State and Legislative Updates from SEF’s Government Affairs Team

The weeks of 8/17 – 8/28

Greetings all,

As we begin to close out August, the past couple of weeks have been busy as students across the nation head back to school, and many colleges and universities welcome students back to campus. Much of the latest education policy news cycle has covered the higher education landscape, ranging from states exploring new funding models to experimenting with shorter degree timelines. This is all amid national reports of enrollment declines and cliffs not only plaguing K-12 but also our nation’s universities. See more below:

Higher education updates:

  • Georgia’s public universities can now offer three-year bachelor’s degrees. Texas Governor Greg Abbott recently directed the state’s Higher Education Coordinating Board to begin exploring three-year degree options as well.
  • Reports from Kentucky show a positive correlation between dual-credit courses and helping students from low-income families.
  • Louisiana lawmakers are grappling with how to fund a system facing more demands than ever before, including an $800 million shortfall, even as state and federal dollars and K-12 enrollment decline.
  • South Carolina is expanding a scholarship program designed to make college possible for high-achieving students with financial need.

As always, we hope you find the resources below helpful and meaningful to your work to support students of color and students from low-income families across the South.

The Latest from SEF:

  • Expanding regional efforts to strengthen infant, early childhood, and maternal mental health – SEF announced a one-year grant from the Perigee Fund to expand its work advancing infant and early childhood mental health and maternal mental health across the South. Read the full press release here.

State Updates

Alabama

  • Alabama Community College System to join network expanding broadband – The Alabama Community College System Board of Trustees said that the system has joined a network that works with rural electric cooperatives to expand broadband service around the state. (Alabama Reflector) Read More
  • Proposed changes to Head Start program could affect Alabama – Changes to the federal Head Start program could have major impacts across Alabama. If the program loses funding, three-year-olds in the state could be left without early childhood education programs. (Alabama Reflector) Read More

Florida

  • Florida schools lose thousands more students. More closures possible. – The trend away from public schools continues this fall across Florida. In the Tampa Bay area, both the Pasco and Pinellas districts reported early numbers showing declines from a year ago. (Tampa Bay Times) Read More

Georgia

  • Georgia greenlights 3-year college bachelor’s degree – Want a bachelor’s degree but don’t want to spend four years in college? Georgia’s public universities can now offer a three-year alternative. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution – Subscription Required) Read More
  • Georgia ranks in the middle in many education categories. Is that a problem?. With the new school year, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution spoke to more than a dozen education experts and policymakers in the state and consulted major data sources to confirm: Georgia’s education system is, well, mid. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution – Subscription Required) Read More

Kentucky

  • As universal pre-K expands in Kentucky, Glasgow schools prepare to welcome every 4-year-old – State leaders hope Kentucky’s universal pre-K pilot will improve kindergarten readiness while helping more parents return to the workforce. In Glasgow, one of the first districts participating, educators say the program builds on more than a decade of local investment in early childhood education. (WKU Public Radio) Read More
  • Dual credit courses helping low-income students across state – More low-income students are successfully completing college courses before graduating high school, according to a new report released on Wednesday by the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education. (Kentucky Today) Read More

Louisiana

  • State task force begins high-stakes review of Louisiana’s school-funding formula – A high-stakes review of Louisiana’s system for allocating billions of dollars to public schools each year kicked off, launching a process that could produce a plan to overhaul the decades-old funding system in just a few months. (Louisiana School Boards Association) Read More
  • Q&A: Kim Hunter Reed, Louisiana higher education commissioner – Commissioner of Higher Education Kim Hunter Reed oversees Louisiana’s colleges and universities. In a recent interview, she detailed her work with the state Board of Regents and how its programs serve students in Louisiana. (Louisiana Illuminator) Read More
  • Higher education in Louisiana, short $800M, appears headed for a funding overhaul – A legislative task force is staring at a growing problem with higher education in Louisiana: How to fund a system with more demands than ever before while state and federal dollars are on the decline. (Louisiana Illuminator) Read More
  • Louisiana’s Hunger-Free Campus Program Receives Historic $1M Investment – During the 2026 Regular Legislative Session, Louisiana legislators invested $1M in the Hunger-Free Campus Program, supporting efforts to address food insecurity among college students statewide. On Monday, the Board of Regents announced plans for distribution to participating campuses. (Louisiana Board of Regents) Read More
  • New order from judge in CPSB desegregation case, most federal oversight ended – The Calcasieu Parish school system has been under federal watch for over six decades. U.S. District Judge James David Cain ruled that most of that oversight is ending, but one major issue remains unresolved. The court will maintain oversight of the district’s facility bonding practices. (KPLC News) Read More

