Policy & Politics

Education news, analysis, and opinion about the legislation, guidance, policies and people involved in federal and state government
States A State With a Short School Year Wants to Stop the 'Bleeding' of Classroom Time
A new order aims to discourage districts from reducing instructional hours to fill budget gaps.
Mark Walsh
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4 min read
Law & Courts Opinion Why the Supreme Court’s Ruling on Conversion Therapy Matters for Schools
A recent case puts religiously motivated speech ahead of the well-being of LGBTQ+ youth.
Jonathon E. Sawyer
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5 min read
States The K-12 Issues That Top Governors' Agendas
Governors' priorities include early literacy, career education, and teacher recruitment.
Evie Blad
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7 min read
Federal Trump's Labor Secretary Leaves Cabinet After Abuse of Power Allegations
The department she led has been taking on day-to-day management of dozens of federal K-12 programs.
The Associated Press
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6 min read
Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer speaks with a reporter at the White House, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, in Washington.
Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer speaks with a reporter at the White House, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, in Washington. Chavez-DeRemer, whose department is in the process of taking over day-to-day management of dozens of federal education programs, resigned from her post on April 20, 2026, amid allegations that she abused her position's power.
Evan Vucci/AP
School Choice & Charters Opinion The Forgotten History of the School Choice Movement
Long before vouchers or charter schools, Americans were already clashing over education options.
Rick Hess
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9 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
Law & Courts Supreme Court to Consider Whether Catholic Preschools Can Reject LGBTQ+ Families
Catholic preschools say Colorado violated religious rights by excluding them from a state-funded program over admission policies.
The Associated Press
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2 min read
Image of the Supreme Court in the background, an LGBTQ flag waving, and symbols of wedding rings with a male and female sign incorporated in the ring shapes.
Laura Baker/Education Week + Canva
States 'Not Our Job': Principals Decry a Proposal to Track Student Immigration Status
A principals group has publicly opposed efforts to require schools to track immigration status.
Ileana Najarro
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5 min read
Democratic Senator Raumesh Akbari hugs a young demonstrator as people gather to protest an immigration bill outside the Senate chamber at the state Capitol Thursday, in Nashville, Tenn. The bill would allow public school systems in Tennessee to require K-12 students without legal status in the country to pay tuition or face denial of enrollment, which is a challenge to the federal law requiring all children be provided a free public education regardless of legal immigration status.
Democratic state Sen. Raumesh Akbari hugs a young demonstrator as people protest an immigration bill outside the Senate chamber at the state Capitol on April 10, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. The legislation is part of a broader push in Tennessee to require schools to collect students’ immigration status, raising concerns among educators about trust, access, and compliance with federal law.
John Amis/AP

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More Policy & Politics

  • 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
    •
    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
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    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
    •
    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
    •
    8 min read
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EdWeek Market Brief

Strategy & Operations Special Report State of the Industry 2026: Turning a Corner on Chaos to Find Stability and Growth
A new EdWeek Market Brief special report uncovers the worsening financial conditions many education companies are finding themselves in, while also finding growing levels of optimism for future sales.
Michelle Caffrey
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2 min read
Meeting District Needs K-12 Insider What K-12 Companies Should Know About District School Closure Efforts
Economic and population trends suggest districts may face school closures soon. Here's what a former superintendent says education companies should know about the difficult process.
Emma Kate Fittes
•
9 min read
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
Product Development K-12 Market News ‘Don’t Outsource the Magic’: K-12 Industry Leaders Push for Human-Centered AI
Top executives at longtime education organizations discussed how they’re balancing at-scale reliability with cutting-edge transformation at ASU+GSV.

Alexandria Ng
•
3 min read
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