Policy & Politics

Education news, analysis, and opinion about the legislation, guidance, policies and people involved in federal and state government
School Choice & Charters Opinion Does School Choice 'Work'?
Ultimately, the “how” of educational choice may matter more than the “what.”
Rick Hess
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10 min read
Law & Courts Supreme Court Turns Down Case Challenging School District's Transgender Policies
The case involves a policy allowing information to be withheld from parents considered not supportive of a gender-transitioning child.
Mark Walsh
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3 min read
School Choice & Charters Opinion 'Control Freaks' Are 'Losing Their Grip' on Education
"School choice evangelist" says new laws are a response to unions, bureaucracies, and K-12 ideologues.
Rick Hess
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12 min read
Law & Courts Federal Judge Overturns New Hampshire Law on Teaching 'Divisive Concepts'
The judge holds that the law is unconstitutionally vague because it does not make clear to educators what topics they may not teach.
Mark Walsh
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4 min read
Students walk into the front doors at Hinsdale Middle High School, in Hinsdale, N.H., on the first day of school on Aug. 30, 2022.
Students walk into Hinsdale Middle High School, in Hinsdale, N.H., in August 2022. A federal judge has struck down a New Hampshire law that bars the teaching of "divisive concepts" to K-12 students.
Kristopher Radder/The Brattleboro Reformer via AP
Federal A Bipartisan Bill Aims to Boost AI Education for K-12 Teachers
A new bill would create a grant program at the National Science Foundation focused on AI and K-12 schools.
Alyson Klein
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4 min read
Highway directional sign for AI Artificial Intelligence
Matjaz Boncina/iStock/Getty
School Choice & Charters Private School Choice Continues to Spread. 3 Things to Know
New research shows private schools increase tuition when states send public funds for parents to spend on private education.
Mark Lieberman
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6 min read
Image of private school kids outside in the school yard.
E+
States Is Bipartisan Education Policy Still Possible?
It's still possible to forge cross-party education policy coalitions, advocates said.
Evie Blad
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5 min read
Image of a small U.S. flag in a pencil case.
iStock/Getty

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More Policy & Politics

  • Demonstrators advocating for transgender rights and healthcare stand outside of the Ohio Statehouse on Jan. 24, 2024, in Columbus, Ohio. The rights of LGBTQ+ students will be protected by federal law and victims of campus sexual assault will gain new safeguards under rules finalized Friday, April19, 2024, by the Biden administration. Notably absent from Biden’s policy, however, is any mention of transgender athletes.
    Demonstrators advocating for transgender rights and healthcare stand outside of the Ohio Statehouse on Jan. 24, 2024, in Columbus, Ohio. The rights of LGBTQ+ students will be protected by federal law and victims of campus sexual assault will gain new safeguards under rules finalized Friday, April19, 2024, by the Biden administration. Notably absent from Biden’s policy, however, is any mention of transgender athletes.
    Patrick Orsagos/AP
    Federal New Title IX Rule Has Explicit Ban on Discrimination of LGBTQ+ Students
    The new rule, while long awaited, stops short of addressing the thorny issue of transgender athletes' participation in sports.
    Libby Stanford, April 19, 2024
    •
    6 min read
    Light illuminates part of the Supreme Court building at dusk on Capitol Hill in Washington, Nov. 16, 2022.
    Light illuminates part of the Supreme Court building at dusk on Capitol Hill in Washington, Nov. 16, 2022. The high court on Wednesday, April 17, 2024, made it easier for workers, including educators, to sue over job transfers.
    Patrick Semansky/AP
    Law & Courts Why It Will Now Be Easier for Educators to Sue Over Job Transfers
    The case asked whether transferred employees had to show a 'significant' change in job conditions to sue under Title VII. The court said no.
    Mark Walsh, April 17, 2024
    •
    8 min read
    Illustration of many roads and road signs going in different directions with falling money all around.
    iStock/Getty
    Education Funding When There's More Money for Schools, Is There an 'Objective' Way to Hand It Out?
    A fight over the school funding formula in Mississippi is kicking up old debates over how to best target aid.
    Mark Lieberman, April 17, 2024
    •
    7 min read
    Illustration of woman turning back hands on clock.
    Education Week + iStock / Getty Images Plus Week
    Education Funding Explainer How Can Districts Get More Time to Spend ESSER Dollars? An Explainer
    Districts can get up to 14 additional months to spend ESSER dollars on contracts—if their state and the federal government both approve.
    Mark Lieberman, April 11, 2024
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    4 min read
    Four roses are placed on a fence to honor Hana St. Juliana, 14, Madisyn Baldwin, 17, Tate Myre, 16, and Justin Shilling, 17, the four teens killed in last week's shooting, outside Oxford High School in Oxford, Mich., on Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2021.
    Four roses are placed on a fence outside Oxford High School in Oxford, Mich., honor Hana St. Juliana, 14, Madisyn Baldwin, 17, Tate Myre, 16, and Justin Shilling, 17, the four teens killed in the Nov. 30, 2021, shooting at the school.
    Jake May/The Flint Journal via AP
    Law & Courts Oxford School Shooter's Parents Were Convicted. Holding District Liable Could Be Tougher
    The conviction of parents in the Oxford, Mich., case expanded the scope of responsibility, but it remains difficult to hold schools liable.
    Mark Walsh, April 10, 2024
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    12 min read
    Image shows a multi-tailed arrow hitting the bullseye of a target.
    DigitalVision Vectors/Getty
    Policy & Politics Opinion Is Education Research Too Political?
    Outgoing Institute of Education Sciences Director Mark Schneider laments politicization at the Ed. Department—and in academia writ large.
    Rick Hess, April 10, 2024
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    7 min read
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Resources

