The U.S. Education Department is dissolving the Office of English Language Acquisition, the office that has long supported roughly 5 million English learners and helped states and districts navigate services and student protections. Officials say the work will be absorbed elsewhere, but the move lands at a tense moment, with schools already dealing with shifting immigration pressures and less federal clarity on how to support multilingual learners.

The Education Department finalized a rule that gives more weight to discretionary grant applications that expand AI understanding or support the appropriate and ethical use of AI in education. In practice, that could benefit proposals tied to AI literacy, teacher training, dual enrollment in AI pathways, special education and early intervention supports, tutoring, instructional resources, and even tools meant to cut administrative workload. The department did not create a separate AI funding stream or offer much guidance, so schools may face more pressure with limited direction.

Districts are seeing better results on chronic absenteeism when they move beyond warning letters and focus on direct outreach to families. The shift reflects a clearer understanding that absences are often tied to barriers like transportation, housing, or health, and carry real consequences for funding, staffing, and long-term student outcomes. Leaders are responding with targeted strategies like home visits, MTSS, and early warning systems that pair data with relationships to address issues before patterns take hold.

A new EdWeek analysis finds many teacher prep programs still fall short in preparing new teachers to manage student behavior, even as disruptions and student mental health challenges are rising. More than one-third of teachers say behavior has worsened this year, and novice teachers are often left to figure it out on their own once they enter the classroom. A new framework from the National Council on Teacher Quality calls for more explicit training and real practice, including how to respond to misbehavior, reinforce positive behavior, and understand root causes like trauma or unmet needs.

Meriden Public Schools, Connecticut’s lowest-funded district, is outperforming expectations in literacy across nearly all of its elementary schools, including campuses serving high-poverty populations. The gains are driven by a districtwide focus on alignment, with common pacing, shared curriculum, and regular coaching support so classrooms are working toward the same goals at the same time. Leaders also increased classroom visibility and accountability, with administrators in classrooms daily and teachers supported through consistent planning and feedback cycles.

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