The Education Trust

10/01/2026

Today, the Treasury Department released rules for how the new federal voucher program will work – and they’re bad for students.

States won’t be able to create rules that ensure participating private schools are actually getting good academic outcomes for students. The schools don’t have to follow federal laws guaranteeing educational access for students with disabilities or English learners. And students from some of the wealthiest families (the Treasury Department estimates only 4% of students won't be eligible) can get this taxpayer-funded benefit.

Treasury estimates this program will cost $26 billion each year, but we only spend $18.4 billion on Title I supports for students from low-income backgrounds.

The test of any education policy is simple: Who does it serve, and who does it leave behind? The voucher program serves the wealthy, and leaves students behind.

Find out more at edtrust.org/vouchers.

Here are resources communities can use to launch effective advocacy campaigns against school voucher programs.

09/29/2026

‼️🚨Education Alert: DOJ Sues All States With In-State Tuition Policies for Undocumented Students

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has now filed 25 lawsuits to end in-state tuition for undocumented students across 24 states + D.C. Six states including Texas, Kentucky, and Illinois, have already been forced to drop these rates, and Florida just banned undocumented students from enrolling in selective public universities in a Board of Governors vote that occurred on Sept. 4th.

Alejandra Vázquez Baur of EdTrust warns this "will deepen disparities in opportunity and access to certain career paths." Advocacy groups plan to take the fight to the Supreme Court.

🔗Read more on Inside Higher Ed: https://edtru.st/4AK6UiA

09/28/2026

Felicita Piñón was born weighing just 1 pound. She uses a power wheelchair, has cerebral palsy, and is a typical, spirited eighth grader who wanted to join her school cheerleading team.

When her middle school wouldn't make room for her on the cheerleading team, her mom Liz did what so many parents do: she filed a complaint with the federal Office for Civil Rights. An office that is supposed to deal with civil rights cases like this one when local school districts refuse to address the problem. The family didn’t get the outcome they wanted, but they got closure.

But that office has been gutted by budget cuts, with nearly half its staff let go, seven regional offices shut down, and thousands of complaints dismissed without real investigation. Parents describe "radio silence" where there used to at least be a response.

For families already fighting for their kids to get a fair shot at school, this is one more door quietly closing.

Read the full story 👇

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Filing a civil rights complaint with the Office of Civil Rights can be parents’ last stop. Following cuts and restructuring, this federal office is no longer serving that same resource.

09/28/2026

📢 Chronic absenteeism remains one of the toughest challenges facing K-12 education, with rates still well above pre-pandemic levels in most states. But some states are proving that real, measurable progress is possible.

Join EdTrust, the American Enterprise Institute, and Attendance Works, for "Portraits of Progress: How States Can Reduce Chronic Absenteeism," a webinar spotlighting the state leaders and advocates driving down absenteeism rates through data-informed, collaborative strategies.

Edtrust's National & State Partnerships Senior Director, Lynn C. Jennings, Ph.D., will join the conversation to share what's working, and what it will take for more states to hit the goal of cutting chronic absenteeism in half.

📅 Thursday, Oct. 1st
🕝 11am-12pm ET

🔗 Register here: https://www.aei.org/events/portraits-of-progress-how-states-can-reduce-chronic-absenteeism/

In this web event, education experts will discuss chronic absenteeism levels in the US, along with Rhode Island’s and Iowa’s efforts to successfully reduce these levels in their states.

09/25/2026

Nikole Hannah-Jones’ recent New York Times essay has set off a national conversation, on social media, in newsletters, around kitchen tables, and in social circles.

What Nikole Hannah-Jones' piece did was showcase the glaring inequities within the U.S. school system. It showed truly how broken the system is.

Poor school conditions are not natural, and they are not inevitable. They are the result of bad policy choices.

EdTrust knows that good policy makes good schools. So, we dove into the conversation.

On our blog, read three different perspectives from the point of view of a Black student, mother, and advocate. They all have one thing in common: We all want the best for our child. Some parents have options. But Black and Latino families often don’t. It shouldn’t have to be this way. This blog series moves the conversation from what one parent decided to what our country owes every child.

