Policy & Politics

Education news, analysis, and opinion about the legislation, guidance, policies and people involved in federal and state government
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 Opinion What Our Students Deserve From New Homeland Security Secretary Mullin
The National Academy of Education calls for policy changes to ensure safer learning environments.
National Academy of Education Board of Directors
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5 min read
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
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
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2 min read
The U.S. Department of Education building is pictured on Oct. 24, 2025, in Washington, D.C.
The U.S. Department of Education building is pictured on Oct. 24, 2025, in Washington, D.C. The agency said Thursday it will move to a different building starting this summer.
Maansi Srivastava for Education Week

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More Policy & Politics

  • Amanda Darrow, director of youth, family and education programs at the Utah Pride Center, poses with books that have been the subject of complaints from parents in Salt Lake City on Dec. 16, 2021. The wave of attempted book banning and restrictions continues to intensify, the American Library Association reported Friday. Numbers for 2022 already approach last year's totals, which were the highest in decades.
    Eight states have passed legislation restricting school officials from pulling books out of school libraries for partisan or ideological reasons. In the past five years, many such challenges have focused on books about race or LGBTQ+ people. Amanda Darrow, the director of youth, family and education programs at the Utah Pride Center, poses with books that have been the subject of complaints from parents in Salt Lake City on Dec. 16, 2021. (Utah is not one of the eight states.)
    Rick Bowmer/AP
    States States Are Banning Book Bans. Will It Work?
    Approved legislation aims to stop school libraries from removing books for partisan reasons.
    Sarah Schwartz, January 7, 2026
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    5 min read
    U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon is interviewed by Indiana’s Secretary of Education Katie Jenner during the 2025 Reagan Institute Summit on Education in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 18, 2025.
    U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, pictured here in Washington on Sept. 18, 2025, has granted Iowa a partial waiver from provisions of the Every Student Succeeds Act, saying the move is a step toward the Trump administration's goal of "returning education to the states." The waiver allows Iowa some additional flexibility in how it spends the limited portion of federal education funds used by the state department of education.
    Leah Millis for Education Week
    States McMahon Touts Funding Flexibility for Iowa That Falls Short of Trump Admin. Goal
    The Ed. Dept. is allowing the state education agency to consolidate small sets of funds from four grants.
    Mark Lieberman, January 7, 2026
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    6 min read
    Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill speaks during a press conference on Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, in Baton Rouge, La. Murrill teamed up with the Trump administration to ask a judge to end a decades-old desegregation order under which the state's DeSoto Parish Schools were under federal oversight.
    Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill speaks during a press conference on Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, in Baton Rouge, La. Murrill teamed up with the Trump administration to ask a judge to end a decades-old desegregation order under which the state's DeSoto Parish Schools were under federal oversight.
    Hilary Scheinuk/The Advocate via AP
    Law & Courts Judge Ends School Desegregation Order at Trump Administration's Request
    The decision ends decades of federal oversight to ensure schools' compliance with the order to desegregate.
    Patrick Wall, The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate, January 7, 2026
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    4 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
    Policy & Politics Opinion Who Are the Nation's Top Education Scholars?
    The RHSU Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings recognize researchers who shape practice and policy.
    Rick Hess, January 7, 2026
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    2 min read
    Students carrying pride flags and transgender flags leave Great Oak High School on Sept. 22, 2023, in Temecula, Calif., after walking out of the school in protest of the Temecula school district policy requiring parents to be notified if their child identifies as transgender.
    Students carrying pride flags and transgender flags leave Great Oak High School on Sept. 22, 2023, in Temecula, Calif., after walking out of the school in protest of the Temecula school district policy requiring parents to be notified if their child identifies as transgender. But many districts in California follow a state policy limiting when schools can inform parents about a student's gender identity without the student's consent.
    Anjali Sharif-Paul/The Orange County Register via AP
    Law & Courts Appeals Court Blocks Ruling Bolstering Parental Rights Over Gender Identity
    A federal appeals court blocked a groundbreaking ruling over the disclosure of students' gender identities.
    Mark Walsh, January 6, 2026
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    4 min read
    Stephon Thompson, an administrator at Stevenson Elementary School, directs students through the doors at the beginning of the school day in Southfield, Mich., on Feb. 28, 2024.
    Stephon Thompson directs students through the doors at the beginning of the school day at Stevenson Elementary School in Southfield, Mich., on Feb. 28, 2024. The school has added on-site social services in recent years as a community school. The Trump administration has recently discontinued 19 federal grants that help schools become local service hubs for students and their families.
