Policy & Politics

Education news, analysis, and opinion about the legislation, guidance, policies and people involved in federal and state government
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
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
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
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
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6 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
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
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1 min read
Photo collaged image of the U.S. Department of Education shattering.
Vanessa Solis/Education Week + AP + Getty
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

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More Policy & Politics

  • A LifeWise Academy bus drops off students.
    A LifeWise Academy bus drops off students.
    LifeWise Academy
    States More States Guarantee Students the Right to Religious Instruction Off Campus
    At least 12 states require school districts to offer "released time" religious schooling upon parental request.
    Robbie Sequeira, Stateline.org, September 3, 2025
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    6 min read
    House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., discusses the Republican-crafted plan as the House Rules Committee prepares a spending bill that would keep federal agencies funded through Sept. 30, at the Capitol, in Washington on March 10, 2025.
    House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., speaks in the Capitol in Washington on March 10, 2025. A House Appropriations subcommittee has put forward a budget that embraces many of President Donald Trump's proposed cuts to the federal education budget and rejects others.
    J. Scott Applewhite/AP
    Education Funding House Lawmakers Endorse Some—But Not All—of Trump's Education Cuts
    House budget writers are proposing to cut Title I funding by nearly $4 billion.
    Mark Lieberman, September 2, 2025
    •
    5 min read
    Upside down bluish green-colored Dollar symbol and finance graph shaped #2 pencil. On white-colored notepaper background.
    Getty
    Education Funding State Funding for Schools Is a Mess This Year, Too. Here's Why
    The Trump administration's school funding disruptions have drawn significant attention, but schools are challenged by state budgets, too.
    Mark Lieberman, August 29, 2025
    •
    12 min read
    A sign for a newly-constructed gender neutral bathroom is seen at Shawnee Mission East High School on June 16, 2023, in Prairie Village, Kan.
    A sign for a newly-constructed gender neutral bathroom is seen at Shawnee Mission East High School on June 16, 2023, in Prairie Village, Kan. The Trump administration's finding that a northern Virginia school district violated Title IX by allowing students to use restrooms consistent with their gender identity is the subject of a new lawsuit.
    Charlie Riedel/AP
    Law & Courts School Board Sues Trump Admin. to Defend Transgender Student Policy
    The lawsuit challenges the Ed. Dept.'s finding that the district violated Title IX.
    Brooke Schultz, August 29, 2025
    •
    3 min read
    Education Week opinion letters submissions
    Gwen Keraval for Education Week
    Federal Letter to the Editor Why Publish Arguments Hostile to Public Education?
    A reader pushes back against recent essays published in Education Week Opinion in this letter to the editor.
    August 29, 2025
    •
    1 min read
    Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker talks with two crossing guards on Aug. 27, 2025, in the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago.
    Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker talks with two crossing guards on Aug. 27, 2025, in the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago. On Aug. 15, 2025, he signed into law a bill that protects all students' right to a free, public education regardless of immigration status.
    Erin Hooley/AP
    States How This State Is Protecting Undocumented Students’ Right to an Education
    Illinois lawmakers passed a bill locally codifying the 1982 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Plyler v. Doe.
    Ileana Najarro, August 28, 2025
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    4 min read
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Resources

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.
School Climate & Safety Quiz Quiz Yourself: How Much Do You Know About Creating Inclusive Classrooms?
Answer 7 questions about creating inclusive classrooms for students.
Load More ▼
  • Photo illustration of a 100 dollar bill gradually fading to white
    iStock/Getty
    Education Funding Trump Cancels Dozens of Education Grants—With More Terminations on the Horizon
    More than $1 billion in already-awarded grant funding has yet to flow as expected.
    Mark Lieberman, August 27, 2025
    •
    11 min read
    Penelope Koutoulas holds signs supporting school choice in a House committee meeting on education during a special session of the state legislature Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn.
    Penelope Koutoulas holds signs supporting school choice in a House committee meeting on education during a special session of the Tennessee state legislature on Jan. 28, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. After the passage of the first federal tax-credit scholarship, all states will have to decide whether to opt into the new program.
    George Walker IV/AP
    School Choice & Charters Tracker Federal Private School Choice: Which States Are Opting In?
    Education Week is tracking state decisions on the first major federal program that directs public funds to private schools.
    Matthew Stone, Brooke Schultz & Lynn (Yunfei) Liu, August 27, 2025
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    3 min read
    A newly-constructed gender neutral bathroom is seen at Shawnee Mission East High School, Friday, June 16, 2023, in Prairie Village, Kan.
    A newly-constructed gender-neutral bathroom is seen at Shawnee Mission East High School, Friday, June 16, 2023, in Prairie Village, Kan. The Shawnee Mission school district is one of four in Kansas that the Trump administration has started investigating at the urging of the state's Republican attorney general, Kris Kobach.
    Charlie Riedel/AP
    States Some State Leaders Cheer as Trump's Ed. Dept. Investigates Their Schools
    The use of the office for civil rights for political purposes has been dialed up in the second Trump administration, experts say.
    Brooke Schultz, August 25, 2025
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    6 min read
    Jackson County High School in Kentucky posts the Ten Commandments in the front hall of the school, shown here in 2000, and in every classroom, on June 25, 2025. A group of North Texas reverends filed a federal lawsuit this week to challenge a new state law that would require posting the Ten Commandments in each public school classroom.
    The Ten Commandments is seen on display at Jackson County High School in Kentucky in 2000. On Aug. 20, 2025, a federal judge blocked—in 11 school districts for now—a Texas state law requiring similar displays. Similar state laws in Arkansas and Louisiana have also been halted recently in at least part of each state.
    <a href="https://www.gettyimages.com/search/2/image?artistexact=Lexington%20Herald-Leader">Lexington Herald-Leader</a>/Getty Images
    Law & Courts Judge Blocks Texas Law Requiring Ten Commandments in Schools
    A federal district judge ruled that the Texas law requiring Ten Commandments displays is schools likely violates the First Amendment.
    Mark Walsh, August 20, 2025
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    4 min read
    Attorneys from the Education Department General Counsel Office Emily Merolli, second left, and Shaw Vanze in the back, second right, are greeted by supporters after retrieving their personal belongings from the Education Department building in Washington, Monday, March 24, 2025.
    Laid-off U.S. Department of Education staff are greeted by supporters after retrieving their personal belongings from the Washington offices on March 24, 2025. The department has announced return dates for a portion of laid-off staffers.
    Jose Luis Magana/AP
    Federal Laid-Off Civil Rights Staff Will Return to Work Next Month, Ed. Dept. Says
    It’s the first time the agency—which has been under court orders to reinstate staff—has said it will actually bring laid-off employees back.
    Brooke Schultz, August 20, 2025
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    3 min read
    A commuter walks past the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Eduction, which were ordered closed for the day for what officials described as security reasons amid large-scale layoffs, Wednesday, March 12, 2025, in Washington.
    A commuter walks past the Washington headquarters of the U.S. Department of Education on March 12, 2025. The department has imposed financial restrictions on five Virginia school districts for policies allowing transgender students to use bathrooms consistent with their gender identity.
    Mark Schiefelbein/AP
    Federal Ed. Dept. Imposes Funding Restrictions for 5 Districts Over Transgender Policies
    The districts will have to jump through extra hoops to claim their federal funds.
    Brooke Schultz, August 19, 2025
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    6 min read
    Load More ▼

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
•
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
•
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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8 min read
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.
Scott Elliott
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3 min read
Read More