And it’s exactly why EdTrust fights for education equity for all students to have an excellent education, without parents having to jump through hoop after hoop. We have to work together to guarantee that every child gets a fair shot, so that we can become a Nation of Promise.

🔗Read our blog series

Parents deserve real choices, but no family should have to navigate around an inequitable education system to secure an excellent education for their child

09/24/2026

How can free college function as a sustainable national policy? How do we ensure equity for Black communities and communities of color? And why is free college a fundamental working-class and blue-collar issue?

Join Equity Research Cooperative for a live conversation with movement leaders shaping the national policy agenda — including Victoria Jackson, Assistant Director of Higher Education Policy at EdTrust. Don't miss this discussion on redefining higher education as a public good.

🗓️ Sept 29th, 2026

🕒 3:15–4:30 PM EST

💻 Live on Zoom

Register here: https://edtru.st/46Gy0JK

09/24/2026

Parents want one thing: a school where their child is challenged, nurtured, and safe.

For too many Black families, getting there means an impossible choice. Choose academic rigor, and your child may need therapy for the isolation of being one of few Black students in the building. Choose cultural affirmation, and they may need tutoring to make up for years of disinvestment, low expectations, and bad policy decisions that leave Black schools under-resourced.

This isn't a parenting problem. It's a system that concentrates academic opportunity in some communities and rations it in others, then blames the families and students left to navigate the gap.

Black students' brilliance should never be in question. It should be embraced, celebrated, and given every opportunity to grow, in every school, not just the ones families fight hardest to reach. Our children are not the problem, and neither are our families.

As Andre M. Perry puts it, "There's nothing wrong with Black people that ending racism can't solve."

EdTrust is preparing to advance A Nation of Promise, a policy agenda built on a simple idea: every student deserves an excellent education, safety, belonging, and a real path forward, guaranteed at their neighborhood public school.

Read our new blog, reflecting on Nikole Hannah-Jones' piece and the system behind this impossible choice:

The impossible choices Black families for their child’s education make reveal what America must transform

09/21/2026

Since the 2023 U.S. Supreme Court's Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard decision effectively ended affirmative action in college admissions, federal efforts to roll back diversity, equity, and inclusion in higher ed have accelerated.

Increased federal scrutiny has inspired state-level attacks too, and in response, many institutions are self-censoring lawful speech, curricula, and student supports.

DEI programs help every student succeed as they provide crucial support for meeting the needs of all students on campus and help develop a sense of belonging, especially students of color at predominantly white institutions (PWIs).

EdTrust built an advocacy toolkit with resources to assist students and advocates who are working tirelessly to defend these programs in your state. Explore it here:

Despite the ongoing threats to diversity, equity, and inclusion, college DEI programs are important for students of color to feel like they belong

09/17/2026

September is Student-Parent Month, a chance to think about what it takes to finish a degree while also being someone's whole world.

That's the reality for 1 in 5 college students today — they're parents too. They're getting the same grades as their classmates, sometimes better. But childcare now costs more than tuition in most states. And it’s often a contributing factor that only 18% of these students manage to graduate within six years.

The encouraging part? States are finally starting to listen. EdTrust-West's executive director, Chris Nellum dives into what's changing, and what's still missing.

Childcare costs are especially hard on student parents. When they can finish their degrees, families and local economies are stronger. Policymakers can build on a growing bipartisan consensus.

09/17/2026

🚨 EdTrust is !

Join our incredible Communications Team as our next Manager II, Digital Communications - National!

Are you a creative digital strategist and storyteller who can take an idea from concept to ex*****on? We’re looking for a team leader who can build and manage digital campaigns, support rapid response, and bring standout social, video, and multimedia content to life.

Then this role is for YOU. Help shape EdTrust’s digital voice and advance our mission to close opportunity gaps for students.

📌 Learn more + apply: https://edtru.st/4hdF7OE