State and Legislative Updates from SEF’s Government Affairs Team

The weeks of  6/8 – 6/18

Greetings all,

So much has happened, especially at the federal level, over the last two weeks. Given the volume of activity, we encourage you to review the topline headlines below for a full picture of what has recently unfolded. Among the most notable updates:

  • The U.S. Department of Education is moving special education and civil rights responsibilities to the Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Justice, respectively.
  • U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici seeks to Impeach Linda McMahon, claiming that McMahon violated her oath of office as well as federal law by transferring dozens of programs at the Education Department to other federal agencies without congressional consent.
  • The Treasury and IRS released a preview of draft guidance on the federal tax-credit scholarship program, with official rules for comment set to be released near back-to-school time within a few months.

At the state level, we are seeing reports of continued enrollment declines and potential school consolidations in states such as Florida and Mississippi. Though, as referenced in our previous Bottom Line, this is a regional challenge that nearly all SEF states are navigating.

Please see our full updates below. We hope everyone has a meaningful Juneteenth and a safe and healthy long weekend!

State Updates

Arkansas

  • Report: Child well-being improves in some areas but lags behind overall – Advocates urge state policy changes that focus on child health and education in the face of federal cuts to benefit programs. (Arkansas Advocate) Read More
  • State Education Freedom Account changes receive pushback from parents – Final rules over how homeschool families can spend their school voucher dollars are officially heading to state lawmakers for final approval this Friday. (Yahoo) Read More

Delaware

  • State lawmakers file 2027 budget, keeping focus on early education – Delaware lawmakers filed their budget bills for next fiscal year after more than a week’s delay, maintaining priorities on child care, educator salaries, and health care set after markup. (Delaware Online) Read More

Florida

  • Four Miami-Dade schools up for closure after enrollment drops – The potential closures come amid declining enrollment — the Miami-Dade County School District had 313,220 students enrolled at the start of the 2025-2026 school year, down around 13,000 from the start of the 2024-25 school year. It’s a dip that has been frequently attributed to Florida’s expanded voucher program, which allowed for the rapid growth of charter and private schools. (USA Today) Read More
  • Revived lawsuit claims state underfunded Florida A&M University by nearly $2 billion – Florida A&M University supporters scored a significant legal victory this week after a federal appeals court revived a lawsuit alleging the State of Florida underfunded the university by nearly $2 billion over the past three decades. (HBCU Buzz) Read More
  • Colleges face $15M hit if state bans undocumented students – State-level colleges in Florida stand to lose more than $15 million in tuition and fees if officials follow through on a plan to bar undocumented immigrant students from attending them, according to a new study. (The Palm Beach Post) Read More

Georgia

  • Raphael Warnock pushes for report on Head Start programs for rural families – U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock wrote a letter to the Subcommittee on Labor, Health, Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies to request a report from the Administration for Children and Families on the effects of Head Start Programs in rural communities. (U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock) Read More
  • State School Superintendent Richard Woods clinches GOP nomination despite criticisms, well-funded opposition – Incumbent Richard Woods won the Republican nomination for Georgia state school superintendent despite recent criticisms of his record on literacy, his waning relationships with lawmakers, and his opponent’s well-funded campaign. (WABE) Read More

Kentucky

  • Two lawsuits challenge state takeover of Kentucky HBCU – Both lawsuits challenge Kentucky Senate Bill 185, which was signed into law on April 13. The bill places the university in a state of financial emergency for up to five years and restructures the university into a polytechnic institution focused on technical, workforce-oriented applied learning programs. (The Final Call) Read More
  • Kentucky State expects 20% drop in undergrads due to program cuts, strict enrollment rules – The number of undergraduate students at Kentucky’s only historically Black university is expected to shrink by 20% by Spring 2027, officials said. (Lexington Herald Leader) Read More

Mississippi

  • State higher education leaders talk enrollment cliff, consolidation – Over the last decade, Mississippi public school enrollment has declined by 63,000 students, according to the Mississippi Department of Education. Education leaders attribute the drop in part to declining birth rates, which can also reduce the number of future high school graduates and college-bound students. (Magnolia Tribune) Read More
  • Discussions are underway about what school consolidations could look like in Mississippi – Mississippi has 138 districts across 82 counties, and some districts have fewer than 1,000 students. While some independent districts have performed well in test scores and maintained a reliable tax base, smaller communities may not be able to support their schools in the same way. (Mississippi Public Broadcasting) Read More

