The U.S. Department of Education (USDE) is facing pressure from K-12 and college groups, as well as a bipartisan group of U.S. senators, to release nearly $300 million in funding for education research. In fact, both groups sent letters to U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon this month calling for the…
According to a May 20, 2026 surgeon general's advisory published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), harmful screen use by children and teens has become a “public health concern.” The advisory noted that harmful screen use by youth can cause negative impacts on their cognitive and…
According to a May 20, 2026 announcement from the U.S. Department of Education (USDE), Louisiana became the second state to receive a federal waiver from certain K-12 funding requirements, allowing the state to consolidate funding streams. Louisiana’s waiver is similar to the one approved in January 2026 for Iowa. The…
Recently, the U.S. Department of Education’s (USDE) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced it was rescinding parts of a handful of Title IX resolution agreements issued under the Biden and Obama administrations. The move creates uncertainty for school districts that look to resolution agreements and OCR case resolutions as examples…
According to a May 13, 2026 announcement by the U.S. Department of Education (USDE), states and school districts will receive an additional $144 million this year for services to infants, toddlers, children and young adults with disabilities,. In the same announcement, the USDE released guidance on how states can use…
On May 6, 2026, a federal judge denied two Minnesota school districts’ request to temporarily stop Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity on school grounds in a lawsuit that ultimately seeks to overturn a Trump administration policy allowing such enforcement. The case was filed by Duluth Public Schools and Fridley…
Stress over Anti-LGBTQ+ laws, policies and debates have caused nine out of 10 LGBTQ+ youth stress or anxiety, according to 2025 data released by The Trevor Project in its annual report tracking LGBTQ+ mental health. In addition, over a third of LGBTQ+ young people seriously considered attempting suicide, while 1…
On April 30, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) launched investigations into 36 Illinois school districts in one of the agency’s largest efforts to investigate school districts under the Trump administration. The investigations are meant to determine if school districts ”included sexual orientation and gender ideology (SOGI) content in…
On April 30, 2026 a bill that would ban artificial intelligence companions from interacting with children and teens received unanimous approval from the Senate Judiciary Committee and now awaits Senate floor action. The Guidelines for User Age-verification and Responsible Dialogue Act (GUARD Act), would also require age verification for all…
The U.S. Department of Education’s (USDE) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) reached resolution agreements with schools and colleges in only 1% of pending cases in 2025, the lowest percentage from any OCR in over the last decade, according to a recent report from U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. The report…