 Maryland

  • Maryland Hispanic student enrollment declines amid immigration fears – Hispanic enrollment in Maryland public schools began to decline last school year after growing at an average rate of 4.7% per year since pandemic-era lows. With immigration arrests taking place and immigrant parents being detained, fewer Latino students are showing up in class. (Maryland Matters) Read More
  • School starts with new funds for teacher hiring, new standardized tests, more – Students are returning to a school year with shorter comprehensive tests, renewed attendance efforts, increased math support, and nearly $15 million in Grow Your Own grants to address the teacher shortage. (Maryland Matters) Read More

Mississippi

  • ‘We paid the price’: End of Rankin County schools desegregation order worries Black residents – McLaurin joined a lawsuit in 1967 to ensure Black students and teachers were treated fairly in Rankin County. In July 2026, U.S. District Judge Kristi Johnson ended court oversight after finding school leaders were fair enough to Black students and staff. McLaurin, along with six Black Rankin County schools alumni, believe the decision was premature. (Mississippi Today) Read More
  • For early grade reading gains, states look to Mississippi and consider holding students back – When Mississippi overhauled its literacy education in 2013, one of the most controversial pieces was a policy to retain third-graders if they couldn’t pass the reading portion of the state’s English language arts assessment. (Mississippi Today) Read More
  • State lawmakers weigh performance-based funding – State lawmakers are considering changing how the state’s universities and community colleges are funded. The proposed legislation outlines that funding should evaluate graduation rates. Universities and colleges would be evaluated based on a three-year average. (WJTV News) Read More

Missouri

  • State education board wary of $300 million school funding increase – State education officials are preparing to ask lawmakers for roughly $300 million more for public schools next year, setting up a potentially difficult budget fight as the state faces a projected revenue shortfall. (Missouri Independent) Read More

North Carolina

  • What declining birth rates mean for education across the Carolinas – A Queen City News Back-to-School Special is looking at what’s driving the demographic shift, how schools are responding, and what it could mean for the future of education. (WJZY News) Read More
  • Stein touts historic teacher pay raises as NC students return to school – As North Carolina students and teachers head back to school, Gov. Josh Stein highlighted the state’s 2026 budget that delivers the largest average teacher pay raise for the state in 20 years, and the largest increase in starting teacher pay in about 50 years. (NC Newsline) Read More

Oklahoma

  • Oklahoma ends federal food program for schools with expanded hours – The State Department of Education discontinued a federal program that funded third meals for public schools operating with extended hours. State Superintendent Lindel Fields said the U.S. Department of Agriculture encouraged his administration to end the program. (Oklahoma Voice) Read More

South Carolina

  • Meeting Street Scholarship Fund to expand to all 46 counties in South Carolina – A scholarship program designed to make college possible for high-achieving students with financial need is expanding statewide. (The Post and Courier) Read More

Tennessee

  • Fiscal Capacity 101: A Key Factor in K-12 Education Funding in Tennessee — TISA preserved the state’s approach to determining how those costs are split among individual school districts, based on calculations of what locals can afford to spend for themselves—known as fiscal capacity. This report explains how these aspects of TISA work today. (The Sycamore Institute) Read More
  • Should the state fully fund special education pre-K programs? – A top committee of educators wants lawmakers to include special education pre-kindergarten students in the state’s public school funding formula. (Chalkbeat Tennessee) Read More
  • Will schools benefit from the state’s budget surplus? – The state closed the most recent fiscal year with a $1.2 billion budget surplus. Now, policymakers will need to decide what to do about it. (Tennessee Education Report) Read More

Texas

  • New hearing sought in fight over Texas law that gave undocumented students in-state tuition – An advocacy group is seeking a new federal appeals court hearing in its effort to defend the Texas Dream Act, a longstanding state law that allowed some undocumented students to pay in-state tuition at public colleges and universities. (The Texas Tribune) Read More
  • Texas should establish three-year bachelor’s degree options, Gov. Greg Abbott says – Gov. Greg Abbott directed the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to work on pathways for students to earn bachelor’s degrees in three years. (The Texas Tribune) Read More
  • What to know about state takeovers as state wrestles with the future of Austin public schools – Chronic academic underperformance at two Austin public schools has the district in jeopardy of severe state sanctions. Now, the state Education Commissioner will decide what intervention looks like for the school district of nearly 70,000 students. (The Texas Tribune) Read More

