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
•
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
•
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

  • 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
    Education Funding Opinion The Federal Shutdown Is a Rorschach Test for Education
    Polarization, confusion, and perverse incentives turn a serious discussion into a stylized debate.
    Rick Hess, October 20, 2025
    •
    7 min read
    Education Secretary Linda McMahon appears before the House Appropriation Panel about the 2026 budget in Washington, D.C., on May 21, 2025.
    Education Secretary Linda McMahon appears before U.S. House of Representatives members to discuss the 2026 budget in Washington on May 21, 2025. The U.S. Department of Education laid off 465 employees during the federal government shutdown. The layoff, if it goes through, will virtually wipe out offices in the agency that oversee key grant programs.
    Jason Andrew for Education Week
    Federal Education Department Layoffs Would Affect Dozens of Programs. See Which Ones
    Entire teams that work on key funding streams may not return to work even when the shutdown ends.
    Mark Lieberman, October 16, 2025
    •
    3 min read
    A Let's Go Brandon flag and an American flag fly during the NASCAR Cup Series M&M'S Fan Appreciation 400 on July 24, 2022, at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa.
    A Let's Go Brandon flag and an American flag fly during the NASCAR Cup Series on July 24, 2022, at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa. The slogan originated at a 2021 NASCAR race in Talladega, Ala., and quickly became a coded way of criticizing then-President Joe Biden. An appeals court in a free speech case said school administrators were within bounds insisting a student not wear a shirt with the slogan because of its implied vulgarity.
    Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via AP Images
    Law & Courts Appeals Court Backs School Administrators Who Banned 'Let's Go Brandon!' Shirts
    A coded message of political criticism was vulgar and can be barred in schools.
    Mark Walsh, October 16, 2025
    •
    5 min read
    Illustration of 2 hands cutting paper dolls with scissors, representing staffing layoffs.
    iStock/Getty
    Law & Courts Judge Halts Trump Admin.'s Layoffs at Ed. Dept. and Other Agencies
    More than 400 workers at the diminished agency had been told their last day would be Dec. 9.
    Brooke Schultz, October 15, 2025
    •
    5 min read
    Students from Rosebud Elementary School perform in a drum circle during a meeting about abusive conditions at Native American boarding schools at Sinte Gleska University on the Rosebud Sioux Reservation in Mission, S.D., on Oct. 15, 2022.
    Students from Rosebud Elementary School perform in a drum circle on Oct. 15, 2022. The Todd County district, which includes the Rosebud school, relies on the federal Impact Aid program for nearly 40 percent of its annual budget. Impact Aid payments are on hold during the federal shutdown, and the Trump administration has laid off the federal employees who administer the program.
    Matthew Brown/AP
    Education Funding Many Districts Will Lose Federal Funds Until the Shutdown Ends
    And if federal layoffs go through, the Ed. Dept. would lack staff to send out the funds afterward, too.
    Mark Lieberman, October 15, 2025
    •
    7 min read
    Right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones speaks to the media after arriving at the federal courthouse for a hearing in front of a bankruptcy judge on June 14, 2024, in Houston.
    Right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones speaks to the media outside a federal courthouse on June 14, 2024, in Houston. The U.S. Supreme Court this week declined to hear his appeal of a $1.4 billion judgment over his allegations that the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Conn., was staged.
    David J. Phillip/AP
    Law & Courts Supreme Court Again Declines a Case on School Gender Identity Policies
    The U.S. Supreme Court refused to review a case on purported school gender-identity policies, as well as two other education-related appeals
    Mark Walsh, October 14, 2025
    •
    5 min read
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Resources

Student Achievement Spotlight Spotlight on MTSS: Pathways to Achievement
This Spotlight will help you explore effective MTSS implementation and strategies for supporting struggling learners.
Classroom Technology Quiz Quiz Yourself: How Much Do You Know About Leveraging EdTech to Accelerate Learning?
Answer 7 questions on effectively leveraging EdTech to accelerate student learning.
School & District Management Quiz Quiz Yourself: How Well Do You Understand K-12 Leaders’ Social Media Habits?
