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
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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
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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
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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

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More Policy & Politics

  • President Donald Trump speaks before signing an executive order barring transgender female athletes from competing in women's or girls' sporting events, in the East Room of the White House, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025, in Washington.
    President Donald Trump speaks before signing an executive order barring transgender female athletes from competing in women's or girls' sporting events, in the East Room of the White House, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025, in Washington.
    Alex Brandon/AP
    Federal Trump Threatens Funds to Schools That Let Trans Athletes Compete on Girls' Teams
    The sweeping order is a reversal from the Biden administration, and continues efforts from Trump to roll back protections for transgender youth and adults.
    Brooke Schultz, February 5, 2025
    •
    4 min read
    Two 5 year old children sitting at a table in preschool playing with colorful toys. The boy is connecting flexible tubes, and his friend, a girl, is wearing a crown made of tubes her head.
    E+/Getty
    Education Funding Dozens of Head Start Programs Still Aren't Receiving Promised Federal Funds
    Some providers of pre-K and child care have waited more than a week for federal reimbursements that typically arrive in 24 hours.
    Mark Lieberman, February 5, 2025
    •
    11 min read
    The U.S. Department of Education in Washington, D.C., is pictured on Feb. 21, 2021.
    The U.S. Department of Education in Washington, D.C., is pictured on Feb. 21, 2021. President Donald Trump could issue an executive order to downsize the department. It would have limitations.
    Graeme Sloan/Sipa USA via AP
    Federal Can Trump Ax the Education Department Without Congress?
    Trump has been flexing his power through executive orders, and there's the potential for one targeting the Education Department.
    Brooke Schultz, February 5, 2025
    •
    7 min read
    Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Mich., speaks during an event at the COP28 U.N. Climate Summit on Dec. 9, 2023, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
    Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Mich., speaks at the U.N. Climate Summit on Dec. 9, 2023, in Dubai. Walberg, the newly minted chair of the U.S. House's education and workforce committee, said at a Tuesday event that he wouldn't stand in the way of President Donald Trump's efforts to diminish or close the U.S. Department of Education.
    Joshua A. Bickel/AP
    Federal Top House Lawmaker Supports Trump's Bid to 'Depower' Education Department
    The House education committee chairman believes "even the best-meaning bureaucrat" can't understand what's happening in local schools.
    Alyson Klein, February 4, 2025
    •
    5 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 How Blind Partisanship Harms Schooling
    No one political party enjoys a monopoly on truth, good intentions, or rightness
    Rick Hess, February 4, 2025
    •
    9 min read
    Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump arrives at an election night watch party at the Palm Beach Convention Center on Nov. 6, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Fla.
    Donald Trump arrives at an election night watch party at the Palm Beach Convention Center on Nov. 6, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Fla. Trump's second week in the White House featured his first direct foray into policymaking aimed directly at schools.
    Evan Vucci/AP
    Federal Title IX, School Choice, ‘Indoctrination’—How Trump Took on Schools in Week 2
    It was a week in which the newly inaugurated president began wholeheartedly to act on his agenda for schools.
    Brooke Schultz, January 31, 2025
    •
    8 min read
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