with Education Secretary Linda McMahon, center left, and guests after a back-to-school event in the Rose Garden of the White House on Monday, Aug. 24, 2026, in Washington. A new report envisions a number of scenarios in which the new federal school choice program launching next year could become one of the nation's largest K-12 funding streams.
Alex Brandon/AP
Federal Trump Admin. Touts Ed. Dept.'s Help for States as It Tries to Shut It Down
The Trump administration pushes the Education Department's closure, while touting its help for states.
Mark Lieberman
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6 min read
Letters on the Department of Education building are missing after removal of America 250 banners, which included those of Booker T. Washington, Catharine Beecher and Charlie Kirk, on March 18, 2026, in Washington.
Letters on the Department of Education building in Washington are missing in this March 18, 2026 photo. The Trump administration continues to push for the agency's closure while also touting its help for states.
Allison Robbert/AP

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More Policy & Politics

  • Acting Deputy Executive Associate Director at Homeland Security Investigations Matthew Millhollin holds a Department of Justice folder during a news conference to announce charges being brought against Chinese nationals involved in a marriage fraud scheme at the Department of Justice on Aug. 12, 2026 in Washington, D.C. The group have been accused of running a scheme where foreign nationals paid money to American citizens for fraudulent marriages in order to receive green cards then immediately filed for divorce once permanent residency in the U.S. had been established. (Photo by Samuel Corum/Sipa USA)
    An official holds a Department of Justice folder during a news conference on Aug. 12, 2026 in Washington. The DOJ sued the Kansas City, Kan., public schools over guidelines addressing how school staff address students who request to go by pronouns that differ from their sex at birth.
    Samuel Corum/Sipa USA via AP
    Law & Courts Trump Admin. Says School District Facilitates 'Gender Transitions,' Files Suit
    The lawsuit comes after several months of back and forth with the Kansas City, Kan., public schools.
    Sofi Zeman, The Kansas City Star, September 1, 2026
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    2 min read
    Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., arrives for a closed-door meeting with Republican lawmakers as he prepares for a vote on a stopgap spending bill to keep the federal government fully funded through early December, avoiding the possibility of a shutdown before the midterm elections, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2026.
    Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., arrives for a closed-door meeting with Republican lawmakers at the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 1, 2026, as he prepares for a vote on a stopgap spending bill to keep the federal government fully funded through early December, avoiding the possibility of a shutdown before the midterm elections. The continuing resolution carries over the current year's funding levels for education programs into the first two months of the federal fiscal year that starts Oct. 1.
    J. Scott Applewhite/AP
    Education Funding Averting a Shutdown, Congress Punts Federal Spending Decisions to December
    Federal funding talks will continue into December as Congress agrees to avoid a shutdown.
    Mark Lieberman, September 1, 2026
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    2 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 What’s Behind the Trump Administration's Push to Reform Head Start?
    Assistant Secretary Alex Adams explains the Trump administration’s approach to the early-ed program.
    Rick Hess, September 1, 2026
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    7 min read
    Jeanette Vyhanek, a counselor at Wellstone Elementary, teaches a class of kindergarten students at the St. Paul school on Oct. 31, 2025 in Minnesota.
    Jeanette Vyhanek, a counselor at Wellstone Elementary in St. Paul, Minn., teaches a class of kindergarten students on Oct. 31, 2025. Federal grants to expand the ranks of school counselors and other school mental health services were among hundreds terminated by the Trump administration in 2025. New rules from the U.S. Department of Education would give the federal agency greater latitude to end in-progress grants.
    Alex Kormann/The Minnesota Star Tribune via TNS
    Federal Ed. Dept. Would Have More Power to Cut Off Grants Under New Rules
    The agency last year ended in-progress grants worth more than $2 billion, with courts often objecting.
    Matthew Stone, August 26, 2026
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    5 min read
    A student raises her hand to ask a question in her third grade classroom at Highland Elementary School in Columbus, Kan., on Oct. 17, 2022. The arm of the government that oversees education data which tracks educational outcomes for students, faces major challenges ahead due to financial cuts.
    A student raises her hand to ask a question in her 3rd grade classroom at Highland Elementary School in Columbus, Kan., on Oct. 17, 2022. Federal education data-gathering, like the Condition of Education report, includes baseline information on students and schools. But cuts to the Education Department's statistics wings and mounting criticism of how it operates raise questions about how it can best fulfill its mission.
    Charlie Riedel/AP
    Federal Q&A Education Data Collection Has Cratered Under Trump. Can It Be Rebuilt?
    Ed. Dept.'s data-gathering agency is too unstable to adapt to changing needs, a new report claims.
    Sarah D. Sparks, August 25, 2026
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    6 min read
    The office of Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, one of Nebraska's few abortion clinics, is seen in Omaha, Neb., Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2022.
    The office of Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, one of Nebraska's few abortion clinics, is seen in Omaha, Neb., on Oct. 19, 2022. The organization is part of a coalition of affected grantees affected by the Trump administration funding for teen pregnancy programs.
    Josh Funk/AP
    Law & Courts Court Blocks Trump Admin.'s Abstinence Emphasis in Teen Pregnancy Program
    HHS revamped the grant with new requirements that align with conservative priorities.
    Lauraine Langreo, August 24, 2026
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    3 min read

