Policy & Politics

Education news, analysis, and opinion about the legislation, guidance, policies and people involved in federal and state government
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
•
1 min read
States States Are Banning Book Bans. Will It Work?
Approved legislation aims to stop school libraries from removing books for partisan reasons.
Sarah Schwartz
•
5 min read
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
•
6 min read
Law & Courts School Sports Case Reaches the Supreme Court at a Fraught Time for Trans Rights
The justices will consider state laws that bar transgender girls from participating in female sports.
Mark Walsh
•
8 min read
Fifteen year-old Becky Pepper-Jackson tosses a discus at home in West Virginia.
Fifteen-year-old Becky Pepper-Jackson tosses a discus at home in West Virginia. Her challenge to the state’s ban on transgender girls in school sports is now before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Scout Tufankjian/ACLU
Law & Courts Judge Bars Trump Admin. From Purging DEI Terms From Head Start Funding Requests
The federal judge also prohibited further layoffs of staff from the federal Office of Head Start.
The Associated Press
•
2 min read
Students ride tricycles during aftercare at a Head Start program run by Easterseals, an organization that gets about a third of its funding from the federal government, Jan. 29, 2025, in Miami.
Students ride tricycles during aftercare at a Head Start program run by Easterseals, an organization that gets about a third of its funding from the federal government, Jan. 29, 2025, in Miami.
Rebecca Blackwell/AP
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
•
4 min read
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 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
•
5 min read
The end of a bar chart made of pencils with a line graph drawn over it.
DigitalVision Vectors/Getty + Education Week

Events

Wed., January 28, 2026, 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. ET
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
College & Workforce Readiness Webinar Smarter Tools, Stronger Outcomes: Empowering CTE Educators With Future-Ready Solutions
Open doors to meaningful, hands-on careers with research-backed insights, ideas, and examples of successful CTE programs.
Content provided by Pearson
Register
Thu., January 15, 2026, 3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. ET
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 Webinar Improve Reading Comprehension: Three Tools for Working Memory Challenges
Discover three working memory workarounds to help your students improve reading comprehension and empower them on their reading journey.
Content provided by Solution Tree
Register
Wed., January 21, 2026, 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. ET
Recruitment & Retention Webinar EdRecruiter 2026 Survey Results: How School Districts are Finding and Keeping Talent
Discover the latest K-12 hiring trends from EdWeek’s nationwide survey of job seekers and district HR professionals.
Register
See More Events

More Policy & Politics

  • IQ test, paper sheet with test answer on the table
    iStock/Getty
    Law & Courts Supreme Court Weighs IQ Tests and Other School Records in Key Death Penalty Case
    The court weighs the proper role of IQ tests for defendants claiming an intellectual disability.
    Mark Walsh, December 11, 2025
    •
    8 min read
    Attendees listen to a eulogy during a memorial for Charlie Kirk hosted by the University of Texas at Dallas chapter of Turning Point USA, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025, in Richardson, Texas.
    Attendees listen to a eulogy during a memorial for Charlie Kirk hosted by the University of Texas at Dallas chapter of Turning Point USA, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025, in Richardson, Texas.
    Elías Valverde II/The Dallas Morning News via TNS
    States Texas Gov. Abbott Wants 'Disciplinary Action' for Schools That Resist Turning Point USA
    He endorsed growing the footprint of the late Charlie Kirk's organization in the state's high schools.
    Philip Jankowski, The Dallas Morning News, December 9, 2025
    •
    1 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 Standing Up to Education Groupthink
    Why is it so hard to push back on popular ideas in education, even when it’s sorely needed?
    Rick Hess, December 9, 2025
    •
    7 min read
    A U.S. Supreme Court police officer walks in front of the Supreme Court amid renovations as the justices hear oral arguments on President Donald Trump's push to expand control over independent federal agencies in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 8, 2025.
    A U.S. Supreme Court police officer walks in front of the court amid renovations in Washington, on Dec. 8, 2025. The court took several actions in education cases, including ordering a lower court to take a fresh look at a lawsuit challenging a New York state law that ended religious exemptions to school vaccinations.
    J. Scott Applewhite/AP
    Law & Courts Supreme Court Orders New Review of Religious Exemptions to School Vaccines
    The U.S. Supreme Court ordered a new look in a school vaccination case and declined to review library book removals.
    Mark Walsh, December 8, 2025
    •
    6 min read
    A student visits a sensory room at a Topeka, KS elementary school, on Nov. 3, 2021.
    A student visits a sensory room at an elementary school in Topeka, Kan., on Nov. 3, 2021. Schools have expanded their student mental health services in recent years, many with support from hundreds of millions of dollars in federal grants that the Trump administration pulled earlier this year and have since been caught up in legal proceedings.
    Charlie Riedel/AP
    Education Funding A Guide to Where School Mental Health Grants Stand After a New Legal Twist
    Temporary relief for one set of projects raises questions for other initiatives vying for federal money.
    Matthew Stone, December 8, 2025
    •
    5 min read
    First-grade student Brennen Marquardt, 6, looks out the bus window at Friess Lake Middle School on Sept. 4, 2018, the first year of operations for the newly consolidated Holy Hill district in Richfield, Wis. The district was the most recent to consolidate in Wisconsin, which is among the states where lawmakers are exploring ways to force or incentivize district mergers.
    First-grade student Brennen Marquardt, 6, looks out the bus window at Friess Lake Middle School on Sept. 4, 2018, the first year of operations for the newly consolidated Holy Hill district in Richfield, Wis. The district was the most recent to consolidate in Wisconsin, which is among the states where lawmakers are exploring ways to force or incentivize district mergers.
    John Ehlke/West Bend Daily News via AP
    States States Consider District Consolidations as Student Enrollment Drops
    Rural educators say the decision to combine school districts is a matter of local control.
    Evie Blad, December 5, 2025
    •
    8 min read
    Load More ▼

Resources

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
Budget & Finance Whitepaper Beyond the Buy: Strategic Purchasing in Postsecondary Education
This whitepaper, based on in-depth interviews with procurement professionals at colleges and universities, explores how strategic vendor ...
Content provided by Amazon Business
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
Student Well-Being & Movement Whitepaper See the Signs: A Linewize by Qoria Insights Paper
Qoria’s See the Signs Report brings together insights, trends, and signals from 1,000 schools with practical strategies to help communiti...
Content provided by Linewize
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
Mathematics Quiz Quiz Yourself: How Much Do You Know About Today’s Most Effective Math Practices?
Test your knowledge and explore what sets high-impact math instruction apart from traditional methods.
Content provided by MIND Education
Reading & Literacy Spotlight From Decoding to Growth: Every Student’s Journey Forward
This Spotlight highlights what students need to become confident and capable readers, starting with a strong foundation in decoding.
Load More ▼

EdWeek Market Brief

Read More