Special education and disability groups have been joined by some state attorneys general in pushing back against a U.S. Department of Education (USDE) plan to drop certain data collections tracking racial disparities. In a March 23 Federal Register notice, the USDE sought public comment on proposed changes to the federally…
The U.S. Department of Education’s (USDE) professional degree definition is now being challenged in court as 25 states and the District of Columbia sued the USDE on May 19, 2026 for excluding graduate nursing and other major fields, including education. The plaintiffs, led by Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown, said…
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 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…
For years, in most parts of the country employees who work at schools or colleges that receive federal funding could personally sue their employer for sex discrimination under Title IX. However, on May 18th the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a case that could change that. In Thomas Crowther…
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…
