Policy & Politics

Education news, analysis, and opinion about the legislation, guidance, policies and people involved in federal and state government
Education Funding School Funding at the Heart of Massive Protests in France
Secondary students have called out dilapidated buildings, a lack of air conditioning, and inequities across schools.
The Associated Press
•
4 min read
Law & Courts Supreme Court Rejects Appeal Over School's Ban of 'Let's Go Brandon' Sweatshirts
The justices left in place a lower court ruling that schools can ban the phrase over its veiled vulgarity.
The Associated Press
•
1 min read
Law & Courts Ten Commandments in Classrooms: 'Passive Display' or Part of the Curriculum?
Five states now have laws that require or authorize Ten Commandments displays in public schools.
Mark Walsh
•
9 min read
School Choice & Charters Q&A To Compete With School Choice, This Superintendent Turned to Microschools
More school districts have started microschools. George Philhower has started a network of them.
Arianna Prothero
•
4 min read
Creative Minds students find their partners during daily family time in Wichita Kansas.
Students find their partners during daily family time on Sept. 15, 2026, at Creative Minds, a microschool run by the public school district in Wichita, Kan. Interest in microschools has surged in recent years, and some school districts are starting their own. One example is in Indiana, where Superintendent George Philhower of the Eastern Hancock district has started the Indiana Microschool Collaborative.
Melissa Lukenbaugh for Education Week
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
•
9 min read
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
States A Unique K-12 Ballot Initiative, and Other 2026 Election Highlights
One state would require 'Spar-Spangled Banner' broadcasts in schools. Others would limit taxes.
Matthew Stone
•
10 min read
School building at the center against a green grid background. Neighborhood homes are on both sides of the school and are made up of tax forms that are collaged together. Some of the forms show things like "School District Residency" and "File a separate form SD 100 for each taxing school district in which you lived during the taxable year".
Illustration by Taylor Callery for Education Week
Federal The Future of Education Research: More Partisan and Largely Left to States?
As Trump administration works to change federal grants, outside researchers try to regroup.
Sarah D. Sparks
•
6 min read
Image of file folders with tabs called "funding" "grants" "projects" and a blank note paper paperclipped to the outside.
Collage by Laura Baker/Education Week + Getty

Events

Tue., October 13, 2026, 12:30 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. ET
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
School Climate & Safety Webinar There But Not Present: Rethinking Student Engagement
Learn how to recognize the early signs of disengagement and what the behavioral science reveals about which interventions actually work.
Content provided by Frontline Education
Register
Wed., October 14, 2026, 12:30 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. ET
Teacher Preparation Webinar What Teacher Education Should Look Like in the Age of AI
Explore the current trends around the use of AI in teacher preparation and continuing education with data from the EdWeek Research Center.
Register
Thu., October 15, 2026, 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. ET
English Learners Webinar How Can School Districts Better Support English Learners With Disabilities?
Join this webinar to hear recent findings from the EdWeek Research Center and discover practical strategies for improvement.
Register
See More Events

More Policy & Politics

  • 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
    •
    5 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
    Education Funding Opinion An Expert Explains How the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit Will Work
    A former Ed. Dept. official predicts the program will generate $3 billion for scholarships in 2027.
    Rick Hess, October 2, 2026
    •
    9 min read
    MINNEAPOLIS, MN, January 22, 2026: Students move through the halls at Washburn High School in Minneapolis, MN.
    The Trump administration has released proposed regulations outlining how the first nationwide school choice program will operate when it launches next year. The regulations leave some major questions unaddressed but clarify other aspects for the tax-credit scholarship program.
    Caroline Yang for Education Week
    School Choice & Charters Explainer New Rules for Federal School Choice: What You Need to Know
    Proposed rules from the IRS offer some details on how the first nationwide school choice program will work.
    Arianna Prothero, Mark Lieberman & Matthew Stone, October 1, 2026
    •
    14 min read
    The tax credit program would allow individuals who donate up to $1,700 to a scholarship granting organization to receive a dollar-for-dollar federal income tax credit in exchange. Pictured are students at Northeast Elementary located at 1024 Fleming Ave. in Jackson on Aug. 20, 2025.
    Students at Northeast Elementary School in Jackson, Mich., on Aug. 20, 2025. A tax-credit scholarship program launching in January will allow individuals who donate up to $1,700 to a scholarship granting organization to receive a dollar-for-dollar federal income tax credit. Those SGOs can give out awards to cover private school tuition as well as some expenses for public school students.
    Abra Richardson/mlive.com via TNS
    School Choice & Charters Federal Education Tax Credit Rules Are Finally Here. What We Know So Far
    The Treasury Department unveiled regulations governing a massive infusion of education funding nationwide.
    Arianna Prothero & Mark Lieberman, October 1, 2026
    •
    5 min read
    Director of the United States Office of Management and Budget Russell Vought walks down a staircase on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, July 16, 2026.
    Russell Vought, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, walks down a staircase on Capitol Hill in Washington on July 16, 2026. The OMB withheld millions of dollars from the U.S. Department of Education's research arm for months, raising the possibility it wouldn't spend the money on education research and data collection in time for its Sept. 30, 2026, expiration.
    Allison Robbert/AP
    Education Funding Ed. Dept. Meets Research Spending Deadline—But Bigger Funding Challenges Loom
    The Institute of Education Sciences finished spending more than $170 million set to expire Sept. 30.
    Mark Lieberman, September 30, 2026
    •
    3 min read
    Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., center, confers with Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, talk following a Senate Democratic Caucus meeting, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026.
    Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, (right, speaking with Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer) secured a commitment from Education Secretary Linda McMahon to supply additional funding for Native Hawaiian Education Program grantees when the U.S. Department of Education hadn't launched a competition for new grants. The Trump administration practice of abruptly canceling existing competitive education grants has slowed, but the Education Department is using procedures that result in fewer new grants and less stability for funding recipients.
    J. Scott Applewhite/AP
    Education Funding Trump's Ed. Dept. Is Still Disrupting Grants—Just More Quietly Than Before
    The agency is deploying subtler procedures that result in fewer new grants and less stability for recipients.
    Mark Lieberman, September 30, 2026
    •
    11 min read

