Congress

Read more about members of Congress and the polices they enact that impact K-12 education
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., the top Democrat in the Republican-majority House, is joined by Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., chair of the House Democratic Caucus, as they criticize President Donald Trump and his policies while talking to reporters about the approaching midterm election, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries speaks at the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 17, 2026. He's joined by Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., who chairs the House Democratic Caucus. If Democrats gain a majority of either chamber of Congress after next month's elections, they'll be able to hold oversight hearings on and launch investigations into the dismantling of the U.S. Department of Education.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Federal What a Democratic Congress Could Mean for Trump's K-12 Agenda
They may try to reverse—or at least investigate—the Trump admin.'s efforts to dismantle the Ed. Dept.
Alyson Klein, October 8, 2026
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9 min read
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, center, is joined from left by Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., the GOP whip, and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., as he speaks to reporters ahead of a Wednesday meeting with President Donald Trump, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, June 23, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., speaks to reporters at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, June 23, 2026.
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., speaks to reporters ahead of a meeting with President Donald Trump at the Capitol in Washington on June 23, 2026. Cotton is one of the sponsors of a bipartisan bill that would create a grant program for states to implement school cellphone bans or restrictions.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Federal Bipartisan Bill in Congress Would Help Schools Put Cellphone Bans or Restrictions in Place
The bill would establish a federal grant program to support state efforts to restrict cellphones.
Lauraine Langreo, October 2, 2026
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5 min read
Russell Vought, acting director, Office of Management and Budget, right, and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin listen during a cabinet meeting, Friday, July 31, 2026, at Camp David, the presidential retreat, near Thurmont, Md., Friday, July 31, 2026.
Russell Vought, director of the White House Office of Management, listens during a Cabinet meeting on July 31, 2026, at Camp David, the presidential retreat, near Thurmont, Md. The White House has announced an $810 million package of "pocket rescissions," saying it won't spend the congressionally appropriated funds before the end of the 2026 federal fiscal year, which ends Wednesday. The rescissions include nearly $100 million for U.S. Department of Education program.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP 
Education Funding Trump, Bucking Congress Yet Again, Cancels $100 Million for Education
A "pocket rescission" hits programs for migratory farmworkers and college-level language instruction.
Mark Lieberman, September 28, 2026
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7 min read
Row of three school desks. Each has a different color seat. One is red, one is white, and the third desk has a blue seat. Each desk has a voting booth on top with the familiar voting "American flag" and the word "VOTE".
Illustration by Taylor Callery for Education Week
States EdWeek's Guide to the 2026 Elections: Where Education Is on the Ballot
Education Week reviewed what's on the ballot in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Matthew Stone, Emily Wright & Jennifer Vilcarino, September 24, 2026
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2 min read
Collage-style illustration of the top of the U.S. Capitol building rotunda, with the upper portion hinging open and an arm wearing a suit reaches out holding a pen. The hand is writing a red X through a clipping of a printed letter B, and cut out letters A and C are on the page as well.
Illustration by Emily Wright for Education Week + Getty
Reading & Literacy Opinion Why Congress’s Latest Foray Into the Reading Wars Is Too Sloppy to Work
In trying to promote the science of reading, are politicians doing the opposite?
Timothy Shanahan, September 23, 2026
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5 min read
WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 16: Members of the U.S. House of Representatives leave the Capitol Building after a session on September 16, 2026 in Washington, DC. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) cancelled votes for Thursday, sending lawmakers home a day early ahead of the midterm-election recess.
Members of the U.S. House of Representatives leave the Capitol after a session on Sept. 16, 2026 in Washington, D.C. The House passed legislation that would make the "science of reading" a priority in some federal literacy grants.
Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images
Reading & Literacy Federal 'Science of Reading' Legislation Passes the House
A bipartisan bill would make the evidence-based instruction a priority in some federal literacy grants.
Sarah Schwartz, September 17, 2026
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3 min read
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., arrives for a closed-door meeting with Republican lawmakers as he prepares for a vote on a stopgap spending bill to keep the federal government fully funded through early December, avoiding the possibility of a shutdown before the midterm elections, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2026.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., arrives for a closed-door meeting with Republican lawmakers at the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 1, 2026, as he prepares for a vote on a stopgap spending bill to keep the federal government fully funded through early December, avoiding the possibility of a shutdown before the midterm elections. The continuing resolution carries over the current year's funding levels for education programs into the first two months of the federal fiscal year that starts Oct. 1.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Education Funding Averting a Shutdown, Congress Punts Federal Spending Decisions to December
Federal funding talks will continue into December as Congress agrees to avoid a shutdown.
Mark Lieberman, September 1, 2026
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2 min read
AT LEFT, US Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) listens as US Senator Tim Kane (D-VA) speaks regarding the Special Education Administration Act (S. 5038), and the profit the transfer of certain offices to other Federal Agency (S.5046) Act during a Health, Education, Labor and Pension Executive Session at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill, Washington, DC on Thursday, July 30, 2026.
