Policy & Politics

Education news, analysis, and opinion about the legislation, guidance, policies and people involved in federal and state government
Federal Trump Administration to Move Dept. of Ed. Out of Its Longtime Offices
The move follows a year of efforts to dismantle the federal agency.
Sean Cavanagh
•
2 min read
Federal Q&A Why the Heritage Foundation Is Targeting Plyler v. Doe
Lora Ries explains how the Supreme Court could overturn the 1982 Plyler v. Doe decision.
Ileana Najarro
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4 min read
Education Funding Arts Education Advocates Talk About How to Elevate Their Discipline
Art education community members come together to discuss funding challenges and opportunities.
Jennifer Vilcarino
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3 min read
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
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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 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
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2 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
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
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10 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
States A State Gets Closer to Challenging Undocumented Students' Free Access to School
Lawmakers are debating legislation that would require schools to collect immigration information.
Ileana Najarro
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4 min read
Bryan Najera holds a sign during a House Education K-12 subcommittee meeting Tuesday, March 11, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn.
Bryan Najera holds a sign during a House Education K-12 subcommittee meeting Tuesday, March 11, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. Tennessee lawmakers are debating amended legislation, originally introduced last year, to collect students' immigration information.
George Walker IV/AP

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More Policy & Politics

  • West De Pere High School is committed to sustainability and environmental stewardship, focusing on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and enhancing environmental literacy through facility upgrades such as LED lighting, motion sensors and advanced HVAC systems. To further explore energy, students have opportunities to explore alternative energy, including participation in the annual Wisconsin Public Service Solar Olympics Challenge. Going the extra mile, West De Pere hosts recycling drives that successfully collected 117 pounds of batteries and Christmas lights last year alone. The school's physical education program fosters a deep appreciation for the natural world, offering diverse activities like biking, fishing, and archery that emphasize physical health and lifelong skills. Additionally, West De Pere's involvement in the Farm to Table program highlights the importance of local produce, complemented by a school greenhouse that enhances hands-on learning. Through these initiatives, West De Pere High School is empowering students to become proactive stewards of the environment and advocates for sustainability in their communities.
    West De Pere High School in De Pere, Wis., was a 2025 honoree in the state's Green and Healthy Schools Wisconsin program. The state expanded that recognition program honoring schools' sustainability work after the U.S. Department of Education ended its Green Ribbon Schools program last year.
    Courtesy of Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
    States Q&A This State Stepped In When the Feds Stopped Honoring Schools' Environmental Work
    The Trump administration last year ended the Green Ribbon Schools recognition program.
    Caitlynn Peetz Stephens, March 19, 2026
    •
    4 min read
    Texas Governor Greg Abbott speaks to a group of event attendees for his Parent Empowerment Night event where he advocated for school choice and vouchers at Temple Christian School in Fort Worth on Thursday, March 6, 2025.
    Texas Gov. Greg Abbott speaks to attendees of his Parent Empowerment Night event where he advocated school choice and vouchers at Temple Christian School in Fort Worth on March 6, 2025. Texas is accepting applications for its new private school choice program for two more weeks after a judge intervened in a lawsuit claiming religious discrimination for the state's exclusion of Islamic schools.
    Chris Torres/Fort Worth Star-Telegram via TNS
    School Choice & Charters Families Get 2 More Weeks to Apply for Nation's Largest School Choice Program
    Lawsuits say Texas is discriminating by excluding Islamic schools from the private school choice program.
    Jennifer Vilcarino, March 18, 2026
    •
    3 min read
    New military recruits take the Oath of Office during a swearing in ceremony at a Salute to Service event at an NFL football game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Minnesota Vikings, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024, in Jacksonville.
    New military recruits take the Oath of Office during a swearing-in ceremony on Nov. 10, 2024, in Jacksonville, Fla. States' education plans call for tracking students paths from the classroom to college, career, or the military, but they've struggled to access enlistment data from the U.S. Department of Defense. Through a new agreement, five states will pilot a data-sharing process with the Pentagon with hopes to expand to additional states.
    Phelan M. Ebenhack/AP
    States What Happens to Students Who Join the Military? A New Effort Aims to Find Out
    A pilot will allow states to use Pentagon data to track students from the classroom to the military.
    Evie Blad, March 18, 2026
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    3 min read
    State stamps coming apart on a data textured background
    Vanessa Solis/Education Week + Getty
    Every Student Succeeds Act See Which States Want Ed. Dept.'s OK to Change Testing, Federal School Funding
