State Policy

Read more about state laws, regulations, and programs that impact education
The Instagram logo is seen on a cell phone, Oct. 14, 2022, in Boston.
The Instagram logo is seen on a cell phone. New York is the third state, after California and Minnesota, to pass a law requiring social media warning labels.
Michael Dwyer/AP
Student Well-Being & Movement Scroll With Caution: Another State Requires Social Media Warning Labels
Backers of New York's law, including Gov. Kathy Hochul, have likened tech's addictiveness to tobacco.
Jennifer Vilcarino, January 8, 2026
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4 min read
Amanda Darrow, director of youth, family and education programs at the Utah Pride Center, poses with books that have been the subject of complaints from parents in Salt Lake City on Dec. 16, 2021. The wave of attempted book banning and restrictions continues to intensify, the American Library Association reported Friday. Numbers for 2022 already approach last year's totals, which were the highest in decades.
Eight states have passed legislation restricting school officials from pulling books out of school libraries for partisan or ideological reasons. In the past five years, many such challenges have focused on books about race or LGBTQ+ people. Amanda Darrow, the director of youth, family and education programs at the Utah Pride Center, poses with books that have been the subject of complaints from parents in Salt Lake City on Dec. 16, 2021. (Utah is not one of the eight states.)
Rick Bowmer/AP
States States Are Banning Book Bans. Will It Work?
Approved legislation aims to stop school libraries from removing books for partisan reasons.
Sarah Schwartz, January 7, 2026
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5 min read
U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon is interviewed by Indiana’s Secretary of Education Katie Jenner during the 2025 Reagan Institute Summit on Education in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 18, 2025.
U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, pictured here in Washington on Sept. 18, 2025, has granted Iowa a partial waiver from provisions of the Every Student Succeeds Act, saying the move is a step toward the Trump administration's goal of "returning education to the states." The waiver allows Iowa some additional flexibility in how it spends the limited portion of federal education funds used by the state department of education.
Leah Millis for Education Week
States McMahon Touts Funding Flexibility for Iowa That Falls Short of Trump Admin. Goal
The Ed. Dept. is allowing the state education agency to consolidate small sets of funds from four grants.
Mark Lieberman, January 7, 2026
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6 min read
Two girls using dice in math lesson.
E+
Early Childhood Play-Based Learning Yields More Joy, Higher Scores at This Elementary School
Teachers who have incorporated guided play into their lessons say they've seen students thrive.
Elizabeth Heubeck, December 29, 2025
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7 min read
Demonstrators hold up signs protesting an immigration bill as it is discussed in the Senate chamber at the state Capitol Thursday in Nashville, Tenn. The bill would allow public school systems in Tennessee to require K-12 students without legal status in the country to pay tuition or face denial of enrollment, which is a challenge to the federal law requiring all children be provided a free public education regardless of legal immigration status.
Demonstrators hold up signs protesting an immigration bill as it was discussed in the Senate chamber at the state Capitol in Nashville, Tenn., on April 10, 2025. The bill, which legislators paused, would have allowed schools in the state to require undocumented students to pay tuition. It was one of six efforts taken by states in 2025 to limit undocumented students' access to free, public education.
John Amis/AP
States Undocumented Students Still Have a Right to Education. Will That Change in 2026?
State-level challenges to a landmark 1982 Supreme Court ruling are on the rise.
Ileana Najarro, December 29, 2025
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5 min read
Vector illustration of an open laptop on a blue background. Out from the laptop screen flows a long trail of paper of which shows a sample graphic and multiple choice question from the WIDA ACCESS online quiz.
iStock/Getty + WIDA ACCESS online exam
English Learners Thousands More English Learners Will Soon Be Taking a Popular Language Exam
New York to end its traditional language-proficency exam in favor of a digital test.
Ileana Najarro, December 19, 2025
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4 min read
Two teachers having conversation in office.
iStock
Recruitment & Retention Inside One State's Bold Plan to Keep Special Education Teachers
Pennsylvania's training and mentoring program works to retain teachers serving students with disabilities.
Sarah D. Sparks, December 19, 2025
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6 min read
President Donald Trump speaks during an address to the nation from the Diplomatic Reception Room at the White House on Dec. 17, 2025, in Washington.
