Policy & Politics

Education news, analysis, and opinion about the legislation, guidance, policies and people involved in federal and state government
States Zohran Mamdani Picks Manhattan Superintendent as NYC Schools Chancellor
Kamar Samuels is a veteran educator of the nation's largest school system.
Cayla Bamberger & Chris Sommerfeldt, New York Daily News
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2 min read
Education Funding ‘Terminated on a Whim’: The AFT Sues Trump’s Ed. Dept. Over Funding Cuts
The AFT and a Chicago-area nonprofit argue the cuts happened without following required procedures.
Lauraine Langreo & Caitlynn Peetz Stephens
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4 min read
States Undocumented Students Still Have a Right to Education. Will That Change in 2026?
State-level challenges to a landmark 1982 Supreme Court ruling are on the rise.
Ileana Najarro
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4 min read
Federal Video School Funding: The 3 Big Questions to Watch in 2026
2025 was a disruptive year for school funding, here's what we're anticipating in the year ahead.
Mark Lieberman & Yi-Jo Shen
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2:13
Illustration in blue of huge hands holding money as silhouette people run towards it.
iStock/Getty
Policy & Politics Opinion The 2026 RHSU Edu-Scholar Public Influence Scoring Formula
Rick Hess unveils the 2026 RHSU Edu-Scholar rankings tomorrow. Here's his methodology.
Rick Hess
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8 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 What It Takes to Be an Effective Education Scholar
The 2026 RHSU Scholar Rankings will be released soon. How do the top researchers attain influence?
Rick Hess
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3 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 Appeals Court Halts Ruling Letting Teachers Disclose Students' Gender Identity
A federal appeals court has temporarily paused enforcement of the ruling but has not yet decided whether to grant a longer-term stay.
Kristen Taketa, The San Diego Union-Tribune
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3 min read
Students carrying pride and transgender flags leave Great Oak High School in Temecula, Calif., on Sept. 22, 2023, after walking out of the school in protest of the Temecula school district policy requiring parents to be notified if their child identifies as transgender.
Students carrying pride and transgender flags leave Great Oak High School in Temecula, Calif., on Sept. 22, 2023, after walking out of the school in protest of the Temecula school district policy requiring parents to be notified if their child identifies as transgender.
Anjali Sharif-Paul/The Orange County Register via AP