U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., left, listens as U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., speaks during a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committee meeting at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington on July 30, 2026. The committee advanced two bills related to reading, as well as another opposing the transfer of certain U.S. Department of Education offices to other agencies.
Demetrius Freeman for Education Week
Reading & Literacy Federal 'Science of Reading' Bill Advances
A Senate committee also passed a proposal to classify dyslexia separately under federal disability law.
Sarah Schwartz, July 31, 2026
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5 min read
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U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., listens as Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., speaks during a Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee session on July 30, 2026 in the U.S. Capitol in Washington. The committee voted to advance a measure that would block many of the Trump administration's transfers of Education Department programs to other agencies.
Demetrius Freeman for Education Week
Federal Senate Panel Advances Bill to Block Much of Trump Admin.’s Ed. Dept. Dismantling
The bill pushes back, but only partially, against Trump's efforts to end the 46-year-old department.
Caitlynn Peetz Stephens, July 30, 2026
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5 min read
APTOPIX America 250 26184689017796
A flight of fighter jets fly past a picture of President Donald Trump hanging on the U.S. Department of Labor near the Great American State Fair on the National Mall on July 3, 2026, in Washington. The Labor Department has assumed day-to-day management of many K-12 programs as the Trump administration dismantles the Education Department.
Nathan Howard/AP Photo
Federal New GOP Bills Would Permanently Shift Ed. Dept. Programs to Other Agencies
The bills represent the most significant step so far among Republicans to nix the Education Department.
Alyson Klein, July 10, 2026
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5 min read
Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Ore., conducts a news conference with members of the Democratic Women's Caucus (DWC), during the House Democrats 2025 Issues Conference at the Lansdowne Resort in Leesburg, Va., on March 14, 2025. Reps. Melanie Stansbury, D-N.M., left, and Teresa Leger Fernandez, D-N.M., are also pictured.
Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Ore., conducts a news conference with members of the Democratic Women's Caucus (DWC), during the House Democrats 2025 Issues Conference at the Lansdowne Resort in Leesburg, Va., on March 14, 2025. Reps. Melanie Stansbury, D-N.M., left, and Teresa Leger Fernandez, D-N.M., are also pictured.
Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP
Federal Oregon Rep. Says Linda McMahon Has ‘Betrayed Students,’ Pushes Impeachment
The Democratic lawmaker cited the transfer of programs to other agencies as reason to oust the ed. secretary.
Alissa Gary, oregonlive.com, June 25, 2026
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1 min read
readingPanel
A copy of one of the National Reading Panel's work products is shown in this June 17, 2026 photo. The influential report, now more than 25 years old, has long served as a cornerstone of the “science of reading” movement, shaping state legislation, curriculum, and teacher professional development.
Marvin Joseph/Education Week
Reading & Literacy Is It Time for Another National Reading Panel?
The panel's 2000 report on reading has influenced policy for years. Now, Congress is calling for an update.
Sarah Schwartz, June 17, 2026
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7 min read
Delaware Secretary of Education Cynthia Marten meeting with a student while visiting a classroom at the Adams Campus of Oyster-Adams Bilingual School in Washington, Thursday, May 25, 2023. At a U.S. Senate hearing this week, Marten said policymakers should recognize AI's potential while preserving the importance of "human relationships and human judgment."
Delaware Secretary of Education Cynthia Marten visits a classroom at Oyster-Adams Bilingual School in Washington on May 25, 2023. Marten testified on Tuesday before a U.S. Senate subcommittee exploring the role of AI in schools.
Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP
Artificial Intelligence At U.S. Senate Hearing, a Call for AI That Protects 'Human Judgment' in Schools
State and company officials want meaningful guardrails around AI use in schools.
Jennifer Vilcarino, June 16, 2026
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4 min read
WASHINGTON,DC - JUNE 10: Dr. Macquline King, Superintendent and CEO of Chicago Public Schools speaks with Mr. Johnathan Smith, Managing Director, Education and Federal Strategic Advocacy, National Center for Youth Law and Dr. Aaron Spence, Superintendent, Loudoun County Public Schools with US Representative Mark Takano, Democrat from California, before a House Education and Workforce Committee hearing titled “Breaking Trust: Attacks On Parental Rights, Inappropriate Content, And Legal Abuses In America’s Schools” on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, June 10, 2026 in Washington, DC.
Chicago Superintendent Macquline King speaks with Johnathan Smith, the managing director for education and federal strategic advocacy at the National Center for Youth Law, and Loudon County, Va. Superintendent Aaron Spence, before a hearing on parents rights in schools on Capitol Hill on June 10, 2026 in Washington.
Jabin Botsford/For Education Week
Families & the Community Lawmakers Grill Superintendents on Transgender Student Policies
The districts' policies around transgender students were repeatedly questioned.
Evie Blad, June 10, 2026
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5 min read