President Donald Trump addresses the nation from the Diplomatic Reception Room at the White House on Dec. 17, 2025, in Washington. Some experts on K-12 education are concerned that Trump wants to unleash the use of AI with very little regulation.
Doug Mills/The New York Times via AP
Artificial Intelligence K-12 World Reacts to Trump’s Executive Order to Block State AI Regulations
The president says the patchwork of regulations across the states impedes AI companies’ growth.
Lauraine Langreo, December 18, 2025
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2 min read
Stephanie Perez, 9, right, and Jaylin Garcia Mejia, 9, center, watch an introductory lesson on A.I. during Funda Perez’ 4th grade computer applications class at Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., School No. 6 in Passaic, N.J., on Oct. 14, 2025.
Fourth graders participate in an introductory lesson on artificial intelligence during a computer applications class at Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., School No. 6 in Passaic, N.J., on Oct. 14, 2025. Some experts suggest schools should use computer science classes to teach AI skills.
Erica S. Lee for Education Week
Science Q&A How to Get More Students Into Computer Science Classes in the Age of AI
The percentage of schools offering computer science classes has plateaued, a Code.org report found.
Lauraine Langreo, December 16, 2025
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5 min read
Attendees listen to a eulogy during a memorial for Charlie Kirk hosted by the University of Texas at Dallas chapter of Turning Point USA, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025, in Richardson, Texas.
Attendees listen to a eulogy during a memorial for Charlie Kirk hosted by the University of Texas at Dallas chapter of Turning Point USA, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025, in Richardson, Texas.
Elías Valverde II/The Dallas Morning News via TNS
States Texas Gov. Abbott Wants 'Disciplinary Action' for Schools That Resist Turning Point USA
He endorsed growing the footprint of the late Charlie Kirk's organization in the state's high schools.
Philip Jankowski, The Dallas Morning News, December 9, 2025
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1 min read
A U.S. Supreme Court police officer walks in front of the Supreme Court amid renovations as the justices hear oral arguments on President Donald Trump's push to expand control over independent federal agencies in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 8, 2025.
A U.S. Supreme Court police officer walks in front of the court amid renovations in Washington, on Dec. 8, 2025. The court took several actions in education cases, including ordering a lower court to take a fresh look at a lawsuit challenging a New York state law that ended religious exemptions to school vaccinations.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Law & Courts Supreme Court Orders New Review of Religious Exemptions to School Vaccines
The U.S. Supreme Court ordered a new look in a school vaccination case and declined to review library book removals.
Mark Walsh, December 8, 2025
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6 min read
First-grade student Brennen Marquardt, 6, looks out the bus window at Friess Lake Middle School on Sept. 4, 2018, the first year of operations for the newly consolidated Holy Hill district in Richfield, Wis. The district was the most recent to consolidate in Wisconsin, which is among the states where lawmakers are exploring ways to force or incentivize district mergers.
First-grade student Brennen Marquardt, 6, looks out the bus window at Friess Lake Middle School on Sept. 4, 2018, the first year of operations for the newly consolidated Holy Hill district in Richfield, Wis. The district was the most recent to consolidate in Wisconsin, which is among the states where lawmakers are exploring ways to force or incentivize district mergers.
John Ehlke/West Bend Daily News via AP
States States Consider District Consolidations as Student Enrollment Drops
Rural educators say the decision to combine school districts is a matter of local control.
Evie Blad, December 5, 2025
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8 min read
A ranger patrols the grounds of the Alamo in San Antonio on March 26, 2020.
Texas' new social studies framework underscores American exceptionalism and the state's own history. The Battle of the Alamo—shown here in San Antonio on March 26, 2020—has long been a flashpoint in debates over what topics Texas students should know. Over the past five years many states have confronted the push for right- or left-favored topics and themes in their history standards.
Eric Gay/AP
Social Studies Communism, American Exceptionalism Latest Flashpoints in State History Standards
Several Republican states will add Christian teachings and anti-communist lessons to their history standards.
Sarah Schwartz, November 25, 2025
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6 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
School Choice & Charters Opinion Should States Mandate Student Testing for Choice Programs?
There are pros and cons to forcing state tests on private schools receiving tax dollars.
Rick Hess, November 25, 2025
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7 min read
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