On July 30, 2026, the U.U. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) approved a bipartisan bill that would prohibit the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) from transferring four of its offices to other federal agencies. The legislation, S. 5046, would specifically block the outsourcing of USDE offices that oversee special education, postsecondary education, elementary and secondary education, and Native American education programs.

However, in spite of Senate Democrats’ attempts during the committee markup to include an amendment that would also block the transfer of the USDE’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR), the revision was voted down 12-11.

Other K-12 bills passed by HELP included S. 4689, the Reading Excellence and Achievement for Development Act, which would make changes to state literacy development grant programs and align the science of reading with federal accountability and investments in research, teacher preparation and evidence-based instruction. Also included was S. 3010, the 21st Century Dyslexia Act, which would amend the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to promote early screenings for children with dyslexia.

The bill now awaits a full Senate vote and comes two weeks after the House having introduced 10 bills that would codify some of the USDE transferal moves.

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The U.S. Department of Education (USDE) is ending the collection of key civil rights data on the nation’s LGBTQ+ students. The result of this action ends the gathering of data and definitions related to the harassment, bullying, and assaults regarding a group of students found to be more at-risk of such incidents. 

The changes will be made to the Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC), a mandated survey of all public school districts that has been administered for almost six decades.

The 2025-26 survey, which was approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in July, will eliminate schools’ reporting of how many students identify as nonbinary, how often they are victims of harassment and bullying, and whether school districts have policies prohibiting those incidents.

Source: K-12 Dive

On July 27, 2026, a federal judge temporarily prevented the Trump administration’s continued attempts to revoke school-based mental health grants awarded under the Biden administration. The 15 states behind the lawsuit were awarded up to $1 billion in mental health grants that were at risk of being cancelled beginning July 31st. The temporary restraining order protects the plaintiffs until a further decision is made in the case.

The USDE has said it intends to cancel up to $1 billion for some states despite a court order preventing its first attempt to do so last year.

Previously, a December 2025 order from the same court found that the administration’s first attempt at terminating the grants was unlawful and permanently blocked them, despite an attempted appeal by the U.S. Department of Education (USDE). In fact, the order said that it is unlawful to make funding decisions for already-approved multi-year grants by “evaluating their original grant applications against new unpublished priorities not in effect at the time that the Grants were approved.”

Although the July 27th decision is temporary, the court said that the USDE “has formulated a plan to re-review Grants for termination based on unlawful reasons,” and the states were likely to succeed in the case on at least some of their allegations, including that the administration’s cancellations were arbitrary and capricious. The temporary restraining order expires August 24, 2026, at which time a preliminary injunction or other means of pausing things may be issued until a final decision is made in the case.

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As reported by K-12 Dive, on July 23, 2026 the U.S. Department of Education’s (USDE)  Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced that it has rescinded regulations to implement disparate impact provisions under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Those regulations have been used to investigate school districts accused of racial discrimination. In fact, a final rule was published on July 24, 2026 Friday in the Federal Register without seeking public comment beforehand.

The move is in accordance with a 2025 executive order issued by President Donald Trump that called to “eliminate” disparate impact liability “in all contexts to the maximum degree possible to avoid violating the Constitution, Federal civil rights laws, and basic American ideals.”

It is feared that the removal of OCR’s disparate impact process will harm Black, Latino, Asian American, Native American, and other students of color who face higher discrimination rates.

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