AI tools have become part of the daily workflow for school administrators, board members, and staff, whether they are used to draft emails, organize information, or research questions that might otherwise go to a lawyer. However, a fast-moving line of court decisions is drawing a hard line: what you type into a public AI platform may not stay private. In the education context, where legal exposure touches everything from employment decisions to student discipline and everything in between, that risk matters more than most schools realize.The Case Everyone in K-12 Should KnowIn February 2026, a federal court in New York
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Husch Blackwell LLP Blogs
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Birthright Citizenship Upheld: What Education Institutions Need to Know
On June 30, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a landmark decision on birthright citizenship in Trump v. Barbara, 609 U.S. ___ (2026). The case arose from Executive Order No. 14160, signed by President Trump on January 20, 2025, which declared that children born in the United States to parents who are unlawfully present or only temporarily present do not qualify as citizens under the Fourteenth Amendment’s Citizenship Clause—on the theory that such children are not “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States. Several affected parents challenged the order in court, arguing it violated the Fourteenth Amendment and the
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Trump Administration Abruptly Ends Federal Desegregation Grants
Fostering Diverse Schools Demonstration GrantsIn fall 2025, the U.S. Department of Education’s (Department) Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development sent a Notice of Non-Continuation of Grant Award for the Fostering Diverse Schools Demonstration Grants (FDS) program, which launched in 2023. This amounts to over $25 million in discontinued funds for the recipients, including public school districts in Miami and New York City.The FDS program was a discretionary grant program offered to Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) and State Educational Agencies (SEAs) to implement school diversity plans for preschool through grade 12. As stated on the Department’s website, the goal
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Federal Immigration Enforcement at Schools: Legal Challenges to DHS’s Revocation of Sensitive Locations Policy
For more than three decades, the federal government maintained a policy restricting immigration enforcement operations at or near schools and other “sensitive locations.” That longstanding protection ended abruptly in January 2025, when the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) rescinded its sensitive locations policy and replaced it with guidance leaving enforcement decisions to the discretion of individual Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The policy shift has led to increased immigration enforcement activity at or near schools nationwide, prompting legal challenges from school districts concerned about disruptions to their educational mission.
On February 4, 2026, two Minnesota school districts (Fridley Public
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When Faith and Policy Collide: Fourth Circuit Upholds School District’s Gender Identity Guidelines Over Teacher’s Religious Objections
Understanding how courts interpret school policies is essential for today’s educational leaders, especially as issues involving gender identity continue to evolve.
A recent decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, Polk v. Montgomery County Public Schools, offers important guidance for school districts navigating the balance between protecting students and respecting the personal beliefs of staff. This blog post breaks down what the Polk decision means for your district and offers practical steps to help ensure your policies remain both legally sound and supportive of all students.
Polk v. Montgomery County Public Schools sets a
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EEOC Rescinds Harassment Guidance, But Schools’ Obligations Remain
On January 22, 2026, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) voted 2-1 to rescind its “Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace,” which had been approved in 2024. In a statement, EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas contended that the 2024 Guidance overstepped the agency’s authority by imposing new obligations on employers rather than simply interpreting existing law. Lucas emphasized, however, that “rescinding this guidance does not give employers license to engage in unlawful harassment,” and that the EEOC “will continue to be dedicated to preventing and remedying unlawful workplace harassment.”The 2024 GuidanceThe 2024 Guidance incorporated significant court rulings and legislative
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Changes in Federal Policy Addressing Student Discipline
On April 23, 2025, President Trump issued Executive Order #14280 (EO 14280), “Reinstating Commonsense School Discipline Policies.” This order directs the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Attorney General to issue new guidance on school discipline and move away from the disparate impact framework that the Obama and Biden administrations had applied.
However, nearly a year after EO #14280, no such guidance has been published. Data on federal investigations into school disciplinary procedures since the executive order will not be available until at least 2027, but it is likely that the Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) of the
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A New Federal Framework for Education Philanthropy: What Tax-Exempt Organizations Need to Know About Section 25F
The enactment of Section 25F of the Internal Revenue Code—part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (P.L. 119-21)—is one of the most significant developments in education-related tax policy in a generation. Building on decades of state-level tax credit scholarship programs, Congress has established a federal framework that channels private philanthropic capital into K-12 scholarships through a new qualifying vehicle: the Scholarship Granting Organization (“SGO”). For schools, charities, and foundations invested in educational access, the moment calls for informed strategic planning.What Section 25F CreatesSection 25F establishes a federal income tax credit of up to $1,700 per taxpayer per year for
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Recent Developments in Federal Oversight and Funding for K-12 Education
Since early 2025, the U.S. Department of Education (“Department”), under Secretary Linda McMahon, has implemented several significant policy changes affecting K-12 education. For example, the Department has taken steps to expand support for private, religious, and charter schools, while also shifting its approach to civil rights enforcement and federal funding guidance.
