Federal Policy

News, analysis, and opinion about federal education laws, regulations, and proposals—and their impact
High school teacher Tara Hobson talks with a student in the school cafeteria at San Francisco International High School in San Francisco on April 19, 2016. Some districts have gone to extraordinary lengths to accommodate migrant students, who often come to join relatives, sometimes escaping criminal gangs or extreme poverty. San Francisco International High School rewrote young-adult novels at a basic level to spark the newcomers' interest in reading.
High school teacher Tara Hobson talks with a student in the school cafeteria at San Francisco International High School in San Francisco on April 19, 2016. The quality of education for English learners, including migrant students in San Francisco, has evolved over the last years in part due to landmark civil rights Supreme Court decision.
Jeff Chiu/AP
English-Language Learners How a 1974 U.S. Supreme Court Case Still Influences English-Learner Education
Fifty years ago Lau v. Nichols required schools to provide language support to English learners to ensure access to public education.
Ileana Najarro, January 19, 2024
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7 min read
U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona participates in a roundtable discussion with students from Dartmouth College on Jan. 10, 2024, on the school's campus, in Hanover, N.H.
U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona participates in a roundtable discussion with students from Dartmouth College on Jan. 10, 2024, on the school's campus, in Hanover, N.H.
Steven Senne/AP
Federal Biden Admin. Says New K-12 Agenda Tackles Absenteeism, Tutoring, Extended Learning
The White House unveiled a set of K-12 priorities at the start of an election year.
Libby Stanford, January 17, 2024
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4 min read
AI Education concept in blue: A robot hand holding a pencil.
iStock/Getty
Law & Courts What a Proposed Ban on AI-Assisted ‘Deep Fakes’ Would Mean for Cyberbullying
Students who create AI-generated, intimate images of their classmates would be breaking federal law, if a new bill is enacted.
Alyson Klein, January 12, 2024
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2 min read
Salina Sanchez gives free lunches to Damien Chavez, right, and Umar Kotroo at Wheel Park in Aurora, Colo., on June 6, 2019. The Aurora Public Schools takes free summer lunches to children on colorful, hand-painted school buses. The USDA's new Summer EBT program will help families cover the costs of meals during the summer months.
Salina Sanchez gives free lunches to Damien Chavez, right, and Umar Kotroo at Wheel Park in Aurora, Colo., on June 6, 2019. The Aurora Public Schools takes free summer lunches to children on colorful, hand-painted school buses. The new Summer EBT program from the U.S. Department of Agriculture will provide $120 per child in grocery benefits to families with children who qualify for free and reduced-price lunch during the school year. But 15 states aren't participating in the program's first year.
Philip B. Poston/The Aurora Sentinel via AP
Student Well-Being A New Federal Summer Food Program Targets Child Hunger. Why Are 15 States Opting Out?
Summer EBT could be a game changer for families facing food insecurity, childhood hunger experts say, but millions of kids won't benefit.
Libby Stanford, January 12, 2024
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7 min read
Illustration of robot hand holding stack of books.
DigitalVision Vectors / Getty
Classroom Technology Bipartisan Bill in Congress Seeks to Help Schools Teach AI Literacy
The technology is increasingly critical to many fields, but too few Americans comprehend its power and potential pitfalls, lawmakers say.
Alyson Klein, December 21, 2023
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2 min read
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., left, joins Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., left, as Starbucks founder Howard Schultz answers questions about the company's actions during an ongoing employee unionizing campaign, at the Capitol in Washington, on March 29, 2023.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., left, joins Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., left, at the Capitol in Washington, on March 29, 2023. The two lawmakers sponsored a bill to reauthorize the Education Sciences Reform Act.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Federal Lawmakers Want to Reauthorize a Major Education Research Law. What Stands in the Way?
Lawmakers have tried and failed to reauthorize the Education Sciences Reform Act over the past nearly two decades.
Libby Stanford & Sarah D. Sparks, December 12, 2023
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7 min read
Andy, left, a first-grade student at Mount Pleasant Elementary School, works on his math homework with Sharon Francisco, an English learner teacher with Roanoke County Public Schools on April, 26, 2022, in Roanoke, Va.
Andy, left, a 1st grade student at Mount Pleasant Elementary School, works on his math homework with Sharon Francisco, an English-learner teacher with Roanoke County Public Schools on April, 26, 2022, in Roanoke, Va.
Heather Rousseau/The Roanoke Times via AP
English-Language Learners Ed. Dept. Releases New Toolkit to Engage English Learners' Families
The updated English-learner family toolkit is available in four languages and as a mobile app.
Ileana Najarro, December 8, 2023
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3 min read
Image of a dollar bill folded into an upward arrow.
ImagePixel/iStock/Getty
Education Funding Here's How the Feds Are Spending $277M for Academic Recovery
A new round of grants from the Education Department aims to spur innovation in academic recovery, with initiatives in math, reading, and AI.
Libby Stanford, December 5, 2023
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4 min read
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in his office at the Department of Education on Sept. 20, 2023 in Washington.
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in his office at the Department of Education on Sept. 20, 2023 in Washington.
Mark Schiefelbein/AP
Assessment Cardona Says Standardized Tests Haven't Always Met the Mark, Offers New Flexibility
The U.S. Department of Education is seeking to reinvigorate a little-used pilot program to create new types of assessments.
Alyson Klein, November 28, 2023
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7 min read
Image of cellphones.
RyanJLane/iStock/Getty
Ed-Tech Policy Should More Schools Ban Cellphones? It's a Question U.S. Lawmakers Want Answered
A bipartisan push to study the impacts on student mental health and academics comes as more schools restrict their use.
Lauraine Langreo, November 20, 2023
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3 min read
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona speaks with students during a visit to Towson University to discuss antisemitism on college campuses on Nov. 2, 2023, in Towson, Md.
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona speaks with students during a visit to Towson University on Nov. 2, 2023, in Towson, Md.
Julia Nikhinson/AP
English-Language Learners Here's Why Miguel Cardona Is Pushing Multilingual Education
The education secretary outlines how the Education Department is investing in language learning. Will it work?
Ileana Najarro, November 17, 2023
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4 min read
Woman using a computer chatting with an intelligent artificial intelligence.
iStock/Getty
Classroom Technology Schools 'Can't Sit Out' AI, Top U.S. Education Department Official Argues
School districts that choose not to engage with AI put their students at a disadvantage, the Ed. Dept. official said.
Alyson Klein, November 14, 2023
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3 min read
Image of a clock on supplies.
Laura Baker/Education Week via Canva<br/>
Teaching Profession Teachers Don't Qualify for Overtime Pay. Should They?
Teachers are exempt from overtime-pay laws. Some say that rule deserves a second look.
Madeline Will, November 8, 2023
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4 min read
House Speaker-elect Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., addresses members of Congress at the Capitol in Washington on Oct. 25, 2023. Republicans eagerly elected Johnson as House speaker on Wednesday, elevating a deeply conservative but lesser-known leader to the seat of U.S. power and ending for now the political chaos in their majority.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., addresses members of Congress at the Capitol in Washington on Oct. 25, 2023. Johnson has a supported a number of conservative Republican education priorities in his time in Congress.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Federal What Educators Should Know About Mike Johnson, New Speaker of the House
Johnson has supported restructuring federal education funding, as well as socially conservative policies that have become GOP priorities.
Libby Stanford, October 25, 2023
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4 min read
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