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 13th report by the National College Attainment Network (NCAN), the rate of high school seniors completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) hit an all-time high with the class of 2026. That record rate of 54.7%, set as of May 1, 2026, came…
On May 18, 2026, the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) released final regulations detailing the process for how programs as short as eight weeks can get approval from their governors and the federal government to be eligible for Pell Grants. According to a USDE fact sheet, under the final rule…
In a May 15, 2026 announcement by the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB), which sets policy for and administers the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) exam, also know as the Nation’s Report Card, is restoring state-level NAEP 12th grade reading and math tests to occur in 2032. However, that…
According to a proposal sent to the White House on May 14, 2026, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) plans to end employee demographic data reporting by getting rid of EEO-1, EEO-2, EEO-3, EEO-4 and EEO-5 reporting requirements. EEOC also wants to eliminate reporting requirements related to Title VII…
On May 14, 2026, the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) closed the Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA), over a year after gutting its staff to just one. The office reportedly had around 15 employees. In doing so, the agency is compromising school districts’ ability to provide instruction to English…
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…
On April 30, 2026, the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) released final regulations excluding graduate education programs from its definition of “professional degrees,” making them ineligible for higher federal student loan caps. Consequently, borrowing for these programs will be capped at $100,000, as opposed to the $200,000 cap that is placed on…
On May 4, 2026 the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) published notice in the Federal Register and asked for clearance from the White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to begin its work on a national study of special education spending. The $5.6 million National Study of Special Education…