Missouri

  • State higher education officials feel pressure to overhaul funding formula – The Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development has until Dec. 1 to craft a new formula for distributing state aid among public colleges and universities — or risk lawmakers creating their own plan that “institutions quite likely will not like,” the state’s higher education commissioner said. (Missouri Independent) Read More
  • Early progress found with cost-sharing in Missouri – Cost-sharing models split child care costs among key stakeholders to make child care more affordable. Child Care Aware of Missouri, in partnership with Kids Win Missouri, has implemented a unique cost-sharing initiative called Missouri Child Care Works. (First Five Years Fund) Read More
  • Missouri higher education prepares to be an AI-talent pipeline – Missouri’s higher education entities discussed artificial intelligence initiatives for implementing the federal Workforce Pell program by July. (Spectrum News) Read More

Oklahoma

  • How much has been spent in the race for state superintendent? – Candidates for state superintendent spent just over $335,000 through June 8, Ethics Commission records show — far less than the millions spent on the governor’s race, but still significant. (Oklahoma Watch) Read More
  • State 2026 Primary Election Results: State superintendent races – It was Election Day in Oklahoma, and one of the races on the ballot was for state superintendent, a position that has become very political in recent years. (KOCO 5 News) Read More

South Carolina

  • South Carolina State University 1890 Extension breathes new life into St. George Rosenwald School – South Carolina State University 1890 Research & Extension cut the ribbon on a new community use for the early-20th-century African American school. The Rosenwald Innovation and Learning Laboratory is a 12-station computer lab that will provide residents with access to technology and educational resources. (The Post and Courier) Read More
  • South Carolina ETV and Public Radio launches “The Education Beat: Evidence to Excellence,’ exploring the stories behind South Carolina education data – The new weekly video and audio podcast debuts this month, transforming research and findings from the South Carolina Education Oversight Committee (EOC) into compelling stories about the people, practices and ideas shaping education across South Carolina. (South Carolina ETV) Read More

Tennessee

  • Federal lawsuit over state religious charter school ban will move forward – A lawsuit challenging the Knox County Board of Education over the state’s religious charter school ban is heading to trial after a federal judge denied the board’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit. (Chalkbeat) Read More

Texas

  • Despite gains, Austin ISD takeover looms as key middle schools post low STAAR results – Three Austin school district middle schools at the center of the district’s fight to avoid a state takeover posted modest gains on this year’s state exams, but passing rates remained critically low, signaling the campuses could be headed toward a fifth consecutive failing state accountability rating. (Austin Current) Read More

Virginia 

  • How public education has transformed in the state since the nation’s founding – On the cusp of the nation’s semiquincentennial, state legislators, educators, and communities are reflecting on how to meet the moment and overcome challenges that persist for public education and students here. (Virginia Mercury) Read More

West Virginia

  • New initiative aims to ease childcare shortage – Save the Children is taking applications for a new childcare education program that aims to increase the number of qualified childcare employees and teachers in 14 rural West Virginia counties. (West Virginia Public Broadcasting) Read More
  • Lawmakers continue collecting information to address school funding issues – Lawmakers at this year’s regular legislative session largely failed to address a school funding formula that hasn’t been updated in decades. At an interim meeting, lawmakers heard from school district treasurers about how the formula falls short. (West Virginia Public Broadcasting) Read More

National/Federal Updates

Early Childhood Education News and Resources

  • The Real Cost of Rolling Back Head Start Wage Requirements – Proposed changes to Head Start in the recent NPRM would reverse requirements for teacher salary parity. If adopted, this reversal is likely to undermine further, rather than improve, Head Start effectiveness and returns to taxpayers. (National Institute for Early Education Research) Read More
  • Leveraging ESSA funding for pre-K family engagement to support dual language learners – This policy brief looks at an often-overlooked source of support for family engagement in preschool programs: Title I, Part A of the Every Student Succeeds Act, the largest federal investment in schools serving low-income students. (Migration Policy Institute) Read More
  • Children’s well-being has worsened — particularly in education – Children’s overall well-being worsened between 2019 and 2024, particularly when accounting for education, health, and economic outcomes, according to the 2026 Kids Count Data Book released Monday by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. (K-12 Dive) Read More