Resources

Reading & Literacy Spotlight Building Responsive Literacy Systems for Every Learner
Build a responsive literacy system with strategies for stronger instruction, targeted support, and success for every reader.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
College & Workforce Readiness Quiz Quiz Yourself: How Much Do You Know About Dual Enrollment?
Answer 7 questions about dual enrollment.
Content provided by Pearson
Science Spotlight From Coding to AI Literacy: Rethinking Computer Science Across K-12
Explore how districts can build more inclusive computer science pathways while supporting the teachers who make them possible.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Reading & Literacy Whitepaper Doing Less to Achieve More: Eastern U.S. Leaders on Literacy
As districts work to sustain evidence-based literay practices, see what Eastern U.S. literacy leaders are choosing to stop, strengthen, a...
Content provided by Lexia Learning
  • Giant tax funnel drops money into a public school building. Federal tax scholarships, public schools, private schools, charter schools
    Vanessa Solis/Education Week + Getty
    Federal Opinion Public Educators Are Skeptical of the New Federal Tax Credits. They Needn't Be
    Unlike vouchers, the new scholarships can benefit students choosing to attend public schools.
    Deborah A. Gist & Thomas Arnett, September 29, 2026
    •
    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
    •
    7 min read
    WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 10: (L to R) Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen, Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey and Frank O. Bowman III, professor emeritus of law, University of Missouri School of Law arrive to testify before a House Homeland Security Committee hearing titled "Havoc in the Heartland: How Secretary Mayorkas' Failed Leadership Has Impacted the States," at the U.S. Capitol on January 10, 2024 in Washington, DC. House Republicans have started their hearings into impeaching President Biden's Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas.
    Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, second from left, was a defendant in a lawsuit from the Ben Gamla Jewish Charter School Foundation challenging a decision from the state's charter school authorizing board that denied the group's bid to open a charter school.
    Kent Nishimura/Getty Images
    Law & Courts Federal Court Ruling Paves Way for Jewish Charter School in Oklahoma
    A federal judge cleared the way for a Florida-based Jewish charter school network to open in the state.
    Lenzy Krehbiel-Burton, Tulsa World, Okla., September 28, 2026
    •
    4 min read
    NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 13: Local elementary schools participate in the annual Brooklyn Gay Pride Parade, celebrating its 30th year, June 13, 2026 in the Park Slope neighborhood of the borough of Brooklyn, New York City.
    Local elementary schools participate in the annual Brooklyn Gay Pride Parade, celebrating its 30th year on June 13, 2026, in the Park Slope neighborhood of the borough of Brooklyn, New York City. The Trump administration has officially rescinded a Biden-era regulation that extended Title IX's prohibition on sex discrimination to cover discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
    Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images
    Federal Ed. Dept. Officially Kills Biden Rule That Added LGBTQ+ Protections to Title IX
    The Education Department reinstates 2020 Title IX regulations effectively in place since early 2025.
    Mark Walsh, September 28, 2026
    •
    4 min read
    FILE - The OpenAI logo is displayed on a cell phone in front of an image generated by ChatGPT's Dall-E text-to-image model, Dec. 8, 2023, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)
    Federal OpenAI's Models Probed Websites of Department of Education, Other Agencies
    The department's office for civil rights was probed in an attempted hack, according to a report.
    The Associated Press, September 26, 2026
    •
    3 min read
    Jovonia Lewis poses for a portrait outside of the Durham Board of Education building on Sept. 21, 2026, in Durham, N.C.
    Jovonia Lewis poses for a portrait outside the Durham Board of Education building on Sept. 21, 2026, in Durham, N.C. In 2018, the U.S. Department of Education reached an agreement with the Durham district after finding it disproportionately suspended Black students. The second Trump administration has limited the remedies schools can use to address systemic racial injustice.
    Matt Ramey/AP
    Federal Trump Administration Moves to Limit Fixes for Systemic Racism in Schools
    The Trump administration has limited remedies schools can use to address systemic racial injustice.
    The Associated Press, September 25, 2026
    •
    7 min read

EdWeek Market Brief

Regulation & Policy Exclusive Data How Widely Influential Are State-Approved Materials Lists? K-12 Officials Weigh In.
Approved materials lists created by state education departments are playing a significant role in determining which curriculum products school districts choose, new EdWeek Market Brief data shows.
Emma Kate Fittes
•
8 min read
Regulation & Policy Industry Insight Kentucky K-12 Is at an ‘Inflection Point.’ What Education Companies Should Know
More than three decades after Kentucky enacted sweeping reforms that reshaped its public schools, the state is embarking on another significant overhaul of its K-12 system.
David Saleh Rauf
•
7 min read
Meeting District Needs Exclusive Data Security Vendors Are Flooding K-12. Which District Officials Have Influence on What Gets Bought?
Superintendents have the most influence over K-12 security purchases, new EdWeek Research Center data show, but finance, technology, operations, security personnel and school leaders all play significant roles in what gets bought.
David Saleh Rauf
•
8 min read
Strategy & Operations K-12 Dealmaking McGraw Hill Acquires TeachFX; Brighteye Ventures Secures $72M
Voice-first AI tutoring platform Aristotle has also raised $5 million in seed funding.
Alexandria Ng
•
5 min read
Read More