Washington

News, analysis, and opinion about K-12 education in Washington
Image of a student using their phone in bed at night.
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Classroom Technology This School District Wants Students to Turn Off Their Phones and Sleep
Parents and students are learning about the importance of device-free bedrooms.
Alyson Klein, May 5, 2026
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6 min read
Image of a student sitting on a stoop with a school bus in the distance. Ghosted in the background is the Capitol building.
Illustration by Laura Baker/Education Week + Getty + Canva
States With Federal Commitment Shaky, States Move to Codify Protections for Homeless Students
Washington and Oregon have taken action, and others states are considering moves of their own.
Evie Blad, April 23, 2026
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4 min read
Wed., April 15, 2026, 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. ET
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New military recruits take the Oath of Office during a swearing in ceremony at a Salute to Service event at an NFL football game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Minnesota Vikings, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024, in Jacksonville.
New military recruits take the Oath of Office during a swearing-in ceremony on Nov. 10, 2024, in Jacksonville, Fla. States' education plans call for tracking students paths from the classroom to college, career, or the military, but they've struggled to access enlistment data from the U.S. Department of Defense. Through a new agreement, five states will pilot a data-sharing process with the Pentagon with hopes to expand to additional states.
Phelan M. Ebenhack/AP
States What Happens to Students Who Join the Military? A New Effort Aims to Find Out
A pilot will allow states to use Pentagon data to track students from the classroom to the military.
Evie Blad, March 18, 2026
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3 min read
Students at Glover Middle School in Spokane, Wash. make bookmarks and snowflakes during Falcon Time on Dec. 3, 2025.
Students at Glover Middle School in Spokane, Wash. make bookmarks and snowflakes during Falcon Time on Dec. 3, 2025. The district has sought to encourage students to spend less time on devices.
Kaylee Domzalski/Education Week
Student Well-Being & Movement Q&A Cellphones: The 'Most Formidable Adversary' Schools Have Ever Faced
The Spokane schools in Washington paired cellphone restrictions with expanded extracurricular activities.
Alyson Klein, February 20, 2026
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5 min read
Students celebrate at the end of basketball club at Adams Elementary School on Dec. 5, 2025.
Students celebrate at the end of basketball club at Adams Elementary School on Dec. 5, 2025. The Spokane district has significantly invested in extracurriculars to help limit students' screen time, and their elementary schools are no exception.
Kaylee Domzalski/Education Week
Student Well-Being & Movement ‘Great Lifelong Habits’: How This District Is Keeping Young Kids Off Screens
Can a massive expansion of extracurricular activities help build social-emotional skills in early grades?
Alyson Klein, January 26, 2026
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6 min read
Natalie Marshall chats with a North Central High School student athlete on a field trip to Glover Middle School on Dec. 4, 2025.
Natalie Marshall chats with a North Central High School student athlete on a field trip to Glover Middle School on Dec. 4, 2025.
Kaylee Domzalski/Education Week
Student Well-Being & Movement Video How This District Is Shrinking Students’ Screen Time—After the School Day Ends
Engagement navigators in this district help students take advantage of the many available extracurriculars.
Kaylee Domzalski & Alyson Klein, January 26, 2026
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2:34
Cougar Mountain Middle School was built next door to Timber Ridge at Talus, a senior living community. It’s resulted in an intergenerational partnership between students and the senior residents. Pictured here on Oct. 30, 2025, in Issaquah, Wash.
Seventh grader Tori Thain, 12, talks about chess with Bob Fritz, a resident at the Timber Ridge senior living community and a VOICE mentor at Cougar Mountain Middle School in Issaquah, Wash., on Oct. 30, 2025. These intergenerational relationships have been found to boost students' social-emotional skills.
Kaylee Domzalski/Education Week
Student Well-Being & Movement Want to Improve Tweens' Social Skills? Enlist Older Adults' Help
When a middle school was built adjacent to a retirement community, unlikely friendships grew.
Elizabeth Heubeck, January 26, 2026
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9 min read
Students at Glover Middle School in Spokane, Wash. sing karaoke during Falcon Time on Dec. 3, 2025.
Students at Glover Middle School in Spokane, Wash., sing karaoke during Falcon Time on Dec. 3, 2025. The district has gone all-in on engaging extracurriculars and activities.
Kaylee Domzalski/Education Week
Student Well-Being & Movement One District's Battle to Curb Cellphones and Get Kids to Engage in Real Life
Spokane's leaders are pushing extracurriculars to help students strengthen in-person social skills.
Alyson Klein, January 26, 2026
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12 min read
Image of innovative solutions around staffing.
Laura Baker/Education Week and Andrii Yalanskyi/iStock/Getty
Recruitment & Retention What the Research Says Teacher Shortages Are Improving—With Two Big Exceptions
New job posting data suggests staffing support needs to be targeted at particular areas.
Sarah D. Sparks, March 17, 2025
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4 min read
Photo illustration of a blue screen full of code with the icon of a gaming control overlaying the code.
DigitalVision Vectors
Classroom Technology How Playing Minecraft Can Help Students Learn Coding Skills
Washington and other states have partnered with Minecraft Education to teach coding and other computer science skills.
Alyson Klein, February 27, 2025
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3 min read
Illustration of a young girl with hands on her head, having difficulty reading with scrambled letters on the pages of an open book.
iStock/Getty
Special Education Schools Lag in IDing Kids Who Need Special Education. Are They Catching Up?
Schools in one state are making progress addressing a pandemic-fueled backlog of special education identifications.
Evie Blad, December 11, 2024
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5 min read
Pencil drawing a checkmark in a box. U.S.A. ballot measures voting in elections.
DigitalVision Vectors
States 5 Ways You Didn't Know the Election Will Affect K-12 Schools
Voters will weigh ballot items that affect funding for electric school buses, tax revenue for state education budgets, and more.
Mark Lieberman, October 31, 2024
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8 min read
Collage illustration of faceless students with books and bookbags standing in a group talking with collage pieces of graph paper, the U.S. capitol and other political buildings around them.
Nadia Radic for Education Week
Personalized Learning All States Allow Competency-Based Learning. Will It Become a Reality in Schools?
School districts in every state have the flexibility to adopt competency-based learning, but implementation is easier said than done.
Libby Stanford, September 16, 2024
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9 min read