K-12 Education News and Resources 

  • Education Department Moves Special Ed. and Civil Rights to Other Agencies – The U.S. Department of Education has begun outsourcing oversight of the nation’s sprawling special education system and enforcement of civil rights law in schools to other federal agencies, after months of previewing dramatic efforts to restructure both core functions. (EdWeek) Read More
  • U.S. Congress member to introduce resolution to impeach Education Secretary McMahon – Rep. Suzanne Bonamici said that she will introduce a resolution to impeach U.S. Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon. Rep. Bonamici alleged in a news release that McMahon violated her oath of office, made false and misleading statements to Congress, and illegally transferred multiple offices in the department to other federal agencies without approval from Congress. (EdSource) Read More
  • America’s school boards – School boards are the most accessible of our democratic institutions, offering a forum where residents engage with neighbors they elect to serve. (Brookings) Read More
  • Trump law would also direct voucher money to public schools – Like other school voucher programs, the federal plan — the first of its kind — will provide taxpayer dollars for parents to spend on private school tuition. But at a closed-door event at the Treasury Department, Kevin Salinger, a Trump administration official, told education advocates that the program will also benefit public schools and their students. (New York Times) Read More
  • NYSUT, IFT lead educator coalition urging Democratic governors to reject Trump’s federal voucher scheme – New York State United Teachers and Illinois Federation of Teachers today mobilized educator union leaders from across the country in urging Democratic governors to reject participation in President Trump’s private school voucher tax credit program and publicly reaffirm their commitment to public education. (New York State United Teachers) Read More
  • The new federal tax credit is a private school voucher program & other facts – Following a recent invite-only in-person event at the U.S. Department of Treasury where the Administration talked about what the forthcoming regulations for the Federal Tax Credit Private School Voucher Program may contain, National Coalition for Public Education is releasing this factsheet that outlines the harms this program poses to public schools, which can be known from examining its statute, documents released by the Administration, and similar state voucher programs. (National Coalition for Public Education) Read More
  • The fight over what educational equality should look like – In Nothing Less Than Equality: The Battle Over Segregated Education in the Nation’s Capital, Tikia K. Hamilton challenges the common assumption that African Americans uniformly embraced integration as the singular path toward educational justice. (Forbes) Read More
  • Trump’s Education Dept reduces focus on Black student rights – For generations, the federal government enforced civil rights laws to remedy historic, systemic discrimination against Black people and other people of color. The Justice Department pressed schools to desegregate. The Education Department worked to promote equal opportunity and held schools accountable for racial bias. (MSN) Read More
  • The private school choice boom leaves behind many kids in public school – More families across the country are experimenting with private school as states — and soon the federal government — use taxpayer-supported scholarships to encourage them to leave public school. In theory, these programs are supposed to give children an educational opportunity they wouldn’t otherwise have. In reality, students already in private or home school are most likely to benefit. (Associated Press) Read More

Higher Education News

  • The biggest expansion of federal scholarship money in 50 years is at hand — and almost nobody is ready for it – The new policy, known as Workforce Pell, widens the scope of federal Pell Grants by helping lower-income learners pay not just for associate or bachelor’s degrees, but for nondegree job training as short as eight weeks, which was previously not covered, in high-demand fields including nursing, phlebotomy, child care, truck-driving, welding, car repair and HVAC. (The Hechinger Report) Read More
  • HBCUs are not waiting to be saved – A convening of HBCU presidents, philanthropists, and education leaders highlighted a shared commitment to strengthening HBCUs through innovation, leadership, and strategic investment. (The EDU Ledger) Read More
  • Will race-based scholarships survive? – The Iowa Supreme Court ruled this month that the University of Iowa can’t repurpose a private scholarship designated for Black students to serve first-generation students—but it might not be able to use the funding for its original purpose, either, shedding light on the murky legal waters facing race-based scholarships nationwide. (Inside Higher Education) 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