Support for Charter and Private Schools
The Department has increased federal investment in charter schools and signaled greater support for private educational options.
The Charter Schools Program (CSP) is a federal initiative that provides grants to support the creation, expansion, and improvement of charter schools across the country.
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The Classroom Commandments: Courts Confront Legal Challenges to Mandatory Religious Displays in Schools
In recent years, a handful of high-profile legal challenges have emerged in response to state laws requiring the display of religious texts in public school classrooms, particularly in conservative states. Both Texas and Louisiana have enacted legislation mandating that public schools prominently display the Ten Commandments, prompting lawsuits from parents and advocacy groups who argue that such measures violate the First Amendment. While courts have expressed skepticism toward state-sponsored religious displays in schools, ongoing litigation means the future of these laws—and the separation of church and state in public education—remains uncertain.
Some Recent Motions for Unitary Status Seem to Be Facing Less Careful Scrutiny
Numerous school districts across the United States still operate under desegregation orders originally implemented in the decades following the Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. Board of Education, which held that racially segregated school districts were unconstitutional. 347 U.S. 483 (1954). Achieving unitary status marks the point at which a formerly racially segregated school system is deemed to have dismantled de jure segregation and, therefore, may be released from federal court supervision. Generally, school districts operating under desegregation orders not only must comply with the specific requirements set forth in those orders but also have an “affirmative duty to take
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Disparate Impact No Longer Federal Policy
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) has ceased investigating claims based solely on alleged disparate impact discrimination. Traditionally, disparate impact discrimination claims could be proven when a seemingly neutral employment policy or practice disproportionately affected members of a protected class—such as race, gender, or age—even if there was no evidence of an intent to discriminate.
This change, announced in an internal memo and effective as of September 30, 2025, follows President Trump’s April 2025 executive order abandoning the use of disparate impact as a legal theory in federal discrimination cases. Nearly all employees who might have asserted federal
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Iowa Every Student Succeeds Act Waiver Approved by U.S. Department of Education
On January 7, 2026, the U.S. Department of Education (the “Department”) approved Iowa’s “Returning Education to the States Waiver,” making Iowa the first state to receive such approval. This waiver frees Iowa from several requirements related to the Every Student Succeeds Act (“ESSA”) and thereby give it greater flexibility in how it uses certain federal education funds.Background: July 29, 2025 Dear Colleague LetterOn July 29, 2025, the Department’s Office of Elementary and Secondary Education issued a Dear Colleague letter to the chief school officers of each state, along with an accompanying press release. The letter began by noting, “[T]he
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Transgender Rights in the Courts: A Year of Landmark Decisions and Pending Questions
The legal landscape for transgender rights in the United States continues to evolve rapidly, with the U.S. Supreme Court (the “Court”) and federal courts issuing pivotal decisions. The past year has seen high-profile cases on access to gender-affirming care, participation in school sports, restroom policies, and the intersection of First Amendment rights with issues of gender identity. These cases have resulted in a patchwork of rulings and left many legal questions unresolved, with significant implications for students, educators, and families nationwide.
Supreme Court Action
Last June, in United States v. Skrmetti, the Court upheld Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming
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Supreme Court to Hear Case on Legal Standard for Cases Brought by Students with Disabilities
The Supreme Court of the United States granted certiorari on January 17, 2025, in A.J.T. by and through A.T. v. Osseo Area Schools, Indep. Sch. Dist. No. 279, 96 F.4th 1058 (8th Cir. 2024), cert. granted sub nom. A.J.T. v. Osseo Area Schools, No. 24-249, 2025 WL 226839 (U.S. Jan. 17, 2025). At issue is whether students with disabilities are required to satisfy a “bad faith or gross misjudgment” standard when seeking relief against school districts they allege have violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.
Factual Background
The plaintiff, referred to as Ava in court documents,
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Title IX Litigation Tracker: 2024 Title IX Regulations Vacated by District Court
The legal saga surrounding the 2024 Title IX Regulations reached a new peak earlier this month. On January 9, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky granted summary judgment in favor of the plaintiffs in Tennessee v. Cardona, one of the cases challenging the 2024 Title IX Regulations. In doing so, the court vacated the 2024 Title IX regulations nationwide.
Although the litigation in the Eastern District of Kentucky did not challenge every provision of the 2024 regulations, the court nonetheless found that the challenged provisions so permeated the regulations the regulations in their entirety
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