ÌÇÐ͝Âþvlog

State Policy

Read more about state laws, regulations, and programs that impact education
A LifeWise Academy bus drops off students.
A LifeWise Academy bus drops off students.
LifeWise Academy
States More States Guarantee Students the Right to Religious Instruction Off Campus
At least 12 states require school districts to offer "released time" religious schooling upon parental request.
Robbie Sequeira, Stateline.org, September 3, 2025
6 min read
Upside down bluish green-colored Dollar symbol and finance graph shaped #2 pencil. On white-colored notepaper background.
Getty
Education Funding State Funding for Schools Is a Mess This Year, Too. Here's Why
The Trump administration's school funding disruptions have drawn significant attention, but schools are challenged by state budgets, too.
Mark Lieberman, August 29, 2025
12 min read
The Ocean City Boardwalk is pictured on Aug. 14, 2025, in Ocean City, Md.
The Ocean City Boardwalk is pictured on Aug. 14, 2025, in Ocean City, Md. Some states, including Maryland, have debated whether schools should start after Labor Day to maximize tourism dollars.
Robyn Stevens Brody/Sipa via AP
School & District Management Should Schools Start Before or After Labor Day? The Debate, Explained
Most districts now start before Labor Day. For holdouts, it's often about more than just tradition.
Elizabeth Heubeck, August 29, 2025
4 min read
Scientists say that climate change makes storms like hurricanes more destructive. This 2022 aerial view of Fort Myers Beach, Fla. shows the aftermath of Hurricane Ian which made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane.
In this aerial view, heavily damaged mobile homes are seen in Fort Myers Beach, Fla., a month after Hurricane Ian made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane in 2022, causing an estimated $67 billion in insured losses. Experts say climate change is leading to more hurricanes and floods.
Paul Hennessy/Sipa via AP
Science From Our Research Center Nearly Half of Teens Can’t Identify What Causes Climate Change. Why That Matters
Climate change is affecting many industries and students need a basic understanding of the concept to succeed in those fields, experts say.
Arianna Prothero, August 28, 2025
7 min read
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker talks with two crossing guards on Aug. 27, 2025, in the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker talks with two crossing guards on Aug. 27, 2025, in the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago. On Aug. 15, 2025, he signed into law a bill that protects all students' right to a free, public education regardless of immigration status.
Erin Hooley/AP
States How This State Is Protecting Undocumented Students’ Right to an Education
Illinois lawmakers passed a bill locally codifying the 1982 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Plyler v. Doe.
Ileana Najarro, August 28, 2025
4 min read
TahSoGhay Collah, right, teaches a 3rd grade English learners class at the 700-student Worthington Intermediate School that serves grades 3 through 5, in Worthington, Minn., on Oct. 22, 2024.
TahSoGhay Collah, right, teaches a 3rd grade English-learners class at the 700-student Worthington Intermediate School that serves grades 3 through 5, in Worthington, Minn., on Oct. 22, 2024. English-learner advocates call for national leaders to protect federal dollars dedicated to these students.
Jessie Wardarski/AP
English Learners Advocates Push Congress to Protect Funding for English Learners
President Donald Trump has called for eliminating federal dollars set aside for English learners. Advocates make their case.
Ileana Najarro, August 27, 2025
3 min read
Penelope Koutoulas holds signs supporting school choice in a House committee meeting on education during a special session of the state legislature Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn.
Penelope Koutoulas holds signs supporting school choice in a House committee meeting on education during a special session of the Tennessee state legislature on Jan. 28, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. After the passage of the first federal tax-credit scholarship, all states will have to decide whether to opt into the new program.
George Walker IV/AP
School Choice & Charters Tracker Federal Private School Choice: Which States Are Opting In?
Education Week is tracking state decisions on the first major federal program that directs public funds to private schools.
2 min read
Woman with cross on her mouth, unable to speak, concept of silence.
Getty
Teaching Profession Opinion A New Law Claims to Curb Teacher Sexual Misconduct. What Does It Really Do?
In one state, teachers now face strict limits on how they can communicate with students outside the classroom.
Lora Bartlett, August 21, 2025
6 min read
Jackson County High School in Kentucky posts the Ten Commandments in the front hall of the school, shown here in 2000, and in every classroom, on June 25, 2025. A group of North Texas reverends filed a federal lawsuit this week to challenge a new state law that would require posting the Ten Commandments in each public school classroom.
