State Policy

Read more about state laws, regulations, and programs that impact education
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Gov. Gavin Newsom makes a point at the opening of the San Quentin Learning Center in San Quentin, Calif., on Feb. 20, 2026. Newsom has championed a move that will place the California education department under the authority of a governor-appointed education commissioner starting next year.
JOSÉ LUIS VILLEGAS via TNS
States The Elected Superintendent in This State Will Have Little Power Over Schools
The nation's largest state is the latest to give its governor more power over its schools.
Jennifer Vilcarino, July 9, 2026
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5 min read
A kindergartener in a play-based learning class rolls out Play-Doh at Symonds Elementary School in Keene, N.H. on Nov. 7, 2024. Jessica Arrow, who teaches the kindergarten class, has been advocating for play-based learning initiatives in the state.
A kindergartener in a play-based learning class rolls out Play-Doh at Symonds Elementary School in Keene, N.H., on Nov. 7, 2024. Jessica Arrow, who teaches the kindergarten class, has been advocating for play-based learning initiatives in the state.
Sophie Park for Education Week
Early Childhood Academic Pressure is Driving—and Preventing—The Return to Play in Kindergarten
A new report examines the impact of one state's efforts to return play to kindergarten.
Elizabeth Heubeck, July 7, 2026
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4 min read
A group prays outside of the Supreme Court ahead of the court's ruling on whether transgender girls and women can play on school athletic teams, on June 30, 2026, on Capitol Hill in Washington.
A group prays outside of the U.S. Supreme Court ahead of the court's ruling on whether transgender girls and women can play on school athletic teams, on June 30, 2026, in Washington. The court upheld two state laws barring transgender girls from joining girls' school sports teams.
Jose Luis Magana/AP
Law & Courts What Schools Need to Know About the Supreme Court’s Transgender Sports Ruling
The justices upheld two state laws that bar transgender girls from participating in female sports.
Mark Walsh, July 2, 2026
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10 min read
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, gives his last May revise in the Swing Space on Thursday, May 14, 2026 , in Sacramento, Calif.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks in Sacramento, Calif., on May 14, 2026. Newsom and legislative leaders pushed for a policy passed as part of the state budget that will scale back the authority of the elected state superintendent.
Hector Amezcua/The Sacramento Bee via TNS
States The Nation's Largest State Strips Most Power From Elected Schools Superintendent
The state superintendent's authority will transfer to an appointee of the governor starting next year.
Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times, July 2, 2026
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5 min read
A look at the 2025 NEA Annual Meeting & Representative Assembly in Portland, Ore.
Thousands of educators turn out each year for the National Education Association's Representative Assembly; last year's, shown here in this July 3, 2025 photo, took place in Portland, Ore.
Kaylee Domzalski/Education Week
Teaching Profession Nation’s Largest Teachers’ Union Will Elect New Leader at Annual Confab
A primer to this year's nearly 7,000-delegate National Education Association Representative Assembly.
Sarah D. Sparks, July 1, 2026
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5 min read
Katherine Alfaro works with students at Russellville Elementary School, in Russellville, Ala., Aug. 9, 2022. Alfaro is an aide for English Language Learner students, many of whom speak Spanish at home. Russellville schools have the highest percentage of English Language Learners of any district in the state, and officials there have invested in aides and teachers who know how to work with those students.
Katherine Alfaro works with students at Russellville Elementary School, in Russellville, Ala., Aug. 9, 2022. Alfaro is an aide for English learners, many of whom speak Spanish at home. English-learner education is not immune to anti-DEI policies and politics, according to a new research study.
Rebecca Griesbach/AL.com via AP
States Anti-DEI Efforts Reshape How States Serve English Learners
A new research study shed light on how anti-DEI policies affect English-learner education.
Ileana Najarro, June 30, 2026
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5 min read
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The Vermont State House in Montpelier, Vt., on Friday, July 12, 2024. Vermont last week became the first state to enact rules restricting scholarships awarded under a new federal school choice program to public school and low-income students.
Ted Shaffrey/AP Photo
School Choice & Charters A State's New Law Sets Up Clash With Trump's School Choice Program Rules
A state passed new requirements if it opts in to the new federal scholarship tax credit program.
