01

India’s Education Minister Resigns After Student Protests

India’s Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned Saturday, handing a major concession to the youth-led “Cockroach” protest movement that has swept the country for weeks. The demonstrations, organized by the newly formed Cockroach Janta Party, erupted after allegations that entrance exams to some of India’s most competitive medical and professional programs had been leaked and sold, with unrest intensifying after police used tear gas and baton charges against student protesters earlier in the week. Pradhan, a senior figure in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, said he did not want students “entangled in legal complexities” and framed the resignation as a step to honor “the aspirations, feelings, and legitimate expectations of the country’s youth.”

02

U.S. Department of Education Announces Major Regulatory Changes

The Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights this week finalized a rule eliminating the decades-old Methods of Administration program, which required states to run compliance reviews specific to Career and Technical Education. The move is part of a broader deregulatory push: the Department’s newly released 2026 regulatory agenda outlines plans to overhaul accreditation rules (making it easier for new accreditors to form and colleges to switch), expand civil-rights review under Title VI and Title IX, tighten foreign-gift reporting under Section 117, and streamline the process for colleges to merge or close.

03

AI Governance in Schools Continues to Accelerate

States are moving from writing AI guidance to enforcing it. The State University of New York adopted a systemwide AI policy across all 64 campuses, mandating staff training and bias evaluation and embedding AI literacy into general education starting this fall, while Maryland districts face a fall 2026 deadline to adopt local policies aligned to the state’s new AI-Ready Schools framework. Illinois’s legislature has directed its state board to issue guidance this month, and the National Association of State Boards of Education says 2026 marks a shift “from initial AI guidance to enforcing policies,” with growing emphasis on safety, equity, and workforce readiness.

04

Student Safety and Educator Misconduct Remain a Major Priority

The U.S. Department of Education issued a Dear Colleague letter this month directing states and districts to stop the practice of “passing the trash” — quietly allowing employees accused of misconduct to move between schools — and has opened 20 new investigations into districts nationwide. Washington state’s schools chief separately proposed rule changes that would require districts to report suspected educator misconduct to the state within 30 days and grant investigators new authority to place emergency limits on a teacher’s license, following reporting that identified oversight gaps in how allegations have historically been handled.

05

Climate Change Is Becoming an Education Issue

New York’s climate-education mandate took permanent effect this spring, making it the second state after New Jersey to require cross-curricular K-12 instruction on the causes and solutions of climate change, with implementation phased in for grades 5-12 in 2027-28 and grades K-4 the following year. Researchers at Brookings note the issue cuts both ways for schools: extreme weather is increasingly disrupting instruction through closures and unsafe heat, even as schools are positioned to lead through resilient facilities, emissions reductions, and career-connected climate curricula.

06

Concerns Continue Over Declining Humanities Programs

Humanities majors have fallen from 13.1% to 8.8% of all bachelor’s degrees over the past decade, according to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the pressure is intensifying as colleges confront the 2026 enrollment cliff. Syracuse University eliminated 84 majors this spring, with humanities and fine arts departments absorbing the largest cuts, and the University of Chicago has paused graduate admissions to several humanities programs. A recent faculty survey found humanities and social-science instructors were the group most likely to report their courses had been cut.

07

Reading and Literacy Remain High on Policy Agendas

More than 42 states and Washington, D.C. now have laws or formal policies promoting evidence-based reading instruction, and a bipartisan bill advancing in Congress, the Science of Reading Act, would extend that campaign nationally by prioritizing federal literacy grants for states aligned with the approach while formally excluding the discredited three-cueing method. States are backing the push with greater support for foundational literacy and new investment in early reading: North Carolina’s latest budget adds $7.6 million for literacy instruction and a dedicated early-literacy fund, while New Jersey’s FY26 budget includes $122 million for student literacy, alongside universal reading screeners and individualized reading plans now spreading district by district.

AI in Education Guides

Updated classroom policies, lesson ideas, and ethical AI implementation strategies for teachers.

TeachAI Toolkit →  |  ISTE AI Resources →

Literacy Resources

Evidence-based reading instruction materials, phonics activities, and Science of Reading toolkits.

Reading Rockets →  |  The Reading League →

Back-to-School Planning

Classroom setup guides, first-week lesson plans, student engagement activities, and administrative checklists.

Edutopia Back-to-School Hub →  |  Scholastic Teachables →

STEM & Technology

Free lesson plans, coding activities, engineering challenges, and digital learning resources.

Code.org →  |  NASA STEM Engagement →

Professional Development

Webinars, online courses, and educator toolkits focused on instructional strategies, classroom management, and educational technology.

edWeb Free Webinars →  |  ASCD Professional Learning →

Funding Opportunities

New grants, scholarships, and classroom funding opportunities available to schools and educators.

DonorsChoose →  |  Grants.gov →