The Latest

  • A handful of students walk in a row outside near a school building. They are each holding a cellphone and looking down at the cellphone.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Most school leaders report cellphone restrictions, widely seen as beneficial

    Students, teachers and principals view limiting devices as beneficial, but parents have concerns, research shows.

  • Kimberly Richey looks into the distance
    Image attribution tooltip
    Retrieved from U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education Labor and Pensions.
    Image attribution tooltip

    Richey confirmed to lead Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights

    Kimberly Richey, who also served in Trump’s first term, steps into the role as the office faces a significant backlog and a halved workforce.

  • A girl student and two boy students are shown appearing to be bored, tired and daydreaming in a classroom.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip
    Opinion

    A skills crisis in our classrooms

    Dysregulation is creating a barrier to learning for many students, signifying a need to focus on executive function skills, two experts write.

  • A photo illustration of a circle encompassing a question mark, pencil, and scantron test.
    Image attribution tooltip

    Photo illustration: Shaun Lucas/Industry Dive; Getty Images

    Image attribution tooltip
    POP QUIZ

    Test yourself on the past week’s K-12 news

    From a large district’s mass teacher layoffs to new data on book bans in schools, what did you learn from our recent stories?

  • An honor guard stands next to a display case containing the Declaration of Independence, Constitution and BIll of Rights.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Alex Wong via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    National Constitution Center expands ‘101’ curriculum to middle schoolers

    The nonprofit’s free civics curriculum is paired with a related toolkit that includes an interactive Declaration of Independence and Constitution.

  • Two young students are in a classroom. They are sitting at a desk and looking at a book together.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Here’s how science of reading can be tailored for dual-language learners

    Despite misconceptions that the approach is one-size-fits-all or English-only, a Children’s Equity Project report details how it can work for bilingual students.

  • A person is standing at a podium speaking into a microphone. Another person can be seen sitting to the side of the speaker listening.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Octavio Jones via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    How school boards reflect their constituencies — and where they don’t

    Board members have more positive views of their districts and are more critical of charter schools, a Fordham Institute and Wallace Foundation report says.

  • Students sit on the floor of a classroom holding books
    Image attribution tooltip
    Retrieved from K-12 Dive.
    Image attribution tooltip

    Maryland district gets few opt-out requests after Supreme Court mandate

    Curriculum opt-outs were requested on behalf of fewer than 1% of almost 150,000 students attending Montgomery County Public Schools.

  • Signage reading "boys" and "girls" outside of a restroom
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Appeals court refuses to block Trump’s Title IX funding change

    The order deals a setback to a Virginia district that’s one of the first to push back on the administration’s strategy.

  • A handful of students carrying backpacks are seen heading into a school building
    Image attribution tooltip
    Fly View Productions via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip
    BY THE NUMBERS

    How are states approaching K-12 open enrollment?

    Best practices for open enrollment in public schools include transparent district reporting, the Reason Foundation says.

  • supreme court sunrise
    Image attribution tooltip
    Stock via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    What school leaders should expect in the 2025-26 Supreme Court term

    An expanding shadow docket and an increase in First Amendment disputes could see more cases join the lone K-12 item this term.

  • Conference attendees listen to a session in a convention center meeting room.
    Image attribution tooltip
    kasto80 via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    The top K-12 conferences to attend in 2026

    Whether you’re looking to brush up on leadership best practices, school policy or the latest ed tech innovations, these events are a great place to start.

  • An adult man sits on the edge of a desk in front of a high school classroom as he teaches math from a whiteboard.
    Image attribution tooltip
    skynesher via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    H-1B visa lawsuit alleges $100K fee will worsen teacher shortages

    School systems in several states cited in the suit say the fee would create unsustainable costs and hinder hiring ability.

  • The U.S. Capitol stands in the distance as morning traffic moves along North Capitol Street Northwest on October 01, 2025 in Washington, DC. The government shut down early Wednesday after Congress failed to reach a funding deal.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Chip Somodevilla / Staff via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Week In Review: Mental health grants return and FCC rolls back E-rate expansion

    We’re rounding up last week’s news, from the government shutdown’s impact on schools to differentiated teacher compensation.

  • A book titled "One Of A Kind, Like Me" sits on a bookshelf in California
    Image attribution tooltip
    Justin Sullivan / Staff via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Book bans becoming the new norm for districts, report says

    Four years since book bans proliferated, the movement’s spread to the federal level is creating “unprecedented” pressure for districts, PEN America says.

  • Three separate elevated highways lead to the Houston skyline in the background.
    Image attribution tooltip
    The image by Famartin is licensed under CC BY 4.0
    Image attribution tooltip

    Houston ISD lays off, reassigns hundreds of teachers

    The move follows district estimates earlier this year that predicted an enrollment drop of about 8,000 students.

  • Trump signs H-1B executive order in Oval Office
    Image attribution tooltip
    Andrew Harnik via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Hiring foreign teachers? What to look out for as Trump targets H-1B visas

    A $100,000 fee and a DHS proposed rule may make it more difficult for districts to hire teachers from other countries to address shortages.

  • Linda McMahon arrives to the U.S. Department of Education's building in Washington, D.C., for her first day in office.
    Image attribution tooltip
    US Department of Education. (2025). "03042025 SLM First day in the Office-3" [Photograph]. Retrieved from Flickr.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Deep Dive

    ‘Death by 1,000 cuts’: Districts, states challenge Education Department civil rights enforcement

    The agency and its funding recipients usually collaborate to resolve civil rights complaints. However, that’s changing under the Trump administration.

  • People are in the foreground looking toward the setting sun in the horizon and the Washington Monument.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Anna Moneymaker via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    How the federal government shutdown affects K-12

    Grant-making activities and OCR investigations will cease during the shutdown, but school systems will still be able to draw down most funds.

  • A photo illustration of a circle encompassing a question mark, pencil, and scantron test.
    Image attribution tooltip

    Photo illustration: Shaun Lucas/Industry Dive; Getty Images

    Image attribution tooltip
    POP QUIZ

    Test yourself on the past week’s K-12 news

    From the return of previously canceled federal school grants to an FCC vote on the E-rate program, what did you learn from our recent stories?

  • Students are gathered around a table in a school hallway. One student, facing the camera, has their hands up. There are colorful items on the table
    Image attribution tooltip
    Permission granted by Amy Conwell
    Image attribution tooltip

    4 ways a Minnesota school addresses mental health through art

    The FAIR School for Arts emphasizes students’ skill development in perseverance, communication and creativity through arts instruction.

  • .
    Image attribution tooltip
    The image by Massimo Catarinella is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
    Image attribution tooltip

    A growing number of state bills target sex education, report says

    Of more than 650 state-level bills on the topic, nearly a quarter sought to pare back or remove access, a SIECUS report found.

  • The outside of the U.S. Department of Education in Washington, D.C. is shown on a close day. People are walking on the sidewalk in front of the building.
    Image attribution tooltip
    John M. Chase via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Education Department can cut half of OCR staff for now, appeals court rules

    The order comes as the agency was complying with a prior court order to return laid-off Office for Civil Rights staffers back to work.

  • A yellow school bus is parked outside. A handful of students wearing rain jackets and backpacks are getting on the bus.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    FCC removes school bus Wi-Fi, hotspots from E-rate

    The Federal Communications Commission vote reverses a Biden administration expansion of federal discounts for internet services for schools and libraries.

    Updated Sept. 30, 2025
  • Chairs and desks sit in rows in a school classroom as a teacher works in the background.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Civil rights commissioners mixed on special educator shortage solutions

    One member of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights questioned whether there was enough information to call the shortage a crisis.