The Ten Commandments is seen on display at Jackson County High School in Kentucky in 2000. On Aug. 20, 2025, a federal judge blocked—in 11 school districts for now—a Texas state law requiring similar displays. Similar state laws in Arkansas and Louisiana have also been halted recently in at least part of each state.
<a href="https://www.gettyimages.com/search/2/image?artistexact=Lexington%20Herald-Leader">Lexington Herald-Leader</a>/Getty Images
Law & Courts Judge Blocks Texas Law Requiring Ten Commandments in Schools
A federal district judge ruled that the Texas law requiring Ten Commandments displays is schools likely violates the First Amendment.
Mark Walsh, August 20, 2025
4 min read
A copy of the Ten Commandments is posted along with other historical documents in a hallway of the Georgia Capitol, Thursday, June 20, 2024, in Atlanta. Civil liberties groups filed a lawsuit Monday, June 24, challenging Louisiana’s new law that requires the Ten Commandments to be displayed in every public school classroom.
A copy of the Ten Commandments is posted along with other historical documents in a hallway of the Georgia Capitol on June 20, 2024, in Atlanta. A judge on Aug. 4 blocked a new Arkansas law requiring a Ten Commandments display in public school classrooms in four districts in the state. Similar laws in Louisiana and Texas are also being challenged in courts.
John Bazemore/AP
Law & Courts Judge Blocks Arkansas Law Requiring Ten Commandments Displays in Schools
A federal judge blocked an Arkansas law requiring Ten Commandments displays in schools. The law is one of three being challenged nationwide.
Mark Walsh, August 5, 2025
6 min read
Robert Hill, Head of School at Alice M. Harte Charter School, talks with students in New Orleans on Dec. 18, 2018. Charter schools, which are publicly funded and privately operated, are often located in urban areas with large back populations, intended as alternatives to struggling city schools.
Robert Hill, Head of School at Alice M. Harte Charter School, talks with students in New Orleans on Dec. 18, 2018. Charter schools tend to be more popular in urban rather than rural areas.
Gerald Herbert/AP
School Choice & Charters The 3 States That Don't Allow Charter Schools—and Why
Rural states were historically resistant to charter schools, but that has changed in recent years.
Ciara Meyer, August 4, 2025
7 min read
Penelope Koutoulas holds signs supporting school choice in a House committee meeting on education during a special session of the state legislature Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn.
Penelope Koutoulas holds signs supporting school choice in a House committee meeting on education during a special session of the state legislature Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. The One, Big Beautiful Bill Act championed by President Donald Trump includes the first federal school voucher program. States will decide whether to opt in to the offering.
George Walker IV/AP
School Choice & Charters Opt In or Not? States Weigh Big Decision on Federal School Vouchers
A new federal program provides tax credits for donations to groups that provide private-school scholarships.
Brooke Schultz, August 4, 2025
7 min read
Transitional kindergarten teacher Amy Weisberg helps a young student at Topanga Charter Elementary School in the Topanga district of Los Angeles on Sept. 11, 2012. A California law requires public schools to add a grade level this fall designed to give the very youngest students a boost when they enroll in kindergarten, but charter schools say the law does not apply to them, pitting them against the state Department of Education.
Transitional kindergarten teacher Amy Weisberg helps a young student at Topanga Charter Elementary School in the Topanga district of Los Angeles on Sept. 11, 2012. California will require public schools that offer kindergarten to add free, inclusive prekindergarten this school year.
Nick Ut/AP
Early Childhood Q&A How a State's Transitional Kindergarten Expansion Has Gone So Far
California is gearing up to help more 4-year-olds get ready for kindergarten.
Elizabeth Heubeck, August 1, 2025
6 min read
A student works on math problems in a fourth grade classroom in Compton, Calif. on February. 6, 2025.
A student works on math problems in a classroom in Compton, Calif. on Feb. 6, 2025. At least one state, Louisiana, is now investing in training all its middle school math teachers on how they can build on skills learned in elementary math.
Eric Thayer/AP
Professional Development Why This State Is Requiring 50 Hours of Math Training for Teachers
Some teachers said they still wanted more practical strategies to support students who were multiple grade levels behind.
Sarah Schwartz, July 30, 2025
8 min read