Policy & Politics

Education news, analysis, and opinion about the legislation, guidance, policies and people involved in federal and state government
School Choice & Charters Federal Program Will Bring Private School Choice to At Least 4 New States
More state decisions on opting into the first federal private school choice program are rolling in.
Matthew Stone
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6 min read
Law & Courts The Stark Divide in the States Recouping K-12 Grants Cut by Trump's Ed. Dept.
A fifth of lawsuits challenging Trump admin. education policies have come from multistate coalitions.
Matthew Stone
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8 min read
Federal Trump Admin. Drops Legal Appeal Over Anti-DEI Funding Threat to Schools and Colleges
It leaves in place a federal judge’s decision finding that the anti-DEI effort violated the First Amendment and federal procedural rules.
The Associated Press
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1 min read
Education Funding Trump Slashed Billions for Education in 2025. See Our List of Affected Grants
We've tabulated the grant programs that have had awards terminated over the past year. See our list.
Mark Lieberman
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8 min read
Photo collage of 3 photos. Clockwise from left: Scarlett Rasmussen, 8, tosses a ball with other classmates underneath a play structure during recess at Parkside Elementary School on May 17, 2023, in Grants Pass, Ore. Chelsea Rasmussen has fought for more than a year for her daughter, Scarlett, to attend full days at Parkside. A proposed ban on transgender athletes playing female school sports in Utah would affect transgender girls like this 12-year-old swimmer seen at a pool in Utah on Feb. 22, 2021. A Morris-Union Jointure Commission student is seen playing a racing game in the e-sports lab at Morris-Union Jointure Commission in Warren, N.J., on Jan. 15, 2025.
Federal education grant terminations and disruptions during the Trump administration's first year touched programs training teachers, expanding social services in schools, bolstering school mental health services, and more. Affected grants were spread across more than a dozen federal agencies.
Clockwise from left: Lindsey Wasson; Michelle Gustafson for Education Week
Federal Quiz Quiz Yourself: How Polarized Do You Think Educators Are?
The EdWeek Research Center examined the degree to which K-12 educators are split along partisan lines. Quiz yourself and see the results.
Elle Butler
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1 min read
Law & Courts TikTok Settles as Social Media Giants Face Landmark Trial Over Youth Addiction Claims
Trial centers on criticisms that the platforms deliberately addict and harm children.
The Associated Press
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5 min read
Social Media Kids Ohio 24005836447288
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Federal Could Another Federal Shutdown Affect Education? What We Know
After federal agents shot a Minneapolis man on Saturday, Democrats are now pulling support for a spending bill due by Friday.
Mark Lieberman
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5 min read
The US Capitol is seen on Jan. 22, 2026, in Washington. Another federal shutdown that could impact education looms and could begin as soon as this weekend.
The U.S. Capitol is seen on Jan. 22, 2026, in Washington. Another federal shutdown that could affect education looms if senators don't pass a funding bill by this weekend.
Mariam Zuhaib/AP

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Discover strategies that K-12 districts have utilized inside and outside the classroom to establish a positive school climate.
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More Policy & Politics

Resources

Student Well-Being & Movement Spotlight Spotlight on The Science of Self-Regulation: The Missing Foundation of Academic Success
This Spotlight focuses on ways to build students’ self-management skills, a foundational predictor of academic success.
Reading & Literacy Quiz Quiz Yourself: Is Your Literacy Plan on Track?
Where does your literacy strategy and goals stand? Is it going well, or does it need a little retooling?
Professional Development Spotlight Spotlight on Effective Professional Development: Teacher Voice, Collaboration, and Sustainable Change
This Spotlight examines how successful PD is increasingly driven by teacher leadership, collaboration, and intentional district design.
Reading & Literacy Quiz Quiz Yourself: Is Your District Truly Science of Reading Aligned?
Answer questions on the science of reading alignment in your district, including classroom materials, achievement data, and regulations.
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  • A group of California parents has asked the nation's highest court to reinstate a federal district court decision that said parents have a federal constitutional right to be informed by schools of any gender nonconformity and social transitions by their children. The Supreme Court building is seen on Jan. 13, 2026, in Washington.
    A group of California parents has asked the nation's highest court, whose building is shown on Jan. 13, 2026, to reinstate a federal district court decision that said parents have a federal constitutional right to be informed by schools of any gender nonconformity or social transition by their children.
    Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP
    Law & Courts Parents Ask Supreme Court to Restore Ruling on Gender Disclosure
    Parents asked the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene over school gender-identity policies in California.
    Mark Walsh, January 14, 2026
    •
    4 min read
    Becky Pepper-Jackson holds hands with her mother Heather Jackson outside the Supreme Court after arguments over state laws barring transgender girls and women from playing on school athletic teams on Jan. 13, 2026, in Washington.
    Becky Pepper-Jackson holds hands with her mother, Heather Jackson, outside the U.S. Supreme Court after arguments over state laws barring transgender girls and women from playing on female athletic teams on Jan. 13, 2026, in Washington.
    Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP
    Law & Courts Supreme Court Signals Support for State Bans on Trans Girls in Sports
    The U.S. Supreme Court weighed Idaho and West Virginia laws that bar transgender girls from sports.
    Mark Walsh, January 13, 2026
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    7 min read
    President Donald Trump signs his signature bill of tax breaks and spending cuts at the White House on July 4, 2025, in Washington.
    President Donald Trump signs his signature bill of tax breaks and spending cuts, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, at the White House on July 4, 2025, in Washington. States are considering whether to incorporate the tax changes into their own tax codes, which will results in lower state revenue collections that could strain school budgets.
    Evan Vucci/AP
    Education Funding Schools Brace for Mid-Year Cuts as 'Big, Beautiful Bill' Changes Begin
    State decisions on incorporating federal tax cuts into their own tax codes could strain school budgets.
    Mark Lieberman, January 13, 2026
    •
    7 min read
    School bus outside Patterson High School in St. Mary Parish, in Louisiana.
    School bus outside Patterson High School in St. Mary Parish, in Louisiana.
    Brad Kemp/The Advocate
    Law & Courts After 60 Years, a Louisiana District Fights to Exit Federal Desegregation Order
    St. Mary Parish is on the frontlines of a legal battle to end ongoing school desegregation cases dating back to the civil rights era.
    Patrick Wall, The Advocate, Baton Rouge, La., January 12, 2026
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    6 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 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, January 9, 2026
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    8 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
    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, January 9, 2026
    •
    2 min read
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EdWeek Market Brief

Regulation & Policy K-12 Insider How Michigan's Process for Building Approved Literacy Materials Lists Is Raising the Bar for Companies
The state of Michigan is sending a clear message to education companies providing literacy materials and assessments, and it boils down to this: Get your evidence in order.
Emma Kate Fittes
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9 min read
Product Development Industry Insight Education Companies Can Learn A Lot From Their End-Users — Students. Here's How
If K-12 students were involved in the development of the education technology products they use every day, would it contribute to better literacy rates?
Ruksana Hussain
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7 min read
Regulation & Policy Market Analysis Texas’ Revamped Adoption System Raises Stakes for Publishers, With First Curriculum Bans Looming
The latest twist for publishers navigating Texas’ still-evolving curriculum adoption process comes via a new state law that bans curriculum placed on the state’s rejected list.
David Saleh Rauf
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7 min read
Regulation & Policy K-12 Market News Report Shows Few Districts Are Ready For Looming Accessibility Compliance Deadline — And How Vendors Can Help
New data shows that many school districts will likely have to make changes to how they evaluate digital products to meet new federal rules by April.
Alexandria Ng
•
2 min read
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