School & District Management Quiz Quiz Yourself: How Much Do You Know About the School District Technology Leader?
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Assessment Sponsor Testing Season: Who Are We Really Testing For? Transforming Assessments from Obstacles to Opportunities
As another testing season approaches, a familiar question weighs heavily on our minds: who are these tests serving?
Content provided by Achievement Network
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Mathematics Whitepaper Math Gatherings: A New Approach to Collaborative Math Instruction
Learn how math gatherings provide a collaborative approach to math instruction.
Content provided by Solution Tree
Reading & Literacy Spotlight Spotlight on The Science of Reading in Practice
This Spotlight will help you analyze new curricula designed to build knowledge, review the benefits of reading aloud to students, and more.
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  • A pedestrian passes by the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals Courthouse, June 16, 2021, on Main Street in Richmond, Va.
    A person walks near the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit's courthouse in Richmond, Va. A panel of the court denied an injunction seeking to restore religious parents' opportunity to opt their children out of LGBTQ+ "storybooks" in a Maryland district.
    Steve Helber/AP
    Law & Courts District Can Deny Opt-Outs on LGBTQ+ Books, Court Rules
    Religious parents objected to a Maryland district's policy ending opt-outs for elementary school 'storybooks' with LGBTQ+ themes.
    Mark Walsh, May 15, 2024
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    5 min read
    People mill around the third floor of the Kansas Statehouse in front of a Brown v. Board of Education mural before hearing from speakers recognizing the 70th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court case on April 29, 2024 in Topeka, Kan.
    People mill around the third floor of the Kansas Statehouse in front of a Brown v. Board of Education mural before hearing from speakers recognizing the 70th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court case on April 29, 2024 in Topeka, Kan.
    Evert Nelson/The Topeka Capital-Journal via AP
    Law & Courts Brown v. Board of Education: 70 Years of Progress and Challenges
    The milestone for the historic 1954 U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down racial segregation in schools is marked by a range of tributes
    Mark Walsh, May 14, 2024
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    12 min read
    From left, David Banks, chancellor of New York Public schools, speaks next to Karla Silvestre, President of the Montgomery Count (Md.) Board of Education, Emerson Sykes, Staff Attorney with the ACLU, and Enikia Ford Morthel, Superintendent of the Berkeley United School District, during a hearing on antisemitism in K-12 public schools, at the House Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education, on May 8, 2024, on Capitol Hill in Washington.
    From left, David Banks, chancellor of New York City schools, speaks next to Karla Silvestre, president of the Montgomery County, Md., school board; Emerson Sykes, staff attorney with the ACLU; and Enikia Ford Morthel, superintendent of the Berkeley Unified school district in Berkeley, Calif., during a hearing on antisemitism in K-12 public schools, at the House Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education, on May 8, 2024, in Washington.
    Jacquelyn Martin/AP
    Federal K-12 Leaders Denounce Antisemitism But Reject That It's Rampant in Schools
    Three school district leaders said they're committed to rooting out antisemitism during a hearing in Congress.
    Libby Stanford, May 8, 2024
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    6 min read
    Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona testifies during a House Committee on Education and Workforce hearing on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, May 7, 2024, in Washington.
    U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona testifies during a House Committee on Education and Workforce hearing on Capitol Hill on May 7 in Washington.
    Mariam Zuhaib/AP
    Federal Miguel Cardona in the Hot Seat: 4 Takeaways From a Contentious House Hearing
    FAFSA, rising antisemitism, and Title IX dominated questioning at a U.S. House hearing with Education Secretary Miguel Cardona.
    Libby Stanford, May 7, 2024
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    6 min read
    Photo illustration of school building and piggy bank.
    F. Sheehan for Education Week + iStock / Getty Images Plus
    Education Funding What New School Spending Data Show About a Coming Fiscal Cliff
    New data show just what COVID-relief funds did to overall school spending—and the size of the hole they might leave in school budgets.
    Mark Lieberman, May 7, 2024
    •
    4 min read
    U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona speaks during Education Week’s 2024 Leadership Symposium at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City in Arlington, Va., on May 2, 2024.
    U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona speaks during Education Week’s 2024 Leadership Symposium at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City in Arlington, Va., on May 2, 2024.
    Sam Mallon/Education Week
    Federal Arming Teachers Could Cause 'Accidents and More Tragedy,' Miguel Cardona Says
    "This is not in my opinion a smart option,” the education secretary said at an EdWeek event.
    Mark Lieberman, May 2, 2024
    •
    4 min read
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EdWeek Market Brief

Analyst's View The Science Products That Districts Need During COVID and Beyond
The future of the science education is likely to be blend of hands-on and digital components, predicts Christine Anne Royce, the past president of the National Science Teaching Association.
Robin L. Flanigan
•
8 min read
Marketplace K-12 How the New Federal Emergency Aid Could Help Ed Tech and Connectivity
A new federal stimulus legislation includes $7 billion in spending on K-12 broadband, aid that could lead to new district investments in technology and connectivity.
Brian Bradley
•
4 min read
Marketplace K-12 Teachers Should Not Carry the Weight of Education Alone
Schools need to provide supports and critical wraparound services if students' social-emotional needs are going to be met in the COVID era, says Sarah Potler LaHayne, the CEO of Move This World.
Sara Potler LaHayne
•
5 min read
Purchasing Alert Maryland District Accepting Bids for Elementary Math Curriculum; Illinois K-12 System Looks for PD
A large district in Maryland is looking to purchase a digital curriculum for elementary math, and an Illinois school system is in the market for professional learning services.
Brian Bradley
•
2 min read
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