K-12 Education Policy

Who Pays for Choice? The Threat Privatization Poses to Public Education

Join CAP and NCLD for a virtual event about the growing trend of privatizing public education and unpack the real costs of school choice, revealing how it affects students, weakens local schools, and strains communities.

How the School Choice Agenda Harms Rural Students

As proponents of private school voucher programs continue to push for expansion, it is important to highlight the harms these programs can have on rural communities.

The Sudden Loss of Federal COVID-19 Relief Funds Will Hinder K-12 Academic Progress

The recent rescission of COVID-19 relief funding for K-12 schools will harm districts and limit their ability to address learning loss and student achievement.

Introducing a Framework for Private School Voucher Accountability

As privatization efforts to redirect funding from public K-12 schools to private institutions continue to expand, an accountability framework for private voucher programs must be implemented to ensure positive student outcomes and thorough oversight of taxpayer dollars.

Department of Education Staff Cuts Will Harm America’s Children and Schools

The recent decision to slash the U.S. Department of Education’s workforce nearly in half will leave it unable to carry out its responsibilities and statutory requirements under the law.

Frequently Asked Questions About the U.S. Department of Education

The U.S. Department of Education provides vital resources to schools, students, and families across the country to ensure everyone has access to a high-quality education.

The Importance of Holding Microschools Accountable

As school choice expands and new models such as microschools emerge, policymakers and advocates must ensure that these options adhere to accountability standards and do not divert critical resources from a universally accessible, high-quality public education system.

Ensuring Digital Accessibility in K-12 Schools in a Technology-Driven Era

As technology advances and becomes more integral to K-12 education, school districts and policymakers must prioritize digital accessibility to enhance the educational experiences of students with disabilities and promote equity for all learners.

A Progressive Vision for Education in the 21st Century

This report encompasses key recommendations for strengthening the American education system across early childhood education, K-12 education, higher education, and workforce development.

Workforce Development State Strategies: A 50-State Scan of Best Practices From Recent Action

States can strengthen their workforces through fostering registered apprenticeships, establishing career pathways, providing supportive services, addressing demand in critical industries, and other measures.

Lessons From K-12 Education Relief Aid To Improve Federally Funded Programs

As COVID-19-era relief funding from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund winds down, federal policymakers should look toward expanding and improving existing base programs for K-12 public education to sustain vital investments.

Using Learning Science To Analyze the Risks and Benefits of AI in K-12 Education

Before adopting AI tools, it is important that schools think critically about whether these tools will further divorce students from how their brains are primed to learn.

Hear From a Child Care Director: How Extreme Heat Affects Young Children

Extreme heat places a strain on child care program facilities and poses risks to children’s health, learning, and development.

Fact Sheet: Local School Board Elections Matter

Local school boards help shape their communities, yet few people show up to their elections.

5 Reasons To Pay Attention to Local School Board Elections

As voters prepare for election season, they should not discount the importance of their local school boards.

Hear From a Teacher: How Extreme Heat Affects Student Learning

In rural and low-income communities, inadequate school infrastructure fails to protect students from extreme heat, negatively affecting student attendance, engagement, and achievement.

Investing in GEAR UP To Advance College and Career Readiness: Pathways to Success

Access to higher education remains strongly divided by race and socioeconomic status; programs such as GEAR UP that increase college readiness and enrollment for underrepresented groups are more important than ever.

How Joy and Belonging Can Help Underrepresented Students Succeed in STEM

Fostering joy and belonging in STEM has the potential to open doors for underrepresented students in both STEM education and the STEM workforce.

States want to reduce qualifications for teachers. That’s a huge mistake.

Paige Shoemaker DeMio writes in MSNBC about why teachers should be treated as trained professionals.

How States and Districts Can Close the Digital Divide To Increase College and Career Readiness

To ensure that all students are college and career ready, policymakers and educators must focus their attention on closing the digital divide.

Project 2025’s Elimination of Title I Funding Would Hurt Students and Decimate Teaching Positions in Local Schools

Project 2025 would decimate more than 180,000 teacher positions and negatively affect the academic outcomes of 2.8 million vulnerable students across the country.

Executive Summary: Protecting Children From Extreme Heat Is Critical for Their Health, Learning, and Development

This fact sheet summarizes a recent Center of American Progress report highlighting the need for policymakers to take steps to develop heat standards for children and support infrastructure improvements to ensure schools, child care centers, and communities are safe and healthy places for children.

Protecting Children From Extreme Heat Is Critical for Their Health, Learning, and Development

As climate change intensifies extreme heat around the globe, policymakers must take steps to develop heat standards for children and support infrastructure improvements to ensure schools, child care centers, and communities are safe and healthy places for children.

In Pursuit of Justice: Fulfilling the Promise of Brown v. Board of Education

If we hope to produce an active and diverse citizenry committed to advancing democratic principles, our students must be able to learn with and from peers of different races, ethnicities, languages, faiths, and economic status.

Summit on Education: Reset. Reframe. Reform.

2024 Summit on Education: Reset. Reframe. Reform.

Investing in School Libraries and Librarians To Improve Literacy Outcomes

Libraries and librarians not only spark a love of learning; they are crucial to reversing low reading assessment scores across the country.

K-12 Work-Based Learning Opportunities: A 50-State Scan of 2023 Legislative Action

Policymakers must work alongside educators and industry leaders to develop high-quality, equitable work-based learning models that bring these opportunities to more students.

Fact Sheet: Scaling Up High-Dosage Tutoring Is Crucial to Students’ Success

This fact sheet outlines the state of learning loss in the United States and the necessity of implementing high-dosage tutoring programs to accelerate learning and ensure student success.

Scaling Up High-Dosage Tutoring Is Crucial to Students’ Academic Success

Policymakers must take action to support states and districts in implementing high-dosage tutoring to ensure opportunities for student success.

Fact Sheet: 3 Trends in K-12 Assessments Across the Country

Reforms of state assessment systems could measure student learning more accurately and effectively, providing educators the information they need to close achievement gaps.

House Republican Budget Threatens Public Education and Opportunity for Young People

House Republican leadership’s proposed funding bill would vastly cut support for economically disadvantaged students and eliminate important programs in the K-12 education, youth workforce development, and higher education spheres.

5 Ways Government Can Reimagine K-12 School Design in the Wake of COVID-19

State and federal governments must empower schools to redesign teaching and learning for the generations to come.

2023 CAP IDEAS Conference

Join the Center for American Progress as we celebrate 20 years of innovative policy solutions and look boldly forward to a progressive future.

Hawkins Centers of Excellence at Minority-Serving Institutions Are Boosting Teacher Diversity

Congress must maintain funding for a long-overlooked program that is helping to recruit and support more teachers of color.

5 Ways State Governments Can Support Student Mental Health

As the country faces a student mental health crisis, state policymakers must focus on instituting policies that support schools in best serving their students’ needs.