Policy & Politics

Education news, analysis, and opinion about the legislation, guidance, policies and people involved in federal and state government
Federal Opinion Should Migrant Families Pay Tuition for Public School?
The answer must reflect an outlook that is pro-immigration, pro-compassion, and pro-law and order, writes Michael J. Petrilli.
Michael J. Petrilli
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4 min read
Federal New Title IX Rule Could Actually Simplify Some Things for Districts, Lawyers Say
School districts could field more harassment complaints, but they can streamline how they handle them, according to legal experts.
Libby Stanford
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7 min read
Law & Courts Republican-Led States Sue to Block New Title IX Rule
A pair of lawsuits focus on the rule's protections for students' gender identity.
Mark Walsh
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5 min read
Federal K-12 Leaders Denounce Antisemitism But Reject That It's Rampant in Schools
Three school district leaders said they're committed to rooting out antisemitism during a hearing in Congress.
Libby Stanford
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6 min read
From left, David Banks, chancellor of New York Public schools, speaks next to Karla Silvestre, President of the Montgomery Count (Md.) Board of Education, Emerson Sykes, Staff Attorney with the ACLU, and Enikia Ford Morthel, Superintendent of the Berkeley United School District, during a hearing on antisemitism in K-12 public schools, at the House Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education, on May 8, 2024, on Capitol Hill in Washington.
From left, David Banks, chancellor of New York City schools, speaks next to Karla Silvestre, president of the Montgomery County, Md., school board; Emerson Sykes, staff attorney with the ACLU; and Enikia Ford Morthel, superintendent of the Berkeley Unified school district in Berkeley, Calif., during a hearing on antisemitism in K-12 public schools, at the House Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education, on May 8, 2024, in Washington.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP
Federal Miguel Cardona in the Hot Seat: 4 Takeaways From a Contentious House Hearing
FAFSA, rising antisemitism, and Title IX dominated questioning at a U.S. House hearing with Education Secretary Miguel Cardona.
Libby Stanford
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6 min read
Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona testifies during a House Committee on Education and Workforce hearing on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, May 7, 2024, in Washington.
U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona testifies during a House Committee on Education and Workforce hearing on Capitol Hill on May 7 in Washington.
Mariam Zuhaib/AP
Education Funding What New School Spending Data Show About a Coming Fiscal Cliff
New data show just what COVID-relief funds did to overall school spending—and the size of the hole they might leave in school budgets.
Mark Lieberman
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4 min read
Photo illustration of school building and piggy bank.
F. Sheehan for Education Week + iStock / Getty Images Plus
Federal Arming Teachers Could Cause 'Accidents and More Tragedy,' Miguel Cardona Says
"This is not in my opinion a smart option,” the education secretary said at an EdWeek event.
Mark Lieberman
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4 min read
U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona speaks during Education Week’s 2024 Leadership Symposium at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City in Arlington, Va., on May 2, 2024.
U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona speaks during Education Week’s 2024 Leadership Symposium at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City in Arlington, Va., on May 2, 2024.
Sam Mallon/Education Week