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More Policy & Politics

  • Image of the White House, Capitol, the Supreme Court building, and a school.
    Laura Baker/Education Week via Canva.
    Federal How Trump Has Changed Schools in His First 100 Days: A Timeline
    Schools have experienced an unprecedented quantity and velocity of K-12 policy shifts in President Donald Trump’s first 100 days.
    Jennifer Vilcarino, April 29, 2025
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    1 min read
    Chiefs signs and logos are at Massapequa High School in Massapequa, N.Y., on April 25, 2025.
    Chiefs signs and logos are at Massapequa High School in Massapequa, N.Y., on April 25, 2025.
    Ted Shaffrey/AP
    Federal Trump Wades Into DEI Fight Over Native American Mascots in Schools
    Scholars and Native American activists have long pushed back on schools’ use of such images.
    Brooke Schultz, April 28, 2025
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    6 min read
    The Tharpe family, pictured outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, on April 28, 2025.
    Gina and Aaron Tharpe appear outside the U.S. Supreme Court on April 28 with their daughter Ava, who has a severe form of epilepsy. The court is weighing what liability standard should apply to the suit for damages they filed against their school district.
    Mark Walsh/Education Week
    Law & Courts Supreme Court Poised to Back Student in Key Disability-Rights Case
    The U.S. Supreme Court considered what liability standard should apply for cases brought by students under two key federal disability laws.
    Mark Walsh, April 28, 2025
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    6 min read
    Willow Palmer, 5, at right, comforts classmate River Yang, 3, as he sits in the safe place nook at the Meadow Lakes CCS Early Learning, a Head Start center, May 6, 2024, in Wasilla, Alaska.
    Willow Palmer, 5, at right, comforts classmate River Yang, 3, as he sits in the safe place nook at the Meadow Lakes CCS Early Learning, a Head Start center, on May 6, 2024 in Wasilla, Alaska. Since the start of the Trump administration, Head Start programs have had difficulty accessing their funding and have lost many of the federal contacts they worked with due to layoffs at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Now, they're anticipating a budget proposal from the White House that eliminates funding for the early childhood program.
    Lindsey Wasson/AP
    Education Funding Trump Wants to Gut Head Start. He's Already Begun
    More than 800,000 students would lose access to early childhood education if Trump's draft budget proposal is enacted.
    Mark Lieberman, April 28, 2025
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    11 min read
    Supreme Court 25091823131249
    The U.S. Supreme Court is seen in Washington on April 1, 2025. The court on April 30 will take up a much-debated case about whether a state must allow a religious charter school.
    Law & Courts Supreme Court Case Could Reshape Landscape for Charter and Religious Schools
    The U.S. Supreme Court on April 30 will take up the much-debated case of a Roman Catholic charter school in Oklahoma.
    Mark Walsh, April 28, 2025
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    9 min read
    The U.S. Department of Education in Washington pictured on Friday, March 28, 2025, during a rally to support departing employees.
    The U.S. Department of Education in Washington pictured on Friday, March 28, 2025, during a rally to support departing employees. A federal judge on Friday questioned the Trump administration's arguments in favor of dismantling the federal agency.
    Moriah Ratner for Education Week
    Law & Courts Judge Casts Doubt on Trump’s Authority to Gut Education Dept. Staff
    Twenty-one states and a coalition of unions and school districts are challenging the president's dismantling of the Education Department.
    Mark Lieberman, April 25, 2025
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    3 min read
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This Spotlight highlights what students need to become confident and capable readers, starting with a strong foundation in decoding.
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  • The Tahoe Truckee Unified School district holds a meeting on Dec. 17, 2025, in Truckee, Calif.
    The Tahoe Truckee Unified School district holds a meeting on Dec. 17, 2025, in Truckee, Calif.
    Brooke Hess-Homeier/AP
    States A School District Is 'Stuck' Between 2 States' Competing Trans Athlete Rules
    The district is located in one state, but competes with teams in another that has adopted different rules.
    The Associated Press, December 19, 2025
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    4 min read
    Genesis Olivio and her daughter Arlette, 2, read a book together in a room within the community hub at John H. Amesse Elementary School on March 13, 2024 in Denver. Denver Public Schools has six community hubs across the district that have serviced 3,000 new students since October 2023. Each community hub has different resources for families and students catering to what the community needs.
    Genesis Olivio and daughter Arlette, 2, read a book in one of Denver Public Schools' community hubs in March 2024. The community hubs, which offer food pantries, GED classes, and other services, are similar to what schools across the country have developed with the help of federal Community Schools grants, many of which the U.S. Department of Education has prematurely terminated.
    Rebecca Slezak For Education Week
    Education Funding 'A Gut Punch’: What Trump’s New $168 Million Cut Means for Community Schools
    School districts in 11 states will imminently lose federal funds that help them cover staff salaries.
    Mark Lieberman, December 18, 2025
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    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
    Federal Opinion Rick Hess' Top 10 Hits of 2025
    In a year full of education news, what cut through the noise?
    Rick Hess, December 18, 2025
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    2 min read
    Conceptual illustration of classroom conversations and fragmented education elements coming together to form a cohesive picture of a book of classroom knowledge.
    Sonia Pulido for Education Week
    Policy & Politics Opinion Larry Ferlazzo’s 10 Education Predictions for 2026
    Gazing into his crystal ball, Larry Ferlazzo divines what's ahead for education next year.
    Larry Ferlazzo, December 18, 2025
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    3 min read
    A vial of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine is on display at the Lubbock Health Department, Feb. 26, 2025, in Lubbock, Texas.
    A vial of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine is on display at the Lubbock Health Department on Feb. 26, 2025, in Lubbock, Texas. A new study examined the degree to which school absences surged during a measles outbreak earlier this year in West Texas.
    Mary Conlon/AP
    States A Study Shows Just How Much School Absences Soar in a Measles Outbreak
    The research offers a glimpse at the toll on student learning from the spread of measles.
    The Associated Press, December 17, 2025
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    4 min read
    Parents attend a basic facts bee at Stevenson Elementary School in Southfield, Mich., on Feb. 28, 2024.
    Parents attend a "basic facts" bee at Stevenson Elementary School in Southfield, Mich., on Feb. 28, 2024. The school has been a recipient of a federal Full-Services Community Schools grant that has allowed it to add an on-site health clinic, a parent-resource room, a therapy dog, and other services parents would otherwise have to seek elsewhere.
    Samuel Trotter for Education Week
    Education Funding Federal Funds for Community Schools Fall Victim to a New Round of Trump Cuts
    The latest round of grant cuts hits a program that helps schools provide more social services on site.
    Mark Lieberman, December 15, 2025
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    6 min read
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