01
McMahon's 'National Call to Action' Presses Colleges to Publish Reform Commitments
U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon issued an open letter to university presidents and governing boards, asking every postsecondary institution to publish - by the end of 2026 - a public statement outlining its commitments across seven areas: admissions transparency, free speech, intellectual pluralism, affordability, academic rigor, research security, and national service. Unlike last year's 'Compact,' the letter sets no penalties and conditions no funding, but it lands amid an ongoing environment of federal oversight.
Read at U.S. Department of Education →
02
HHS Proposes a Sweeping Head Start Overhaul
The administration unveiled a proposed rule, 'Reducing Federal Burden for Head Start Programs,' that would loosen or eliminate more than 1,400 provisions - from class ratios and staffing to health screenings - and shift authority to states. Officials say cutting the administrative-cost cap from 15% to 5% could free $2.2 billion and serve up to 268,000 more children; providers warn it could weaken the 60-year-old anti-poverty program. The rule is open for 60 days of public comment.
Read at Washington Post →
03
Vaccine Executive Order Targets School Mandates as Measles Surges
A new executive order recognizes 11 'core' childhood immunizations (down from 18), calls for splitting the MMR shot into three separate injections once available, and directs the Justice Department to challenge - and the Education Department to cut grants to - states whose school vaccine laws it deems to conflict with religious or parental rights. States, not the federal government, set school entry requirements, so the practical school-level impact remains uncertain.
Read at TIME →
04
Back to School 2026: Phones Banned, AI Screened
As tens of thousands of students returned to class this week, districts rolled out some of their strictest tech policies yet - bell-to-bell cellphone bans, tighter limits on school-issued-device screen time, and new rules treating unauthorized AI use as an academic-integrity violation. The through-line: schools are trying to rebuild focus and independent judgment, not just restrict devices.
Read at Psychology Today →
05
Measles Hits a 35-Year High as the School Year Opens
The CDC has confirmed more than 2,465 measles cases in 2026 as of early August - already surpassing all of 2025, itself the worst year since 1991. Some 93% of patients were unvaccinated or of unknown status, and 68% are 19 or younger, putting new pressure on school nurses and immunization-verification processes just as classrooms fill back up.
Read at CIDRAP →
06
'It Wouldn't Be Head Start Anymore': Providers Push Back
As the Head Start proposal circulated, providers and early-childhood experts warned that loosening class-size, health-screening and parent-involvement rules could make the program resemble commercial childcare and erode a consistent national standard. Advocates argue families would lose the assurance that 'Head Start means the same thing everywhere.'
Read at The 19th →
07
Cellphone Restrictions Now Reach Most of the Country
At least 38 states and D.C. now require districts to ban or restrict student phone use, with 28 states and D.C. adopting full 'bell-to-bell' policies - a remarkable acceleration from a single state in 2023. Public opinion is behind it: a Pew survey found 77% of U.S. adults support banning phones during class.
Read at Patch →
08
Teachers Are Using AI - Often Without Any Training
As AI becomes an ordinary feature of classroom life, a recurring theme this back-to-school season is that many teachers say they aren't getting good guidance on how to use it responsibly and effectively. It's a gap echoed in new K12 Academics research (featured above): 60% of teachers now use AI, and most received no training.
Read at Education Week →
09
Special Education Data and a Lawsuit Against the Education Department
This week's K-12 policy tracking spanned new figures on written state special-education complaints and a fresh lawsuit against the U.S. Education Department - part of a busy stretch of legal and regulatory activity shaping how districts serve students with disabilities heading into the new year.
Read at K-12 Dive →
10
The Changing Character of Kindergarten
A widely shared analysis this week argued that kindergarten across the nation is changing - and not for the better - shifting away from discovery, creativity and the foundational social-emotional skills that early learners need, toward more formal academics. It's a debate with fresh urgency as the youngest students head back to class.
Read at EdNC →