Test your knowledge of how school and district leaders use social media—what platforms they prefer, how often they post, and getting their attention.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
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IT Infrastructure & Management Sponsor ChromeOS Flex Extends Usability of End-of-Life Devices
As school technology budgets face increasing scrutiny, administrators seek innovative and cost-effective solutions for their existing device fleets. ChromeOS Flex has emerged as a powerful problem-solver, offering a way to revitalize aging PCs and Macs by extending their lifespan and bringing the benefits of ChromeOS to familiar hardware.
Content provided by Google for Education
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  • State Superintendent Ryan Walters leaves the Oklahoma State Board of Education meeting on April 25, 2024 in Oklahoma City.
    Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters leaves a state board of education meeting on April 25, 2024 in Oklahoma City. Walters, a conservative firebrand who was constantly in the news during his three years in office, will run an organization that encourages teachers to leave their unions.
    Nick Oxford/Human Rights Campaign via AP
    States Ryan Walters, Okla.’s Fiery Education Chief, to Step Down
    Oklahoma state superintendent announces his resignation after nearly three years of near-constant controversy.
    Andrea Eger, Tulsa World, September 25, 2025
    •
    3 min read
    Rolled American One Hundred Dollar bills and handsaw cutting the bottom out from under on orange background.
    iStock/Getty
    Education Funding Trump Bypasses Congress and Slashes Hundreds of Education Grants
    More than 200 ongoing projects have seen their remaining grant funding canceled in recent weeks.
    Mark Lieberman, September 24, 2025
    •
    10 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
    School Choice & Charters Opinion How Can Education Savings Accounts Serve Students With Special Needs?
    The state that pioneered the ESA is overseeing more than 10,000 requests daily from families for education expenses.
    Rick Hess, September 23, 2025
    •
    8 min read
    Demonstrators are seen outside the Supreme Court as oral arguments were heard in Mahmoud v. Taylor on April 22, 2025, in Washington, D.C. The case contends that forcing students to participate in LGBTQ+ learning material violates First Amendment rights to exercise religious beliefs.
    Demonstrators are seen outside the Supreme Court as oral arguments were heard in Mahmoud v. Taylor on April 22, 2025, in Washington, D.C. The high court later ruled that parents have a constitutional right to excuse their children from LGBTQ-themed lessons based on religious objections.
    Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP Images
    Law & Courts LGBTQ+ Rights, Ed. Dept. Cuts, Ten Commandments: A Summer Legal Roundup
    Courts weighed in this summer on LGBTQ+ rights, school speech, and religion in classrooms.
    Mark Walsh, September 22, 2025
    •
    11 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 is interviewed by Indiana Secretary of Education Katie Jenner during the 2025 Reagan Institute Summit on Education in Washington, on Sept. 18, 2025.
    Leah Millis for Education Week
    Federal Linda McMahon Says 'We Have to Teach How to Disagree' After Charlie Kirk Killing
    The education secretary's conciliatory tone contrasted with others in the Trump administration amid the furor over the activist's murder.
    Mark Lieberman, September 18, 2025
    •
    3 min read
    Left: Republican Sen. Laura Wakim Chapman, chair of the West Virginia Senate Health and Human Resources Committee, holds a map of the U.S. on the Senate floor depicting the states, including West Virginia, that do not allow religious or philosophical exemptions for required school vaccinations on Feb. 21, 2025 in Charleston, West Virginia. Right: West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey speaks during a news conference at the Hubert Humphrey Building Auditorium in Washington on April 22, 2025.
    Left: A U.S. map of states without religious or philosophical vaccine exemptions. Right: Republican West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey speaks at a news conference in Washington on April 22, 2025. West Virginia is at the center of the ongoing debate over school vaccine mandates after Morrisey this year issued an executive order requiring religious exemptions.
    Left: Will Price/West Virginia Legislature; Right: Jose Luis Magana/AP
    Law & Courts With Childhood Vaccination Rates Falling, Debate on Religious Exemptions Grows
    There is growing pressure from parents and the Trump administration for exemptions to be expanded. The U.S. Supreme Court could decide.
    Mark Walsh, September 17, 2025
    •
    10 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
•
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
•
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
•
3 min read
Read More