    States are seeking potentially significant changes to implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act.
    Alyson Klein, March 16, 2026
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    1 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 The Trump Administration Has Mostly Dismantled the Ed. Dept. Should You Care?
    Here’s how much the administration has really changed federal education policy.
    Rick Hess, March 16, 2026
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    7 min read
    Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, center, arrives for a tree planting ceremony at the Department of Education to announce plans to create the Green Ribbon Schools competition which will "raise environmental literacy," inside and outside the classroom and reduce a school's environmental footprint, on April 26, 2011. A Texas oak tree was planted at the ceremony.
    Then-Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, center, arrives for a tree-planting ceremony on April 26, 2011, at the U.S. Department of Education to announce plans to create the Green Ribbon Schools competition. The Trump administration ended the recognition—which honored schools for reducing their environmental impact and offering hands-on environmental education—last year.
    Tom Williams/Roll Call via Getty Images
    Federal Ed. Dept. Quietly Ends an Honor for Schools’ Environmental Work
    Applicants found out when the online portal for award submissions never opened.
    Caitlynn Peetz Stephens, March 13, 2026
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    5 min read
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  • 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
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    5 min read
    Benchmark performance, key performance indicator measurement, KPI analysis. Tiny people measure length of market chart bars with big ruler to check profit progress cartoon vector illustration
    iStock/Getty Images
    Standards & Accountability Opinion Do We Know How to Measure School Quality?
    Current rating systems could be vastly improved by adding dimensions beyond test scores.
    Van Schoales, July 23, 2025
    •
    6 min read
    Students ride tricycles during aftercare at a Head Start program run by Easterseals, an organization that gets about a third of its funding from the federal government, Jan. 29, 2025, in Miami.
    Students ride tricycles at a 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. The Trump administration has reclassified Head Start as a "federal public benefit" similar to welfare so it can bar undocumented students from the early childhood program. Twenty-one attorneys general are now suing over that policy change.
    Rebecca Blackwell/AP
    Law & Courts States Sue Over Trump's Ban on Undocumented Youth in Head Start, Early College
    The cost of compliance is so high, the lawsuit argues, some Head Start programs could be forced to close.
    Matthew Stone, July 21, 2025
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    4 min read
    Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signs an education overhaul bill into law, March 8, 2023, at the state Capitol in Little Rock, Ark.
    Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signs an education overhaul bill into law on March 8, 2023, at the state Capitol in Little Rock. The law includes a provision targeting critical race theory and other ideologies that state lawmakers considered "discriminatory."
    Andrew DeMillo/AP
    Law & Courts Appeals Court Backs Arkansas Law Targeting Critical Race Theory
    A federal appeals court allowed Arkansas to enforce its law barring teachers from "indoctrination" of students in Critical Race Theory.
    Mark Walsh, July 18, 2025
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    3 min read
    The U.S. Capitol is reflected in a puddle outside of the Rayburn House Office Building on July 16, 2025, on Capitol Hill in Washington.
    The U.S. Capitol is reflected in a puddle outside of the Rayburn House Office Building on July 16, 2025, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Education Week contacted hundreds of lawmakers to determine their feelings on the unprecedented step taken by the Trump Administration to withhold education funds approved by Congress.
    Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP
    Education Funding We Asked Congress Whether Trump Withholding School Funds Is Legal. Here's What They Said
    All but a few members who voted in March to allocate now-withheld funding didn't respond to the question.
    Mark Lieberman & Maya Riser-Kositsky, July 18, 2025
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    9 min read
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EdWeek Market Brief

Strategy & Operations Market Analysis When to Bring in a Consultant — and How to Make it Pay Off
Industry advisors and business officials discuss the factors that contribute to a successful engagement.
Alexandria Ng
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8 min read
Meeting District Needs K-12 Insider What Made a Middle School's First-Ever ELA Curriculum Launch a Success
The process that Principal Anne Heck led in Lake Geneva Middle School offers one vision for how professional development and procurement can pair to improve student learning.
Emma Kate Fittes
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10 min read
Education Market Exclusive Data Vendors Are Pairing Assessment And Curriculum. Is That What K-12 Officials Want?
New EdWeek Market Brief data explores the ideal number of companies that district and school leaders say they want to work with, and whether they're open to a single provider for both curriculum and assessment products.
Emma Kate Fittes
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Regulation & Policy K-12 Market News EdMarket Recap: Feds Move to Rewrite Grant Rules; States Pitch Funding Changes
EdWeek Market Brief staff writers dissect significant news of the week and identify the most important takeaways for companies serving K-12 districts.
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