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

  • Sen. Susan Collins, R,Maine, with Sens. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., left, and Shelly Moore Capito, R-W.Va., center, question Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., during a Senate Committee on Appropriations subcommittee hearing to examine proposed budget estimates for fiscal year 2026 for the Department of Health and Human Services, on Capitol Hill, May 20, 2025, in Washington.
    Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, (right) and Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., (center) are shown during a Senate subcommittee hearing on May 20, 2025, in Washington. They're among 10 Republican senators who have signed a letter urging the Trump administration to release $6.8 billion in federal education funds it's withheld from states. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., (left) was among 32 Democratic senators to sign a letter urging the same.
    Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP
    Education Funding Republicans Urge Trump to Release $6.8 Billion in School Funding He's Held Back
    The funds that were supposed to go out July 1 pay for teacher training, English learner services, after-school programs, and more.
    Mark Lieberman, July 16, 2025
    •
    4 min read
    Amelia, 16, sits for a portrait in a park near her home in Illinois on Friday, March 24, 2023. “We are so strong and we go through so, so much," says the teenage girl who loves to sing and wants to be a surgeon. Amelia has also faced bullying, toxic friendships, and menacing threats from a boy at school who said she “deserved to be raped."
    The U.S. Department of Education has revealed new priorities for two mental health grants after it abruptly canceled awards the Biden administration made.
    Erin Hooley/AP
    Federal No 'Gender Ideology': Ed. Dept.'s New Focus for Mental Health Grants It Yanked
    The Trump administration abruptly canceled $1 billion in mental health grants in April that it said reflected Biden-era priorities.
    Brooke Schultz, July 16, 2025
    •
    5 min read
    Students make measurements to wood to add to a tiny home project during their shop class at Carrick High School in Pittsburgh, Pa., on Dec. 13, 2022.
    Students make measurements to wood to add to a tiny home project during their shop class at Carrick High School in Pittsburgh, Pa., on Dec. 13, 2022. The Trump administration is shifting management of career and technical education programs to the U.S. Department of Labor now that the Supreme Court have given the go-ahead to proceed with downsizing of the U.S. Department of Education.
    Nate Smallwood for Education Week
    Federal Trump Admin. Starts Moving CTE to Labor Dept. After Supreme Court Order
    The Education Department put arrangements to move some of its programs on hold while court battles over downsizing played out.
    Brooke Schultz, July 15, 2025
    •
    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 How Education Research Became a Partisan Issue
    Values shape the research that is conducted, published, and viewed as “acceptable.”
    Rick Hess, July 15, 2025
    •
    8 min read
    Supporters hold signs and cheer Education Department employees as they leave after retrieving their personal belongings from the Education Department building in Washington on March 24, 2025.
    Supporters hold signs and cheer Education Department employees as they leave after retrieving their personal belongings from the Education Department building in Washington on March 24, 2025. The Supreme Court on July 14, 2025, allowed the Trump administration to proceed with department layoffs that a lower-court judge had put on hold.
    Jose Luis Magana/AP
    Federal Hope Shattered for Laid-Off Ed. Dept. Staff After Supreme Court Order
    The Supreme Court on Monday allowed the Trump administration to proceed with 1,400 Education Department layoffs.
    Brooke Schultz, July 14, 2025
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    6 min read
    Department of Education Secretary Linda McMahon outside of the West Wing following a Cabinet meeting at the White House on April 11, 2025 in Washington.
    U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon outside of the West Wing following a Cabinet meeting at the White House on April 11, 2025, in Washington. McMahon is carrying out a Trump administration plan to lay off roughly 1,400 Education Department employees, a move critics say is aimed at dismantling the agency.
    Lenin Nolly/NurPhoto via AP
    Law & Courts Trump Admin. Can Proceed With Ed. Dept. Layoffs, Supreme Court Rules
    The Trump administration asked the justices to set aside an injunction blocking its layoffs of 1,400 Education Department employees.
    Mark Walsh, July 14, 2025
    •
    6 min read
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Resources

Budget & Finance Whitepaper School Funding in an Age of Uncertainty
Allovue’s third annual Education Finance Survey takes stock of on-the-ground realities of school spending at a time of unparalleled uncertainty.
School & District Management Quiz Quiz Yourself: Is Your EdTech Strategy Aligned With What Districts Want?
This isn’t just a quiz—it’s a pulse check. How in-sync is your edtech strategy with what schools are actually prioritizing right now?
Reading & Literacy Quiz Quiz Yourself: How Much Do You Know About Early Literacy Learning?
Answer 7 questions about building strong family and school connections.
Budget & Finance Quiz Quiz Yourself: How Much Do You Know About Education Finance?
Answer 7 questions about education finance.
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  • 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
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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 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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