Author: BelieveAgain

Two states are making moves that could upend the two-decade-old, No Child Left Behind-era model of once-a-year, standardized state exams to show whether students are meeting standards.In its place, Oklahoma and Texas—through different paths—could become the latest states to shift to exams given multiple times throughout the school year, with the idea that such tests offer educators and families more timely data on student performance. But Oklahoma’s proposed model, in particular, would drastically undercut accountability requirements that ensure students are learning, opponents argue.The moves come as the U.S. Department of Education invites states to request flexibility from certain federal mandates…

In April, the fight over a Long Island school district’s mascot caught the attention of President Donald Trump.The Massapequa district had refused to abandon its “Chiefs” logo under a New York state policy prohibiting schools’ use of Native American imagery without local tribes’ permission. Its legal challenge to the state mandate was coming up short. So, it sought the Trump administration’s help.What followed had all the hallmarks of the federal government’s involvement in public education during Trump’s second term so far. 🔎 About This Project This project is part of a special report called Big Ideas in which EdWeek reporters,…

Federal spending is in the spotlight this year like never before, as the Trump administration has bypassed Congress and held up billions of dollars lawmakers had already approved for education.Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are currently staring down a Sept. 30 deadline to fund the federal government for the new fiscal year, avert a shutdown, and appropriate funding for programs—a core function for Congress as prescribed by the U.S. Constitution.That’s a tall task for a legislative body that has rarely met budget deadlines in recent years. As the new school year begins, school districts are bracing for more disruption of the…

In the past month or so, federal courts have dealt a string of blows to conservatives’ push for the biblical Ten Commandments to be posted in public schools.Yet as states lose over required religious displays, many are working on another route to faith-based education by allowing kids to attend off-campus religious instruction. This year, Iowa, Montana, Ohio, and Texas passed laws guaranteeing parents the right to have their children excused during the school day for free, off-campus religious instruction, often called “released time.”Those four states are the latest of at least 12 that require school districts to offer released time…

U.S. House of Representatives lawmakers who oversee budget-writing are endorsing President Donald Trump’s goal of slashing federal funding for K-12 schools in the next budget year—and they’re also proposing to cut more than $2 billion schools are expecting to receive next month.Members of Congress have less than a month to agree on a federal budget—a feat they haven’t managed in recent years. The bill Republican House appropriators began circulating Monday is unlikely to pass in its current form—but it offers an opportunity to compare lawmakers’ priorities and the president’s.Members of a House education subcommittee voted largely along party lines Tuesday…

To the Editor:The recent trend of platforming certain right-wing opinion pieces at Education Week is both disturbing and dangerous in this moment in history. To be clear, our profession and the public at large deserve a robust debate on issues of importance in the field. However, publishing pieces like “The U.S. Department of Education Could Be Dismantled. This Is Good News” (June 25, 2025) and “Let DEI Practices Die. Replace Them With Something Better” (June 5, 2025) raise serious ethical questions about the responsibility of one of the most widely read professional publications. It saddens me that EdWeek is now…

A Virginia school district is suing the U.S. Department of Education, saying the federal agency has put it in an “impossible position” by imposing funding restrictions due to the district’s policy that allows transgender students to use bathrooms consistent with their gender identity. The district’s school board argues the policy complies with both state and federal law.In the lawsuit filed Friday, the Fairfax County school board asks a federal court in Virginia to find the department’s actions “arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, and otherwise contrary to law.” It also asks a judge to agree that the district’s transgender student…

Many school districts’ biggest budget concerns this year have centered on the federal government: The Trump administration has moved aggressively—generally without warning or congressional approval—to withhold formula dollars, terminate in-progress grants, and change funding rules.But in a number of states, political debates and administrative turmoil are piling distinct and varied challenges on school districts at the start of a new school year.Lawmakers in Michigan, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania blew past their deadlines for finalizing their respective state budgets, jeopardizing tens of millions of dollars for public schools.Courts have recently issued rulings that education funding systems in Arizona, New Hampshire, and…

Illinois lawmakers passed a new law that codifies the right of undocumented students to receive a free, public education, and requires school districts to adopt clear policies protecting students from immigration enforcement activities in schools.House Bill 3247—signed into law by Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker on Aug. 15—is the state’s response to rising fear among local immigrant communities over the Trump administration’s push for increased immigration enforcement across the country, lawmakers and advocates said.The law is also a response to the efforts of policymakers in other states to overturn the 1982 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Plyler v. Doe, which granted…

State officials must decide in the coming years if they’ll participate in the first major federal program that directs public funds to private schools. Congress in July included a tax-credit scholarship in the One, Big Beautiful Bill Act, allowing taxpayers to claim tax credits in exchange for donations to organizations that grant private school scholarships. Until now, all major private school choice programs have been state-level initiatives. But the federal tax-credit scholarship forces all states and the District of Columbia to decide on private school choice, whether they currently have a choice program of their own or don’t. Two governors…