Policy & Politics

Education news, analysis, and opinion about the legislation, guidance, policies and people involved in federal and state government
Federal Trump Administration Moves to Limit Fixes for Systemic Racism in Schools
The Trump administration has limited remedies schools can use to address systemic racial injustice.
The Associated Press
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7 min read
Education Funding Letter to the Editor Expired Funds, Unreliability Harm Rural Schools
Responsible planning requires predictable funding, says a school district superintendent.
1 min read
States Education on the Ballot: EdWeek’s Guide to the 2026 Elections
Education Week reviewed what's on the ballot in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Matthew Stone, Emily Wright & Jennifer Vilcarino
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2 min read
Education Funding Trump, Bucking Congress Yet Again, Cancels $100 Million for Education
A "pocket rescission" hits programs for migratory farmworkers and college-level language instruction.
Mark Lieberman
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7 min read
Russell Vought, acting director, Office of Management and Budget, right, and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin listen during a cabinet meeting, Friday, July 31, 2026, at Camp David, the presidential retreat, near Thurmont, Md., Friday, July 31, 2026.
Russell Vought, director of the White House Office of Management, listens during a Cabinet meeting on July 31, 2026, at Camp David, the presidential retreat, near Thurmont, Md. The White House has announced an $810 million package of "pocket rescissions," saying it won't spend the congressionally appropriated funds before the end of the 2026 federal fiscal year, which ends Wednesday. The rescissions include nearly $100 million for U.S. Department of Education program.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP 
Law & Courts Federal Court Ruling Paves Way for Jewish Charter School in Oklahoma
A federal judge cleared the way for a Florida-based Jewish charter school network to open in the state.
Lenzy Krehbiel-Burton, Tulsa World, Okla.
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4 min read
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 10: (L to R) Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen, Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey and Frank O. Bowman III, professor emeritus of law, University of Missouri School of Law arrive to testify before a House Homeland Security Committee hearing titled "Havoc in the Heartland: How Secretary Mayorkas' Failed Leadership Has Impacted the States," at the U.S. Capitol on January 10, 2024 in Washington, DC. House Republicans have started their hearings into impeaching President Biden's Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas.
Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, second from left, was a defendant in a lawsuit from the Ben Gamla Jewish Charter School Foundation challenging a decision from the state's charter school authorizing board that denied the group's bid to open a charter school.
Kent Nishimura/Getty Images
Federal Ed. Dept. Officially Kills Biden Rule That Added LGBTQ+ Protections to Title IX
The Education Department reinstates 2020 Title IX regulations effectively in place since early 2025.
Mark Walsh
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4 min read
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 13: Local elementary schools participate in the annual Brooklyn Gay Pride Parade, celebrating its 30th year, June 13, 2026 in the Park Slope neighborhood of the borough of Brooklyn, New York City.
Local elementary schools participate in the annual Brooklyn Gay Pride Parade, celebrating its 30th year on June 13, 2026, in the Park Slope neighborhood of the borough of Brooklyn, New York City. The Trump administration has officially rescinded a Biden-era regulation that extended Title IX's prohibition on sex discrimination to cover discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images
Federal OpenAI's Models Probed Websites of Department of Education, Other Agencies
The department's office for civil rights was probed in an attempted hack, according to a report.
The Associated Press
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3 min read
FILE - The OpenAI logo is displayed on a cell phone in front of an image generated by ChatGPT's Dall-E text-to-image model, Dec. 8, 2023, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)

