Policy & Politics

Education news, analysis, and opinion about the legislation, guidance, policies and people involved in federal and state government
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
•
2 min read
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
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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
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
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7 min read
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
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

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More Policy & Politics

  • Students attend Bow Memorial School in Bow, N.H. on Oct. 29, 2025. Bow Memorial School is a middle school that has developed a systematic approach to addressing foundational reading gaps in middle school students.
    Though states have put an emphasis on reading intervention, most don't specify how to help students beyond grade 3. Older students may need more support on vocabulary development, or understanding how word parts convey meaning. Middle school students learn about suffixes at Bow Memorial School in Bow, N.H. on Oct. 29, 2025. The school has developed a systematic approach to addressing foundational reading gaps in grades 5-8.
    Sophie Park for Education Week
    States State Reading Laws Focus on K-3. What About Older Students Who Struggle?
    Should lawmakers push reading legislation to address the needs of students beyond elementary grades?
    Evie Blad, November 24, 2025
    •
    8 min read
    Collage style illustration showing a large hand pointing to the right, while a small male pulls up an arrow filled with money and pushes with both hands to reverse it toward the right side of the frame.
    DigitalVision Vectors + Getty
    Federal From Our Research Center Trump Shifted CTE to the Labor Dept. What Has That Meant for Schools?
    What educators think of shifting CTE to another federal agency could preview how they'll view a bigger shuffle.
    Alyson Klein, November 21, 2025
    •
    3 min read
    The U.S. Department of Education building is pictured in a double exposure on Oct. 24, 2025, in Washington, D.C.
    The U.S. Department of Education building is pictured in a double exposure on Oct. 24, 2025, in Washington, D.C.
    Maansi Srivastava for Education Week
    Federal Video Here’s What the Ed. Dept. Upheaval Will Mean for Schools
    The Trump administration took significant steps this week toward eliminating the U.S. Department of Education.
    Mark Lieberman & Yi-Jo Shen, November 21, 2025
    •
    1 min read
    The U.S. Department of Education building is seen behind the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial on Oct. 24, 2025 in Washington, D.C.
    The U.S. Department of Education building is seen behind the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial on Oct. 24, 2025 in Washington, D.C. The department is shifting many of its functions to four other federal agencies as the Trump administration tries to downsize it. State education chiefs stand to be most directly affected.
    Maansi Srivastava for Education Week
    Federal What State Education Chiefs Think as Trump Moves Programs Out of the Ed. Dept.
    The department's announcement this week represents a consequential structural change for states.
    Brooke Schultz, November 20, 2025
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    6 min read
    Illustration of scissors, glue, a ruler, and pencils used to create a cut paper collage forming a small school.
    iStock/Getty
    School Choice & Charters Opinion 'This Place Feels Like Me': Why My School District Needed a Microschool
    A superintendent writes about adding a small, flexible learning site to his district's traditional schools.
    George Philhower, November 19, 2025
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    4 min read
    President Donald Trump signs an executive order regarding education in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, April 23, 2025, in Washington, as Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, and Education Secretary Linda McMahon watch.
    President Donald Trump signs an executive order regarding education in the Oval Office of the White House on April 23, 2025, as Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, and Education Secretary Linda McMahon watch. The Trump administration on Tuesday announced that it's sending many of the Department of Education's K-12 and higher education programs to other federal agencies.
    Alex Brandon/AP
    Federal See Where the Ed. Dept.'s Programs Will Move as the Trump Admin. Downsizes
    Programs overseen by the Ed. Dept. will move to agencies including the Department of Labor.
    Brooke Schultz, Mark Lieberman & Matthew Stone, November 18, 2025
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    1 min read
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Resources

