Policy & Politics

Education news, analysis, and opinion about the legislation, guidance, policies and people involved in federal and state government
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
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7 min read
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
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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
Federal Ed. Dept. Moves to Shutter Its Office for English Learners
Officials plan to move all federal English-learner programs and duties out of a standalone office.
Ileana Najarro
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6 min read
A photograph of a letter from the United States Department of Education dated February 13, 2026 stating that "This letter officially provides such notice of her proposal, including rationale, to redelegate OELA's programs and duties to other offices, thereby dissolving the need for a standalone OELA."
Gina Tomko/Education Week via Canva
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
•
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

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More Policy & Politics

  • North Dakota Superintendent of Public Instruction Kirsten Baesler announces the gathering of a task force to look into future options the state has for the assessment of students during a press conference May 8, 2015, at the state Capitol in Bismarck, N.D.
    Kirsten Baesler, then North Dakota's schools superintendent, talks to the press on May 8, 2015, at the state capitol in Bismarck. Baesler, now the assistant secretary of elementary and secondary education in the Trump administration, spoke with Education Week about the administration's approach to flexibility from federal education requirements.
    Mike McCleary/The Bismarck Tribune via AP
    Every Student Succeeds Act Q&A Trump's Top K-12 Official: Returning Ed. to States Isn't Just Waiving Rules
    Kirsten Baesler spoke with EdWeek about the Education Department's approach to testing and accountability.
    Alyson Klein, March 12, 2026
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    5 min read
    Education Secretary Linda McMahon and former Secretary of State Condeleeza Rice, right, are seen after a roundtable discussion on college sports in the East Room of the White House, on March 6, 2026, in Washington. McMahon last year encouraged states to seek flexibility from federal requirements. Now, states have begun to respond to that invitation.
    Education Secretary Linda McMahon is pictured with former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice after a roundtable discussion on college sports in the East Room of the White House on March 6, 2026. McMahon last year encouraged states to seek flexibility from federal education requirements. States are responding to that invitation.
    Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP
    Every Student Succeeds Act In 'Returning Education to the States,' How Far Will Trump's Ed. Dept. Go?
    States' requests for new flexibility from the feds will test just how far the department can go.
    Alyson Klein, March 11, 2026
    •
    9 min read
    Seen is the drawing made by Viejo Elementary School first-grader B.B. that was entered into evidence. B.B. gave the drawing to her classmate, M.C., who is African American. M.C. thanked B.B.
    Pictured is a drawing by a 1st grader in California and given to a Black classmate that is at the center of a First Amendment legal challenge over the student's alleged punishment.
    U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit
    Law & Courts Appeals Court Revives Lawsuit Over 1st Grader’s Black Lives Matter Drawing
    A court revived a 1st grader 's claim she was punished for giving a drawing to a Black classmate.
    Mark Walsh, March 11, 2026
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    4 min read
    President Donald Trump speaks during a roundtable discussion on college sports in the East Room of the White House, Friday, March 6, 2026, in Washington.
    President Donald Trump during a recent roundtable discussion in the East Room of the White House, on March 6, 2026, in Washington. Trump's administration is using new ways to incorporate its policy priorities into grantmaking that will affect schools and other recipients of other grants.
    Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP
    Education Funding Federal Funding Disruptions for Schools Are Far From Over
    Signs are piling up that schools could experience more funding turbulence in the coming months.
    Mark Lieberman, March 11, 2026
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    12 min read
    New graduates line up before the start of a college commencement at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J, May 17, 2018. A proposed regulation could exclude education from a list of "professional" graduate degrees, limiting federal loans for students in the field.
    New graduates line up before the start of a college commencement at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J, May 17, 2018. A proposed regulation could exclude education from a list of "professional" graduate degrees, limiting federal loans for students in the field.
    Seth Wenig/AP
    Federal Why K-12 Educators Are Alarmed About Proposed Student Loan Limits
    They worry that the new loan limits could put a leak in the teacher and administrator pipeline.
    Evie Blad, March 10, 2026
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    4 min read
    A student adds a note to others expressing support and sharing coping strategies, as members of the Miami Arts Studio mental health club raise awareness on World Mental Health Day, Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2023, at Miami Arts Studio, a public 6th-12th grade magnet school, in Miami.
    A student adds a note expressing support and sharing coping strategies during a World Mental Health Day activity on Oct. 10, 2023, at Miami Arts Studio, a magnet school in Miami. Most recipients of two federal school mental health services grants the Trump administration has attempted to cancel over the past year will see their funding continue at least through June 1.
    Rebecca Blackwell/AP
    Education Funding School Mental Health Projects Get 3-Month Reprieve as Court Rules Against Trump
    The projects to expand school-based services have faced nearly a year of funding uncertainty and legal limbo.
    Matthew Stone, March 9, 2026
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    5 min read
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Resources