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  • Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights for the Department of Education nominee Kimberly Richey testifies before the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee about her nomination in Washington, D.C., on June 5, 2025.
    Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberley Richey testifies before the Senate's Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee at her nomination hearing in Washington on June 5, 2025. A new letter to educators from Richey instructs schools not to consider race at all in school discipline policies, following the Trump administration's rescission of longtime anti-discrimination rules.
    Jason Andrew for Education Week
    Federal Education Department Tells Schools Race Can’t Factor Into Student Discipline
    A letter to educators follows up on last month's rescission of longstanding discrimination rules.
    Mark Walsh, August 18, 2026
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    5 min read
    A copy of the Ten Commandments is posted along with other historical documents in a hallway of the Georgia Capitol, Thursday, June 20, 2024, in Atlanta. Civil rights advocates have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a Texas law requiring the state’s public schools to display the Ten Commandments.
    A copy of the Ten Commandments is posted along with other historical documents in a hallway of the Georgia Capitol, Thursday, June 20, 2024, in Atlanta. Civil rights advocates have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a Texas law requiring the state’s public schools to display the Ten Commandments.
    John Bazemore/AP
    Law & Courts Supreme Court Asked to Review Law Requiring Ten Commandments in Public Schools
    The case could set a new national standard for religious expression in classrooms.
    The Associated Press, August 18, 2026
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    2 min read
    People talk near a Meta sign outside of the company's headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif., March 7, 2023.
    People talk near a Meta sign outside of the company's headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif., March 7, 2023. States seeking extensive financial damages from the company as a lawsuit goes to trial this week.
    Jeff Chiu/AP Photo
    States States Take Meta to Trial in Fight Over Social Media Harms to Kids
    The lawsuit accuses the social media giant of contributing to the youth mental health crisis.
    The Associated Press, August 17, 2026
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    5 min read
    A sign from the General Services Administration is posted outside of the Department of Education headquarters in Washington, D.C. on Friday, July 17, 2026.
    A sign installed by the General Services Administration is posted outside the Department of Education headquarters in Washington on July 17, 2026. Despite shifting its programs to other agencies, the Education Department will send billions of dollars in formula funds for schools through its own grants portal on Oct. 1, rather than a portal run by the Department of Labor.
    Eric Lee for Education Week
    Education Funding Education Department Will Keep Sending Most K-12 Funds Through Its Own System
    The agency will send formula funds through its own system again despite program shifts to other agencies.
    Mark Lieberman, August 17, 2026
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    5 min read
    Long Beach, CA - March 20 : Teacher Monica Alvarado, left, leads activities with staff in the infant class at Educare Los Angeles at Long Beach , a very high-quality child care center in Long Beach on Wednesday, March 20, 2024 in Long Beach, CA.
    Teacher Monica Alvarado, left, leads activities with staff in the infant class at Educare Los Angeles at Long Beach, a very high-quality child care center in Long Beach on Wednesday, March 20, 2024 in Long Beach, Calif. Head Start programs for early childhood education will no longer promote bilingualism under a proposed rule change.
    Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times via TNS
    Federal Q&A What Head Start's English-Only Rule Could Mean for English Learners
    Research shows it's not necessary to lose a home language to learn English.
    Ileana Najarro, August 17, 2026
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    3 min read
    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

EdWeek Market Brief

Regulation & Policy Tracker What Do State, District Screen Time Policies Actually Look Like? Here's What We Know
EdWeek Market Brief is tracking which states have taken legislative action, highlighting notable school district policies, and sharing what we're watching as the discourse continues.
Emma Kate Fittes
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2 min read
Education Market Industry Insight A Third of Schools say They've Had A Cyberattack. Here's What They're Looking For To Protect Their Data
More than half of schools have experienced a cyberattack, according to data from cybersecurity company Clever.
Alexandria Ng
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5 min read
Education Market Exclusive Data The ESA Market Is Booming. For K-12 Vendors, Breaking Into It Is Another Matter
States are creating a potentially enormous new pool of K-12 purchasing power through education savings accounts. But can traditional education companies built around selling to school systems actually figure out how to capture it?
David Saleh Rauf
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11 min read
Strategy & Operations K-12 Dealmaking CSA Education Acquires BetterLesson; EdReports Receives $23M
Ed-tech platform Nucleos, serving incarcerated and reentry learners, has also been acquired.
Alexandria Ng
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2 min read
Read More