Matthew Stone, June 23, 2026
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6 min read
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State Board of Education Vice Chair Pam Little votes on a proposed required reading list during a meeting at the Barbara Jordan Building in Austin, Texas, on Tuesday, June 23, 2026. Critics have argued that both the list and proposed social studies standards attempt to embed religious teaching in public school classrooms.
Jay Janner /Austin American-Statesman via AP
Social Studies Why Texas' Fight Over Social Studies Standards Has National Consequences
The Texas State Board of Education is poised to vote on a new set of controversial social studies standards this week.
Sarah Schwartz, June 23, 2026
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10 min read
Secretary of Education Linda McMahon outside the White House, Wednesday, June 10, 2026, in Washington. Today, the U.S. Department of Education approved Indiana’s Returning Education to the States Waiver, empowering Indiana’s education leaders with greater discretion over their federal education dollars and more flexibility to prioritize college and career readiness in Indiana’s high school accountability system on June 16, 2026.
Secretary of Education Linda McMahon outside the White House on June 10, 2026, in Washington. McMahon was in Indiana on Tuesday to announce the state had secured the broadest waiver yet from federal school accountability and funding requirements. It's the third waiver the Trump administration has issued allowing a state relief from federal education requirements.
Julia Demaree Nikhinson /AP
Every Student Succeeds Act Trump Admin. Issues Broadest Waiver Yet on School Accountability, Funding
A third state secured new flexibility on how it spends federal school funds and rates high schools.
Matthew Stone & Stephen Sawchuk, June 16, 2026
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6 min read
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Vanessa Solis/Education Week + iStock/Getty
Student Achievement Opinion Teen Math and Reading Scores Prove It: We Have a Middle School Problem
Younger students show signs of learning recovery, while teens are left behind. How can we fix that?
Kymyona Burk, June 15, 2026
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5 min read
Gov. Tina Kotek speaks at a meeting of the Oregon Prosperity Council in Portland on Jan. 22 . In a new poll of Portland metro area voters, only a third of respondents said they have a positive opinion of Kotek.
Gov. Tina Kotek of Oregon speaks at a meeting of the Oregon Prosperity Council in Portland on Jan. 22. 2026. Kotek said Friday she wouldn't opt Oregon in to a new federal tax credit program that, starting next year, will bankroll scholarships for K-12 students that can cover private school tuition, home-school expenses in some states, and certain expenses for public school students.
Mark Graves/The Oregonian via TNS
School Choice & Charters Another Democratic-Leaning State Will Pass on the Federal School Choice Program
Thirty-one states are on track to participate in the first federal tax-credit scholarship program.
Matthew Stone, June 12, 2026
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4 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 Opinion How State Courts Are Quietly Shaping U.S. Education
In education, the real action is often at the state level, not in Washington, explains Derek Black.
Rick Hess, June 9, 2026
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8 min read
A waterfront home, photographed on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Governor DeSantis has pushed property-tax reform for over a year. “The property tax has become a big, big burden for millions of people in this state,” he said on June 1 in highlighting his proposal, which would expand the homestead exemption for property taxes from the current $25,000 to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028.
A waterfront home in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., photographed on Tuesday, May 5, 2026. Gov. Ron DeSantis called a special legislative session this month to consider a major property-tax reduction measure. Lawmakers scaled it back to shield property taxes that make up almost half of school budgets statewide.
Phelan M. Ebenhack via AP
States A State Puts Property-Tax Cuts on the Ballot This Fall—But Shields Schools
Florida lawmakers turned down a more sweeping property-tax reduction plan, leaving school taxes alone.
Mark Walsh, June 8, 2026
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3 min read
The State Board of Education meeting room is pictured on Sept. 26, 2022 inside the William B Travis Building (which houses the Texas Education Agency) in downtown Austin, Texas .
The Texas State Board of Education meeting room is pictured on Sept. 26, 2022, inside the William B. Travis Building in downtown Austin, Texas. The board will vote later this month on revised standards and a required reading list that include biblical passages.
Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News via TNS
States Texas Considers a Bigger Role for Christianity in Schools This Month. Here's How
The state board will vote on a required reading list that includes biblical passages.
Silas Allen, The Dallas Morning News, June 5, 2026
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7 min read