Policy & Politics

Education news, analysis, and opinion about the legislation, guidance, policies and people involved in federal and state government
Federal Trump Admin. Terminates Several Agreements to Protect Transgender Students
The Education Department terminated civil rights agreements under Title IX with five school districts and a college.
The Associated Press
•
1 min read
Federal Moms for Liberty Wanted School Board Seats. They Got a Voice in the White House
Moms for Liberty is being embraced by the Trump administration and gaining new influence in national decisions.
The Associated Press
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6 min read
States 'Success Sequence' Urges Marriage, Then Parenthood. These States Want Schools to Teach It
The decades-old concept is getting new attention, largely from Republican lawmakers.
Evie Blad
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6 min read
Law & Courts Minn. Districts Ask Judge to Restore Immigration Enforcement Limits by Schools
Two districts say the policy change hurt attendance and cost them students.
The Associated Press
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3 min read
Fridley Superintendent Brenda Lewis speaks during a news conference in February at the Minnesota State Capitol.
Superintendent Brenda Lewis of the Fridley, Minn., school district speaks during a news conference in February 2026 at the Minnesota State Capitol. The Fridley district is one of two Minnesota school districts suing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in an effort to restore restrictions on immigration enforcement in and near schools.
Carlos Gonzalez/Minnesota Star Tribune via TNS
States Texas' Bible-Infused Reading List Gets an Earful at Public Hearing
The proposal to add Bible stories reflects increasing debate over religion in public school classrooms.
The Associated Press
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4 min read
Three bibles sit on a couch on Nov. 24, 2025, in Brooklyn, New York.
Three bibles sit on a couch on Nov. 24, 2025, in Brooklyn, New York. A selection of Bible stories could be part of a K-12 reading list being debated in Texas.
David Crary/AP
Education Funding Trump's Budget Proposes Billions in K-12 Cuts. Will They Happen?
Trump is proposing level funding for Title I, a modest boost for special education, and major cuts elsewhere.
Mark Lieberman
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6 min read
A third-grade teacher at the Mountain View Elementary School's Global Immersion Academy in Morganton, N.C. works with her students in the Spanish portion of the program. With the inaugural class of the Global Immersion Academy (GIA) at at the school entering fourth grade this year, Burke County Public Schools is seeing more signs of success for its dual language program.
A teacher in a North Carolina dual-language program works with her students. In his latest budget proposal, President Donald Trump once again proposes to eliminate the $890 million fund that pays for supplemental services for English learners. Schools can use Title III funds for costs tied to dual-language programs that educate English learners.
Jason Koon/The News-Herald via AP
School Choice & Charters Opinion Can School Choice Programs Stamp Out Fraud While Staying Flexible?
With the rollout of the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit program, transparency is vital.
Rick Hess
•
7 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

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More Policy & Politics

  • From left, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., and Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., confer as the panel marks up the FY2026 spending bill at the Capitol in Washington on July 24, 2025.
    From left, Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee; Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla.; and Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., confer as the panel marks up the fiscal 2026 spending bill at the Capitol in Washington on July 24, 2025. The appropriations panel approved an education budget Thursday that rejects most of the Trump administration's proposed cuts.
    J. Scott Applewhite/AP
    Education Funding Senators—Including Republicans—Reject All of Trump's Proposed Education Cuts
    The budget bill could go before the full Senate as early as September.
    Mark Lieberman, July 31, 2025
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    6 min read
    Penny Schwinn, nominee for deputy secretary of education for the Department of Education, and Kimberly Richey, nominee for assistant secretary for civil rights in the Department of Education, appear before the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee in Washington, D.C., on June 5, 2025.
    Penny Schwinn appears before the U.S. Senate's Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee in Washington on June 5, 2025, for her confirmation hearing to serve as deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Education. Schwinn plans to withdraw her nomination for that role.
    Jason Andrew for Education Week
    Federal Penny Schwinn Drops Bid to Serve as No. 2 in Education Department
    The former Tennessee state education chief had cleared a committee vote but faced skepticism from some conservatives.
    Brooke Schultz, July 31, 2025
    •
    5 min read
    Students help put away supplies at the end of a reading and writing lesson at the Head Start program run by Easterseals, an organization that gets about a third of its funding from the federal government on Jan. 29, 2025, in Miami.
    Students put away supplies at the end of a lesson at the Head Start program run by Easterseals on Jan. 29, 2025, in Miami. The Trump administration reclassified Head Start as a "federal public benefit" similar to welfare so it can bar undocumented students from the early childhood program, but the policy is now on hold in 20 states and the District of Columbia.
    Rebecca Blackwell/AP
    Law & Courts Trump Admin. Pauses Ban on Undocumented Kids in Head Start in These States
    The administration said July 10 that undocumented immigrants were newly ineligible for a range of federally funded services.
    Brooke Schultz, July 28, 2025
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    2 min read
    Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., left, speaks with Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass., right, after a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee business meeting on Sept. 19, 2024, in Washington.
    Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., left, speaks with Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass., right, after a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee business meeting on Sept. 19, 2024, in Washington. Sanders and Markey have reintroduced two bills that would increase salaries and wages for teachers and support staff, as policy changes have affected the K-12 landscape.
    Mariam Zuhaib/AP
    Federal The Push for a $60K Minimum Salary for Teachers Has Reached Congress—Again
    Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Edward Markey, D-Mass., have reintroduced education bills that would increase minimum salaries for teachers and the minimum wage for support staff.
    Jennifer Vilcarino, July 28, 2025
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    4 min read
    President Donald Trump speaks during a summit at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium on July 23, 2025, in Washington.
    President Donald Trump speaks during a summit at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium on July 23, 2025, in Washington.
    Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP
    Education Funding Trump Abruptly Unfreezes All of the Education Funds He Had Withheld
    More than $5 billion in previously-frozen federal funds will start flowing next week.
    Mark Lieberman, July 25, 2025
    •
    4 min read
    Teachers Deimy Labrador, top, and Emily Ledesma read with children in an Early Head Start class supporting kids with developmental delays at Easterseals South Florida, an organization that gets about a third of its funding from the federal government Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025, in Miami.
    Teachers Deimy Labrador, top, and Emily Ledesma read with children in an Early Head Start class supporting kids with developmental delays at Easterseals South Florida, an organization that gets about a third of its funding from the federal government Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025, in Miami. Head Start grantees in Florida and across the country now have questions over how these programs will work moving forward under new restrictions barring undocumented students from enrollment.
    Rebecca Blackwell/AP
    Federal Head Start Grantees Scramble for Clarity on Undocumented Students Rule Change
    While Head Start programs across the country operate as business usual for now, a lack of guidance over a policy change raises questions.
    Ileana Najarro, July 23, 2025
    •
    5 min read
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Resources