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More Policy & Politics

  • Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters presides over a special state Board of Education meeting on April 12, 2023, in Oklahoma City.
    Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters presides over a state Board of Education meeting about Title IX regulations on April 12, 2023, in Oklahoma City. The state is among several whose leaders plan to defy new Biden administration regulations on Title IX, which covers sex discrimination.
    Sue Ogrocki/AP
    States States Direct Districts to Defy New Title IX Rule on Transgender Students
    Some districts could be in a perilous legal squeeze play between their states and the feds.
    Evie Blad, April 26, 2024
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    4 min read
    Photo of superintendent meeting with staff.
    E+ / Getty
    States Superintendent Vacancies Are High. Is Loosening Requirements a Good Idea?
    Wisconsin's governor, a former educator, vetoed a bill that would have waived licensure requirements for district leaders.
    Evie Blad, April 22, 2024
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    3 min read
    Image shows a multi-tailed arrow hitting the bullseye of a target.
    DigitalVision Vectors/Getty
    Policy & Politics Opinion Where Do Democrats Stand on Education?
    The politics of education reform have shifted drastically since the Obama era. How has one Democratic education group responded?
    Rick Hess, April 22, 2024
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    7 min read
    Demonstrators advocating for transgender rights and healthcare stand outside of the Ohio Statehouse on Jan. 24, 2024, in Columbus, Ohio. The rights of LGBTQ+ students will be protected by federal law and victims of campus sexual assault will gain new safeguards under rules finalized Friday, April19, 2024, by the Biden administration. Notably absent from Biden’s policy, however, is any mention of transgender athletes.
    Demonstrators advocating for transgender rights and healthcare stand outside of the Ohio Statehouse on Jan. 24, 2024, in Columbus, Ohio. The rights of LGBTQ+ students will be protected by federal law and victims of campus sexual assault will gain new safeguards under rules finalized Friday, April19, 2024, by the Biden administration. Notably absent from Biden’s policy, however, is any mention of transgender athletes.
    Patrick Orsagos/AP
    Federal New Title IX Rule Has Explicit Ban on Discrimination of LGBTQ+ Students
    The new rule, while long awaited, stops short of addressing the thorny issue of transgender athletes' participation in sports.
    Libby Stanford, April 19, 2024
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    6 min read
    Light illuminates part of the Supreme Court building at dusk on Capitol Hill in Washington, Nov. 16, 2022.
    Light illuminates part of the Supreme Court building at dusk on Capitol Hill in Washington, Nov. 16, 2022. The high court on Wednesday, April 17, 2024, made it easier for workers, including educators, to sue over job transfers.
    Patrick Semansky/AP
    Law & Courts Why It Will Now Be Easier for Educators to Sue Over Job Transfers
    The case asked whether transferred employees had to show a 'significant' change in job conditions to sue under Title VII. The court said no.
    Mark Walsh, April 17, 2024
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    8 min read
    Illustration of many roads and road signs going in different directions with falling money all around.
    iStock/Getty
    Education Funding When There's More Money for Schools, Is There an 'Objective' Way to Hand It Out?
    A fight over the school funding formula in Mississippi is kicking up old debates over how to best target aid.
    Mark Lieberman, April 17, 2024
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    7 min read
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Classroom Technology Spotlight Spotlight on Empowering Educators and Engaging Students
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  • Stockton Unified School District's new electric bus fleet reduces over 120,000 pounds of carbon emissions and leverages The Mobility House's smart charging and energy management system.
    A new rule from the Environmental Protection Agency sets higher fuel efficiency standards for heavy-duty vehicles. By 2032, it projects, 40 percent of new medium heavy-duty vehicles, including school buses, will be electric.
    Business Wire via AP
    Federal Electric School Buses Get a Boost From New State and Federal Policies
    New federal standards for emissions could accelerate the push to produce buses that run on clean energy.
    Mark Lieberman, April 2, 2024
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    3 min read
    Image shows a multi-tailed arrow hitting the bullseye of a target.
    DigitalVision Vectors/Getty
    Policy & Politics Opinion What Do Leading Edu-Scholars Think About DEI, Reading, and Research?
    An informal survey of the 2024 RHSU Edu-Scholars reveals vast differences in their perspectives.
    Rick Hess, April 1, 2024
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    3 min read
    President Joe Biden delivers a speech about healthcare at an event in Raleigh, N.C., on March 26, 2024.
    President Joe Biden delivers a speech about health care at an event in Raleigh, N.C., on March 26. Biden signed a funding package into law over the weekend that keeps the federal government open through September but includes a slight decrease in the Education Department's budget.
    Matt Kelley/AP
    Education Funding Education Dept. Sees Small Cut in Funding Package That Averted Government Shutdown
    The Education Department will see a reduction even as the funding package provides for small increases to key K-12 programs.
    Matthew Stone, March 27, 2024
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    3 min read
    Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally, March 9, 2024, in Rome Ga.
    Former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally, March 9, 2024, in Rome, Ga. Allies of the former president have assembled a detailed policy agenda for every corner of the federal government with the idea that it would be ready for a conservative president to use at the start of a new term next year.
    Mike Stewart/AP
    Federal What Would Happen to K-12 in a 2nd Trump Term? A Detailed Policy Agenda Offers Clues
    A conservative policy agenda could offer the clearest view yet of K-12 education in a second Trump term.
    Matthew Stone, March 25, 2024
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    8 min read
    Image shows a multi-tailed arrow hitting the bullseye of a target.
    DigitalVision Vectors/Getty
    Federal Opinion Student Literacy Rates Are Concerning. How Can We Turn This Around?
    The ranking Republican senator on the education committee wants to hear from educators and families about making improvements.
    Rick Hess, March 25, 2024
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    6 min read
    Heidi Griebel and Josie Wahl participate in carpentry class at Career and Technical Education Academy in Sioux Falls, S.D., on Jan. 7, 2019.
    Heidi Griebel and Josie Wahl participate in carpentry class at Career and Technical Education Academy in Sioux Falls, S.D., on Jan. 7, 2019. CTE programs were a core theme of several governors' state addresses in 2024.
    Loren Townsley/The Argus Leader via AP
    States Republican and Democratic Governors Both Are Touting This K-12 Priority
    Workforce readiness and career and technical education were the most common education themes in governors' state of the state addresses.
    Evie Blad, March 20, 2024
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    6 min read
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EdWeek Market Brief

Purchasing Alert Ore. System to Buy Outdoor School Programming; Virginia District Needs Consulting Services
A district in Oregon is looking for outdoor school programming, while a Virginia school system seeks consulting services for facilitating focus group discussions.
Michelle Caffrey
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2 min read
Purchasing Alert Mississippi District Seeks Universal Screener; Maryland System Looks for Summer Learning
A Mississippi district is looking for a web-based universal screener and personalized instructional program, while a Maryland school system seeks a summer extended learning program.
Emma Kate Fittes
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2 min read
Marketplace K-12 Ed-Tech Investor Trades Longshot Presidential Campaign for Youth Advocacy Project
Jason Palmer's new public benefit corporation and PAC is focused on increasing the youth voting and activism political spectrum.
Michelle Caffrey
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3 min read
Marketplace K-12 EdWeek Market Brief Wins National Award for Best Industry Coverage
The Neal Awards, established in 1955, recognize outstanding business journalism.
Sean Cavanagh
•
1 min read
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