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IT Infrastructure & Management Sponsor Day in the Life: How EDLA Seamlessly Integrates into a Teacher's Google Workspace 
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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  • The Supreme Court is photographed, Friday, Feb. 27, 2026, in Washington.
    The Supreme Court is photographed, Friday, Feb. 27, 2026, in Washington. The high court recently ruled that California policies that sometimes limit or discourage schools from disclosing information to parents about children’s gender transitions and expressions at school likely violate parents’ constitutional rights
    Rahmat Gul/AP
    Law & Courts Supreme Court’s Gender Identity Ruling Leaves Schools Seeking Clarity
    Advocates say they would welcome more from the Supreme Court on gender-notification policies.
    Mark Walsh, March 6, 2026
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    7 min read
    Image of money symbol, books, gavel, and scale of justice.
    DigitalVision Vectors
    Education Funding Some Halted Federal Funds for Community Schools Will Flow, But More Remain Frozen
    Schools in Illinois will regain access to some federal grant funds, but programs nationwide continue to struggle.
    Mark Lieberman, March 5, 2026
    •
    5 min read
    Democratic Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek speaks at a news conference in Portland, Ore., on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, after Republican President Donald Trump said he would send troops to the city.
    Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek, a Democrat, speaks at a news conference in Portland, Ore., on Sept. 27, 2025. Kotek and three other Democratic governors initially said their states wouldn't participate in the first federal private school choice program. Now, three of those governors, including Kotek, are reconsidering their stances and say they haven't made up their minds.
    Claire Rush/AP
    School Choice & Charters They Said No to the Federal School Choice Program. Now, 3 Dems Are Reconsidering
    Advocacy to get Democratic states to participate has ramped up both locally and nationally.
    Matthew Stone, March 4, 2026
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    4 min read
    Large hand making pressure over group of small, silhouetted figures. Oppressions, manipulation. Contemporary art collage. Photocopy effect. Concept of world crisis, business, economy, control
    Education Week + iStock
    Federal Opinion We Shouldn’t Have to Choose Between Federal Overreach and Abandonment in K-12
    Why is federal power being used to occupy our cities but not protect our students’ civil rights?
    Sally Iverson, March 4, 2026
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    4 min read
    US NEWS TEXAS SCHOOL VOUCHERS DISCRIMINATION LAWSUIT DA
    Kelly Hancock, Texas' acting state comptroller, speaks alongside Gov. Greg Abbott in Richland Hills, Texas, on May 17, 2022, when Hancock was a state senator. Hancock has excluded Islamic schools from Texas' new, $1 billion private school choice program, which he now oversees, according to a new lawsuit.
    Elias Valverde II/The Dallas Morning News via TNS
    School Choice & Charters The Nation's Largest School Choice Program Excludes Muslim Schools, Lawsuit Says
    The largest state to allow public funds for private schooling faces its first legal challenge.
    Jennifer Vilcarino, March 3, 2026
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    4 min read
    Teacher’s aide Amelia Mester, wrapped in a Pride flag, urges Escondido Union High School District not to have employees notify parents if they believe a student may be transgender in November 2025. A policy on the issue in the city’s elementary school district is the subject of a federal class-action lawsuit in which a judge just sided against the district.
    Teacher’s aide Amelia Mester, wrapped in a Pride flag, urges Escondido Union High School District not to have employees notify parents if they believe a student may be transgender at a meeting in November 2025. Two parents and two teachers from the district sued in 2023, challenging California state guidance concerning student gender transitions and parental notification. The U.S. Supreme Court has now reinstated a lower-court decision overturning those state policies.
    Charlie Neuman for The San Diego Union-Tribune/TNS
    Law & Courts Supreme Court Backs Parents in School Gender Disclosure Fight
    The Supreme Court restored an injunction blocking California policies on student gender transitions
    Mark Walsh, March 2, 2026
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    8 min read
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EdWeek Market Brief

Education Market Tracker Curriculum Adoption Cycles: Which States Are Building Approved Lists?
A state-by-state look at which curriculum adoption cycles are up next, and which subjects will be up for review and approvals, tracked by EdWeek Market Brief
Emma Kate Fittes & Maya Riser-Kositsky
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2 min read
Regulation & Policy Industry Insight The Education Industry is Losing its 'Social License' to Innovate With Tech. Here's How to Earn it Back
For Erin Mote, the widespread sentiment that kids spend too much time on their screens, and the sweeping push in statehouses across the country to quickly create laws to set hard limits on technology use at school, has meant a busy start to 2026.
Scott Elliott
•
9 min read
Strategy & Operations Exclusive Data What Actually Gets Educators’ Attention at K-12 Conferences
EdWeek Market Brief survey data asks educators about the types of interactions that would lead them to want to learn more about a product.
Alexandria Ng
•
6 min read
Regulation & Policy K-12 Market News 3 Ways State ESSA Waivers May Change the K-12 Market — And 3 Ways They Don't
Two experts weigh in on how the new federal funding waivers in two states may — or may not — affect the K-12 market.
Emma Kate Fittes
•
6 min read
Read More