    Samuel Trotter for Education Week
    Education Funding Educator Layoffs Loom as Canceled Community Schools Grants Remain in Limbo
    Three legal challenges and bipartisan backlash have followed the Trump administration's funding cuts.
    Mark Lieberman, January 6, 2026
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    5 min read
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The school day hasn’t officially begun, but Ms. Ramirez is already in her classroom, energized and focused. She is most excited to ...
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Reading & Literacy Quiz Quiz Yourself: How Much Do You Know About Supporting Literacy Initiatives?
Answer 7 questions about supporting literacy initiatives.
Reading & Literacy Quiz Quiz Yourself: How Much Do You Know About a Learner's Reading Journey?
Answer 7 questions about a learner's journey to reading proficiency.
College & Workforce Readiness Spotlight Spotlight on Empowering Students For College and the Workforce
This Spotlight will help you discover approaches schools throughout the country use to expose students to career and technical pathways.
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  • New banners of Booker T. Washington, Catharine Beecher and Charlie Kirk hang from the Department of Education, Sunday, March 1, 2026, in Washington.
    New banners of Booker T. Washington, Catharine Beecher, and Charlie Kirk hang from the U.S. Department of Education on March 1, 2026, in Washington.
    Allison Robbert/AP
    Federal Ed. Dept. Hangs Banner of Charlie Kirk Alongside MLK Jr., Ben Franklin
    It's part of a celebration of the nation's 250th anniversary.
    Matthew Stone, March 2, 2026
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    1 min read
    A first grade classroom at a school in Colorado Springs, on Feb. 12, 2026.
    A 1st grade classroom at a school in Colorado Springs, Colo., on Feb. 12, 2026. The U.S. Department of Education released a proposal to rework a decades-old program charged with helping states and school districts problem-solve and deploy new initiatives, calling the current structure “duplicative” and “confusing.”
    Kevin Mohatt for Education Week
    Federal Ed. Dept. Wants to Revamp Assistance Program It Calls 'Duplicative,' 'Confusing'
    The department's Comprehensive Centers have already been through a year of shakeups.
    Matthew Stone, March 2, 2026
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    3 min read
    The U.S. Department of Education building is pictured on Oct. 24, 2025, in Washington, D.C.
    The U.S. Department of Education building in Washington is pictured on Oct. 24, 2025. A new report from a department adviser calls for major overhauls to the agency's research arm to facilitate timely research and easier-to-use guides for educators and state leaders.
    Maansi Srivastava for Education Week
    Federal Will the Ed. Dept. Act on Recommendations to Overhaul Its Research Arm?
    An adviser's report called for more coherence and sped-up research awards at the Institute of Education Sciences.
    Stephen Sawchuk & Matthew Stone, February 27, 2026
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    6 min read
    As part of the program, the Business students at Donald M. Payne Sr. Tech Campus in Newark, NJ on Feb. 26, 2026m have access to computers with subscriptions to the latest software to help them prepare for the workforce.
    Business students at the Donald M. Payne Sr. School of Technology in Newark, N.J., work in a computer lab on Feb. 25, 2026. A U.S. Department of Education grant was helping students in business and other fields at the school access enrichment programming, college courses, and financial support after graduation. But the department terminated the grant, along with 18 other similar awards across the country, last summer.
    Oliver Farshi for Education Week
    Education Funding The Trump Admin. Says It Supports Career-Tech. Ed. It Canceled CTE Grants Anyway
    Nineteen projects—many in rural areas—lost funding that was helping students prepare for college and careers.
    Mark Lieberman & Lauraine Langreo, February 26, 2026
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    12 min read
    Pictures show what mouth shape different sounds make on the walls of Diana Oviedo-Holguin’s class at Heritage Elementary School in San Antonio, Texas, on Sept. 3, 2025.
    Pictures show what mouth shape different sounds make on the walls of Diana Oviedo-Holguin’s class at Heritage Elementary School in San Antonio, Texas, on Sept. 3, 2025. While educators feel relieved that federal dollars for supplemental English-learner resources will continue in the next fiscal year, they remain uncertain for the years to come.
    Noah Devereaux for Education Week
    Education Funding Educators Warn Flat English Learner Funding Falls Short of Growing Demand
    Educators remain uncertain about the future of federal funds for English learners.
    Ileana Najarro, February 26, 2026
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    3 min read
    State Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley speaks during a news conference at the Knock Knock Children's Museum, in Baton Rouge, La., on Aug. 11, 2021.
    Louisiana schools Superintendent Cade Brumley holds a news conference in Baton Rouge on Aug. 11, 2021. The U.S. Department of Education has approved the state's request for modest flexibility over how districts use federal education funds issued under the Every Student Succeeds Act.
    Bill Feig/The Advocate via AP
    Every Student Succeeds Act Another State Gets Modest Leeway From Ed. Dept. Are More Waivers Coming?
    The Trump administration gave another state more authority to let school districts manage their federal funds.
    Alyson Klein, February 25, 2026
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    4 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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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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