Category: News in the Field

Report: Proposed Head Start Changes Would Adversely Affect Children (August 19, 2026)

According to a report by the Children’s Equity Project at Arizona State University, which included a 50-state policy analysis of state childcare licensing standards, as researchers compared states’ licensing standards to existing federal Head Start quality standards they found the quality of early care and learning programs with regard to state standards is too often not aligned with best practices and research. In fact, the report claims that proposed changes in federal standards by the Trump administration would result in most toddlers experiencing worse adult-to-child ratios and only two states would meet Head Start lead teacher qualification requirements. The report also revealed that if Head Start programs would began to follow state childcare licensing standards instead of the federal performance quality standards that have been in place for years, only five states would require Head Start centers to be accessible to children with disabilities, only about a third of states would require programs to accommodate children with disabilities in classroom activities, and there would be uneven implementation of disciplinary approaches whereby some states would  allow or not explicitly ban abusive language, rest-related punishment, physical restraint, and locked or dark-room timeouts.

The report also found that “high-quality early childhood experiences are unevenly distributed, varying based on state, program type, funding stream, and zip code.” It also avers that “State licensing answers one question: What is the minimum set of standards required so children are not in danger? By contrast, Head Start asks: What conditions produce lifelong improvements for children’s development, health, learning, and family well-being?”

For more details from K-12 Dive, click here.

FCC Comment Period Now Open: E-rate’s Future Is in Question (August, 17, 2026)

E-rate, which provides discounted internet services to build connectivity for schools, gave $10.5 billion to districts between 2021 and 2025.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has begun to accept public comment on a proposed rule weighing changes to, including the discontinuance, of the federal E-rate program. The E-rate program, which provides discounted rates for internet services to schools and libraries, began in 1996 when President Bill Clinton signed the bipartisan Telecommunications Act.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, a year prior to its passage only 8% of public school classrooms had internet access. By 2003, 93% of public school classrooms had internet access. Most recently, between 2021 and 2005, $10.5 billion in federal funds to school districts came from E-rate, making E-rate the fifth largest source of federal funds for schools. In fact, almost 25,000 entities including districts, schools, consortiums and libraries received funds during that period.

FCC’s proposed rule, published in the Federal Register on August 14, 2026, asks if E-rate policy changes are needed in light of concerns over screen time in schools or whether the program “should be limited or sunset” given “today’s extensive connectivity rates.” The public comment period closes October 13, 2026.

Source: K-12 Dive.

CISA Provides Free K-12 Cybersecurity Guides for Schools (August 16, 2026)

As schools face the challenges of cyber vulnerability and limited resources, on August 12, 2026 the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) released a free collection of K-12 cybersecurity resources to help school and district leaders mitigate and respond to their unique cyber risks.

The CISA resources include two guides: The first aims to give school leaders the basic foundations for developing and improving K-12 cybersecurity programs, and the other is designed for K-12 cybersecurity leaders to find ways to sustain their approaches to cyber defense.

CISA and other federal resources have faced significant funding disruptions and staff cuts under the Trump administration, creating an uncertain future for the high-level support that cash-strapped schools desperately need.

As reported by K-12 Dive, the new CISA guidance reports advise K-12 school and cybersecurity leaders to implement the following objectives to strengthen their networks:
-Protect the login credentials of students and staff.
-Safeguard student and staff devices.
-Perform, verify and test backups.
-Create and practice a cyber incident response plan.
-Tap into available cybersecurity training and awareness campaigns.
-Protect sensitive data.
-Prioritize and invest in strategies outlined in the full list of applicable CISA Cross-Sector Cybersecurity Performance Goals.
-Develop a customized long-term cybersecurity plan that leans on the National Institute of Standards and Technology Cybersecurity Framework.

For more from K-12 Dive, click here.

USDE to End Disparate Impact Investigations (August 14, 2026)

School districts and states under federal investigation from the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) may soon see their cases narrowed or dropped as a result of the USDE’s recent announcement that it was formally walking back some systemic race-based discrimination investigations. The types of cases most likely to be affected were investigated by the Biden and Obama administrations under the disparate impact legal theory, which targets policies or practices that are neutral on their face but harm Black or other historically marginalized student groups in practice. The most common issue that has been targeted for investigation is how and whether schools equitably allocate their limited resources. Often, in those cases, school districts are often unintentionally acting in ways that result in disparate impact.

Disparate impact is a legal theory often used to reform policies and practices that unintentionally and disproportionately prevented students of color from accessing education, including issues involving discipline, access to advanced coursework and gifted programs, ability grouping and tracking, and school assignment and attendance boundaries

For more from K-12 Dive, click here.

Suit Filed Over USDE Professional Degree Definition (August 13, 2026)

On August 11, 2026, a coalition of unions, including the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), sued the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) over its regulatory definition of a “professional degree,” which excludes education graduate programs. The suit alleges that the omission of education graduate programs will make it more difficult and less attractive for students to enter the teaching profession.

In fact, students in advanced degree programs considered “professional” by the USDE are able to take out up to $200,000 in federal student loans. Education graduate students, and others pursuing fields excluded from the designation are capped at $100,000.

The lawsuit follows a federal judge’s June 2026 order from a temporarily blocking the USDE’s professional degree definition. Subsequently, as a result of that court order, the USDE expanded its list of professional degree programs to include nursing, physical therapy, athletic training and occupational therapy as of July 10th. However, education graduate programs have remained excluded.

For more from, K-12 Dive, click here.