Student Achievement Spotlight Spotlight on Prevention Over Remediation: The Role of Strong Tier 1 Instruction in MTSS
This Spotlight highlights how effective Tier 1 instruction in grades K–5 can improve literacy and math outcomes.
College & Workforce Readiness Spotlight Spotlight on How Schools Can Elevate Their CTE Offerings
CTE is evolving to meet the demands of a high-tech economy by including AI literacy, advanced technical skills, and real-world experience.
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.
Sponsor
Reading & Literacy Whitepaper Supporting Adolescent Readers with Word Recognition & Leadership
Designed for secondary educators and leaders, this white paper provides practical examples of explicit literacy instruction that strength...
Content provided by AIM Institute
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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School & District Management Whitepaper 4 Questions K-12 Leaders Must Answer Amid Budget Uncertainty
In this podcast, Tyra Mariani, former Chief of Staff in the U.S. Department of Education, shares four questions leaders must answer to bu...
Content provided by Huddle Up
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  • Students in Chad Wright’s construction program work on measurements at the Regional Occupational Center on Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2023, in Bakersfield, Calif.
    Students in Chad Wright’s construction program work on measurements at the Regional Occupational Center on Jan. 11, 2023, in Bakersfield, Calif. A newly released policy agenda from a coalition of center-left Democrats focuses heavily on career training.
    Morgan Lieberman for Education Week
    Federal A Major Democratic Group Thinks This Education Policy Is a Winning Issue
    An agenda from center-left Democrats could foreshadow how they discuss education on the campaign trail.
    Alyson Klein, January 9, 2026
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    4 min read
    The end of a bar chart made of pencils with a line graph drawn over it.
    DigitalVision Vectors/Getty + Education Week
    Federal Opinion The Federal Government Hasn’t Been Meeting Our Need for Unbiased Ed. Research
    Trump’s attacks on data collection are misguided—but that doesn’t mean it was working before.
    Rick Hess, January 8, 2026
    •
    5 min read
    The Instagram logo is seen on a cell phone, Oct. 14, 2022, in Boston.
    The Instagram logo is seen on a cell phone. New York is the third state, after California and Minnesota, to pass a law requiring social media warning labels.
    Michael Dwyer/AP
    States Scroll With Caution: Another State Requires Social Media Warning Labels
    Backers of New York's law, including Gov. Kathy Hochul, have likened tech's addictiveness to tobacco.
    Jennifer Vilcarino, January 8, 2026
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    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 Who Tops Their Field in the 2026 RHSU Edu-Scholar Rankings?
    A scholar's rank within a discipline may be more telling than their place in the overall rankings.
    Rick Hess, January 8, 2026
    •
    1 min read
    Amanda Darrow, director of youth, family and education programs at the Utah Pride Center, poses with books that have been the subject of complaints from parents in Salt Lake City on Dec. 16, 2021. The wave of attempted book banning and restrictions continues to intensify, the American Library Association reported Friday. Numbers for 2022 already approach last year's totals, which were the highest in decades.
    Eight states have passed legislation restricting school officials from pulling books out of school libraries for partisan or ideological reasons. In the past five years, many such challenges have focused on books about race or LGBTQ+ people. Amanda Darrow, the director of youth, family and education programs at the Utah Pride Center, poses with books that have been the subject of complaints from parents in Salt Lake City on Dec. 16, 2021. (Utah is not one of the eight states.)
    Rick Bowmer/AP
    States States Are Banning Book Bans. Will It Work?
    Approved legislation aims to stop school libraries from removing books for partisan reasons.
    Sarah Schwartz, January 7, 2026
    •
    5 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, pictured here in Washington on Sept. 18, 2025, has granted Iowa a partial waiver from provisions of the Every Student Succeeds Act, saying the move is a step toward the Trump administration's goal of "returning education to the states." The waiver allows Iowa some additional flexibility in how it spends the limited portion of federal education funds used by the state department of education.
    Leah Millis for Education Week
    States McMahon Touts Funding Flexibility for Iowa That Falls Short of Trump Admin. Goal
    The Ed. Dept. is allowing the state education agency to consolidate small sets of funds from four grants.
    Mark Lieberman, January 7, 2026
    •
    6 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
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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
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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
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3 min read
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