Sports

Learn more about student sports in and out of schools, including how athletics affect students’ health, well-being, and academic achievement

Infographic

Sports balls overlayed with data charts.
Statistics on School Sports: How Many Students Play Sports? Which Sports Do They Play?
Browse key data on school sports, including how often girls and boys are participating and which ones they are choosing to play.
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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
Education Secretary Linda McMahon accompanied by Attorney General Pam Bondi, right, speaks during a news conference at the Department of Justice headquarters in Washington, Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon, accompanied by Attorney General Pam Bondi, right, speaks during a news conference at the Department of Justice headquarters in Washington, Wednesday, April 16, 2025. The pair were announcing a lawsuit against the state of Maine over state policies that allow transgender athletes to compete in girls' sports.
Jose Luis Magana/AP
Federal Inside Trump's Full-Force Approach to Ban Trans Athletes and DEI in Schools
Trump’s return to the White House has brought a new era of aggressive investigations of entities that flout the president's orders.
Brooke Schultz, April 16, 2025
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8 min read
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 at the White House on Feb. 5, 2025, before signing an executive order barring transgender female athletes from competing in women's or girls' sporting events. Two federal agencies have found Maine in violation of Title IX for its defiance of that executive order.
Alex Brandon/AP
States Trump Admin. Gives Maine 10 Days to Bar Trans Athletes—or Risk School Funding
The finding of a Title IX violation is a test case of the president's use of federal funds as a cudgel for compliance with executive orders.
Brooke Schultz, March 19, 2025
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6 min read
Extended Student Supervisor, Trinell Lewis, speaks with students during basketball practice at Parkway Sports & Health Science Academy on Feb. 21, 2025 in La Mesa, Calif.
Trinell Lewis, the La Mesa-Spring Valley district's extended student services supervisor, speaks with students during basketball practice at Parkway Sports & Health Science Academy on Feb. 21, 2025 in La Mesa, Calif. The district teaches social-emotional skills—like resolving conflicts and handling losses—by emphasizing sportsmanship.
Ariana Drehsler for Education Week
Student Well-Being How One District Uses Sports to Teach SEL and Build Better Teammates
A California district turned to sports to help students build connections with each other and their school.
Lauraine Langreo, March 13, 2025
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7 min read
Maine's Democratic Gov. Janet Mills delivers her State of the State address, Jan. 30, 2024, at the State House in Augusta, Maine.
Maine Gov. Janet Mills delivers her State of the State address on Jan. 30, 2024, in Augusta, Maine. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services found Maine had violated Title IX just four days after Mills told President Donald Trump that she would see him in court over the state's refusal to comply with an executive order seeking to bar transgender girls from girls' sports.
Robert F. Bukaty/AP
States Does Title IX Exclude Trans Girls? A State's Defiance of Trump Could Produce an Answer
Maine is the subject of three federal probes after its governor told Trump, "we'll see you in court," over transgender athletes.
Brooke Schultz, March 7, 2025
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7 min read
President Donald Trump introduces guests as he 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 introduces guests as he 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.
Evan Vucci/AP
Law & Courts What Trump’s Trans Athlete Ban Means for Schools and States
Some athletic groups responded quickly to the executive order on transgender participation in athletics, while lawsuits are expected.
Mark Walsh, February 11, 2025
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6 min read
The exterior of the Department of Education Building in Washington, DC on Thursday, December 14, 2017.
The exterior of the Department of Education Building in Washington, DC on Thursday, Dec. 14, 2017. President Donald Trump is reportedly weighing an executive order that would lay the groundwork to eliminate the department.
Swikar Patel/Education Week
Federal Trump's 3rd Week: Restrictions on Trans Athletes and Moves to Gut the Ed. Dept.
In his third week, the president continued his foray into education, gearing up to shrink the U.S. Department of Education.
Brooke Schultz, February 7, 2025
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7 min read
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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
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4 min read
Anjali Verma, 18, takes an online calculus class after her occupational therapy appointment at the Doylestown Library in Doylestown, Pa., on Dec. 5, 2024.
Anjali Verma, 18, takes an online calculus class after her occupational therapy appointment at the Doylestown Library in Doylestown, Pa., on Dec. 5, 2024.
Michelle Gustafson for Education Week
Student Well-Being What Do Schools Owe Students With Traumatic Brain Injuries?
Physicians say students with traumatic brain injuries can fall through the cracks when returning to school.
Brooke Schultz, December 16, 2024
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8 min read
Transgenders rights supporters rally outside of the Supreme Court, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024, in Washington.
Transgender rights supporters rally outside of the U.S. Supreme Court on Dec. 4 as the court weighed a Tennessee law that restricts certain medical treatments for transgender minors.
Jose Luis Magana/AP
Law & Courts Supreme Court Case on Medical Care for Trans Youth Could Impact School Sports
The justices weigh a Tennessee law that bars certain medical treatments for transgender minors, with school issues bubbling around the case.
Mark Walsh, December 4, 2024
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8 min read
Image shows a multi-tailed arrow hitting the bullseye of a target.
DigitalVision Vectors/Getty
Student Well-Being Opinion Can Athletic Coaches Help Students Learn More in the Classroom?
School sports can provide an opportunity for mentorship.
Rick Hess, October 22, 2024
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8 min read
Arizona State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne, left, a Republican, takes the ceremonial oath of office from Arizona Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert Brutinel, right, as wife Carmen Horne, middle, holds the bible in the public inauguration ceremony at the state Capitol in Phoenix, Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023.
Arizona schools chief Tom Horne, left, takes the ceremonial oath of office at the state Capitol in Phoenix in January 2023. The Republican is the lead defendant in a lawsuit filed by two transgender girls challenging the Save Women's Sports Act, which bars transgender women and girls from female sports.
Ross D. Franklin/AP
Law & Courts Court Upholds Injunction on Arizona Transgender Sports Ban for Young Athletes
A federal appeals court upholds an injunction against an Arizona law, allowing two transgender girls to compete on female teams.
Mark Walsh, September 9, 2024
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3 min read
Benjamin C. Ingman, center, former student of Democratic vice presidential candidate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, is joined on stage by former members of the Mankato West High School football team during the Democratic National Convention Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024, in Chicago.
Benjamin C. Ingman, center, a former student of Gov. Tim Walz, the Democratic vice presidential candidate, is joined on stage by former members of the Mankato West High School football team during the Democratic National Convention Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024, in Chicago.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Federal ‘Coaching and Politics’: What Coaches See in Tim Walz's VP Candidacy
Tim Walz's experience as a football coach is viewed by fellow coaches as good preparation for national politics.
Mark Walsh, August 29, 2024
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7 min read
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