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More Policy & Politics

  • Students navigate the hallway at a Chicago Public Schools high school in 2024.
    Students walk in the hallway at a Chicago high school in 2024. Congress' investigative arm finds in a new report that the U.S. Department of Education isn't keeping a close eye on how states are tracking chronic absenteeism, in part due to its suspension this year of its comprehensive examinations of how states are implementing the Every Student Succeeds Act, the nation's main K-12 law.
    E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
    Every Student Succeeds Act Ed. Dept. Isn't Ensuring States Get Reliable Chronic Absence Data, Watchdog Says
    The Ed. Dept. suspended some of its state oversight earlier this year, according to the GAO.
    Alyson Klein, September 23, 2026
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    4 min read
    Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, center, arrives for a news conference about President Donald Trump s Education Freedom Tax Credit on March 27, 2026 at Hamtramck Academy in Hamtramck, Mich.
    Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, center, arrives for a news conference about President Donald Trump's tax-credit scholarship program on March 27, 2026 at Hamtramck Academy in Hamtramck, Mich., where she urged Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to opt her state in. The Trump administration, through the Department of the Treasury, is expected to release regulations for the program in the coming days. Several governors have said they're awaiting those regulations before deciding whether their states participate.
    Katy Kildee/The Detroit News via TNS
    Education Funding Federal Tax Credits for K-12 Scholarships: What We Know (and Don't)
    The Trump administration is preparing to issue rules for its new, ambitious school choice program.
    Mark Lieberman & Arianna Prothero, September 23, 2026
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    11 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
    School Choice & Charters Opinion What Do Parents Look for in a School?
    Test scores aren’t the whole story. The CEO of GreatSchools talks about what parents want.
    Rick Hess, September 22, 2026
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    5 min read
    Collage of Trump signing an executive order, money, desks, torn paper, legal pad.
    Collage by Laura Baker/Education Week with Getty + Evan Vucci/AP
    Education Funding Trump's Education Funding Maneuvers Were Illegal, Judges Rule
    Judges ruled in suits about teacher-training grant cancellations and withheld education research money.
    Mark Lieberman, September 18, 2026
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    4 min read
    WASHINGTON, DC - AUGUST 17: The U.S. Department of Justice Building on August 17, 2026 in Washington, DC.
    The U.S. Department of Justice Building on Aug. 17, 2026 in Washington. The Justice Department has teamed up with the U.S. Department of Education to fight school and state policies concerning transgender students it deems objectionable.
    Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
    Law & Courts Trump Admin. Turns to Student Privacy Laws in Gender Identity Fights With Schools
    The feds are increasingly citing student privacy laws in gender-identity battles with school districts.
    Mark Walsh, September 17, 2026
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    8 min read
    MLP 5851 2
    Daisy Wisbey, 11, and Eleanor Mukiri, 10, work on an engineering challenge at Creative Minds in Wichita, Kan., on Sept. 15, 2026. The Wichita public schools runs Creative Minds as a microschool, in which students from multiple grades learn together in a project-based learning format. Wichita is among a handful of public school districts that have begun their own microschools.
    Melissa Lukenbaugh for Education Week
    School Choice & Charters Microschools Are Spreading. Some School Districts Have Opened Their Own
    Districts see the small learning communities as an alternative for families that may otherwise leave.
    Arianna Prothero, September 16, 2026
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    8 min read

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College & Workforce Readiness Whitepaper Why Career Exploration Should Start in Middle School
Discover practical ways to spark career exploration early, connect students’ interests to future pathways, and build skills that prepare ...
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Special Education Spotlight Beyond the Diagnosis: Helping Students With Dyslexia Thrive
Explore what educators need to know about dyslexia—and how the right support can help students build confidence and thrive.
Assessment Spotlight Screen Early, Monitor Progress: Building a Stronger Assessment System for Reading and Math
Screen early, track progress, and pinpoint learning gaps with smarter assessment strategies for reading and math.
  • TahSoGhay Collah, right, teaches a third-grade English learners class at the 700-student intermediate school that serves grades 3 through 5, in Worthington, Minn., on Oct. 22, 2024.
    TahSoGhay Collah, right, teaches a 3rd grade English learners class in Worthington, Minn., on Oct. 22, 2024. Researchers seeking federal grant funding to train more teachers to work with English learners requested letters of support from state leaders to submit competitive applications this year.
    Jessie Wardarski/AP
    Education Funding What 'Returning Ed. to the States' Looks Like as the Ed. Dept. Awards Grants
    State leaders face requests for letters of endorsement from grant applicants under new priorities.
    Ileana Najarro & Maya Riser-Kositsky, September 11, 2026
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    7 min read
    EDUCWeek TracyByrd 23
    Books in a Minneapolis high school classroom are seen on Jan. 22, 2026.
    Caroline Yang for Education Week
    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., September 11, 2026
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    2 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
    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, September 11, 2026
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    3 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
    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, September 10, 2026
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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
    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, September 9, 2026
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    6 min read
    Yair Lev stands by as a screen displaying an itinerary for a Lower Merion Board of School Directors meeting at the Lower Merion School District Administration Building on May 11, 2026, in Ardmore, Pa.
    Yair Lev stands by as a screen displaying a document for a school district board of directors meeting at the Lower Merion school district administration building on May 11, 2026, in Ardmore, Pa. Lev is among a group of parents who have sued the Philadelphia-area school district seeking the ability to opt their children out of the required use of school technology.
    Joe Lamberti/AP
    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, September 8, 2026
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    10 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
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