West Virginia

  • The state’s Attorney General takes issue with Kanawha County policy on Hope Scholarship and special education students – West Virginia Attorney General has asked state school officials to intervene after his office learned of a Kanawha County Schools policy regarding the Hope Scholarship and students with disabilities. (West Virginia Watch) Read More
  • ACLU defends need for school funding reform through lawsuit on behalf of Lincoln County students – The ACLU-WV announced earlier this week that it will file a lawsuit against the state of West Virginia and education stakeholders over the funding of Lincoln County Schools, claiming that current funding is inadequate and violates the state’s constitutional requirement to provide an efficient and fair education. (WV News) Read More

National/Federal Updates

Early Childhood Education News and Resources

  • Preserving Access And Opportunity In Head Start For Dual Language Learners: A Review Of The Science, Legislative Mandates, And Regulatory Requirements – This policy brief reviews the latest research and data on teaching and learning for the youngest DLLs, and explores the policy landscape across the IHSSA, former and contemporary versions of the HSPPS, and state child care licensing standards. (Children’s Equity Project) Read More
  • At a Glance: Developmental Environments – In this report, learn how a wide range of conditions in children’s environments affect their development and lifelong health—and discover how we can create places free of hazards and rich with opportunity for all children. (Harvard University Center on the Developing Child. Read More

K-12 Education News and Resources

  • Trump’s school voucher program could become a public school cash machine – Starting next year, taxpayers can earmark up to $1,700 to not only help families pay for private schools but also to support some services at public schools. (The Washington Post – Subscription Required)  Read More
  • AI can help students learn new material, but many aren’t using it that way – This is the emerging problem with artificial intelligence tools designed to help students learn. The latest evidence is a new study finding that middle school students rarely used an AI-powered tutor when given the option. (Chalkbeat Newsletter) Read More
  • A Vision and Strategy for Remaking the National Center for Education Statistics – This paper makes the case for re-envisioning NCES, whose outdated structures and resources have long limited its ability to meet modern information needs, and whose capacity and expertise were further gutted in early 2025. (The American Statistical Association) Read More
  • Weighted student funding: successes and challenges in the K-12 education landscape – Against the backdrop of the Trump administration’s sweeping cuts to education, state and local governments are facing instability while continuing to shoulder the main responsibility of funding, providing, and administering K-12 education. (The Center for American Progress) Read More
  • E-rate at risk – For 30 years, the federal government has helped fund internet access to libraries and schools across the nation through the E-rate program. The program has made internet access affordable for many public institutions, but following a recent review by the Federal Communications Commission, the funding source could reduce or eliminate E-rate funding. (The Journal) Read More
  • Americans are united against the tech takeover of public schools – New technology, including AI, is rapidly transforming classrooms and childhood with little oversight or parental input. New polling from The Century Foundation explores Americans’ views on this shift and what they want done about it. (The Century Foundation) Read More
  • When is suspending students discrimination? Education Department renews an old fight – The U.S. Department of Education recently announced it was investigating Fayetteville Public Schools in Arkansas because teachers there “were directed to take students’ racial identities into account when issuing discipline as part of an effort to bring about ‘restorative justice’ to address ‘the disproportionality of discipline on students of color.’” (NPR) Read More

Higher Education News and Resources

  • States Narrow Funding Gaps for Historically Black Land-Grant Institutions – Three years ago, the Biden administration publicly scolded 16 states for underfunding historically Black land-grant universities by a whopping $13 billion over 30 years. The then–education and agriculture secretaries asked the states to pay up. (Inside Higher Ed) Read More
  • U.S. Department of Education threatens to cut aid from schools not documenting value of degrees – The Department of Education has threatened to end federal aid to multiple colleges for not meeting deadlines to document whether certain degrees are valuable. (The National News Desk) Read More
  • America’s colleges are hurtling toward an enrollment cliff – Higher education is hitting a demographic cliff. After years of growth, the pipeline of 18-year-olds is dwindling—a result of lower birth rates. (The Wall Street Journal – Subscription Required) Read More
  • Higher education policymakers are focused on preparing students for AI. They should also focus on protecting them – Across higher education, workforce systems, and state governments, policymakers are increasingly focused on preparing students for a future shaped by artificial intelligence. But policymakers may be overlooking another question that deserves equal attention. (The Education Trust) Read More
  • America’s college enrollment map is being redrawn – America’s future college pipeline is growing in the South and shrinking across the Northeast and California. \Colleges in shrinking markets will face a fierce fight for students, while growing regions will have to adapt to serve an expanding, more diverse student body. (Axios) Read More

Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns, and if we can assist with any government affairs or advocacy issues moving forward.

Sincerely,

Fred Jones, Senior Director of Public Policy and Advocacy,

fjones@southerneducation.org  

Darian Burns, Legislative and Public Policy Analyst,

dburns@southerneducation.org  

Allison Boyle, Research and Policy Specialist,

aboyle@southerneducation.org