School & District Management Quiz Quiz Yourself: Can You Decode the Latest K-12 Buzzwords and Acronyms?
Education-speak evolves daily—can you translate the latest K-12 terms and trends?
Special Education Spotlight Spotlight on MTSS in Practice: From Life Skills to Learning Strategies
This Spotlight focuses on MTSS, providing a framework to support both students and educators across a range of needs and settings.
Student Achievement Spotlight Spotlight on Unlocking Potential: How Interventions Transform Learning
This Spotlight explores how interventions can shape student outcomes, with a focus on supporting older students who struggle with reading.
School & District Management Quiz Quiz Yourself: How Well Do You Speak K-12?
Find out if you can keep up with the evolving language of education leaders—and what it means for your marketing strategy.
Load More ▼
  • The Senate and the Capitol Dome are illuminated in Washington, early Thursday, April 2, 2026, as Congress meets in a short, pro forma session.
    The Senate and the Capitol dome are illuminated in Washington early in the day on Thursday, April 2, 2026. For the second year in a row, the White House budget proposes major cuts to federal education programs that the Republican-led Congress rejected last year.
    J. Scott Applewhite/AP
    Education Funding Trump Again Proposes Major Education Cuts in New Budget Proposal
    The president again wants lawmakers to consider billions in K-12 spending cuts and program eliminations.
    Mark Lieberman, April 3, 2026
    •
    7 min read
    President Donald Trump leaves the Supreme Court, on April 1, 2026, in Washington.
    President Donald Trump leaves the Supreme Court on April 1, 2026, in Washington. The justices signaled skepticism of Trump’s bid to restrict birthright citizenship.
    Anthony Peltier/AP
    Law & Courts Supreme Court Seems Poised to Reject Trump's Birthright Order
    Trump’s attendance in the birthright citizenship case marked the first time a sitting president has done this.
    The Associated Press, April 1, 2026
    •
    6 min read
    Photo collaged image of the U.S. Department of Education shattering.
    Vanessa Solis/Education Week + AP + Getty
    Federal Tracker See Which Ed. Dept. Programs Are Moving to New Agencies: A Tracker
    K-12 and higher education programs are heading to new agencies as part of Trump administration downsizing.
    Mark Lieberman, April 1, 2026
    •
    1 min read
    President Donald Trump speaks during a Cabinet meeting at the White House, on March 26, 2026, in Washington.
    President Donald Trump speaks during a Cabinet meeting at the White House, on March 26, 2026, in Washington. Six Cabinet members are now on track to have a hand in managing U.S. Department of Education programs.
    Alex Brandon/AP
    Federal Meet the Trump Cabinet Secretaries Taking Over Ed. Dept. Programs
    The U.S. Department of Education is shifting more than 100 programs to other federal agencies.
    Mark Lieberman, March 31, 2026
    •
    1 min read
    Attorney General Pam Bondi in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, on Feb. 20, 2026, in Washington.
    Attorney General Pam Bondi in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, on Feb. 20, 2026, in Washington. The Justice Department under Bondi has now sued three states over policies allowing transgender athletes to compete in girls' sports
    Alex Brandon/AP
    Federal Trump Admin. Sues Minnesota Over Transgender Athletes in Girls' Sports
    It's the third state the Trump administration has sued over transgender participation in athletics.
    The Associated Press, March 30, 2026
    •
    2 min read
    President Donald Trump signs an executive order on birthright citizenship in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Jan. 20, 2025.
    President Donald Trump signs an executive order on birthright citizenship in the Oval Office of the White House on Jan. 20, 2025. The order, now before the U.S. Supreme Court, seeks to limit citizenship for some children born in the United States to immigrant parents without permanent legal status.
    Evan Vucci/AP
    Law & Courts Birthright Citizenship Case Raises Stakes for Schools and Undocumented Students
    Educators are paying close attention to the case on Trump's birthright citizenship order.
    Mark Walsh, March 30, 2026
    •
    10 min read
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