K‑12 Education Policy

A national education watchdog group, Defending Education, has launched a public database cataloging more than 700 K‑12 school districts in 33 states and Washington, D.C., that have adopted 'sanctuary,' 'safe haven' or other immigration‑related policies limiting cooperation with federal immigration authorities. The tool lets parents search by state and district and links directly to board resolutions, staff guidance and written procedures on how schools should respond if ICE or other federal agents seek access to campuses. Senior communications director Erika Sanzi told Fox the group believes districts are "playing a dangerous game" when they move to resist or impede federal law enforcement, arguing schools risk "shielding violent family members" from deportation even as many educators say such policies are needed to reassure immigrant families. The rollout comes amid a sharp escalation in Trump‑era immigration enforcement and visible youth activism, including student walkouts against ICE operations in Phoenix and Minnesota and school closures in the Twin Cities over 'safety concerns' tied to raids. By systematizing where and how districts have drawn lines on cooperating with ICE, the database adds a new layer to a national fight over whether schools should act as neutral ground, local sanctuary, or adjuncts to federal enforcement in the immigration wars.

Public school enrollment has fallen sharply in several large U.S. districts and states — Colorado lost about 10,000 students this year as homeschooling rises statewide, Houston ISD lost roughly 8,300 students this year (more than 16,000 over two years and about 15,000 immediately after COVID) and now enrolls about 184,109, Chicago Public Schools is down nearly 22% since 2011–12, New York City’s traditional public schools have lost more than 117,000 students since 2019–20, and Washington state’s public‑school population is about 50,000 lower than in 2019–20. Officials and analysts point to growing charter, private, virtual and homeschooling options — and policies such as Texas’s new $1 billion universal ESA program — as intensifying competition, prompting districts to cut budgets or add programs to try to lure families back amid concerns about academic proficiency.

The 1776 Project Foundation, an offshoot of the 1776 Project PAC, has filed a federal lawsuit against the Los Angeles Unified School District challenging a decades‑old policy that gives schools with predominantly Hispanic, Black, Asian or other non‑white enrollment smaller class sizes and other benefits as a remedy for segregation. Filed Tuesday, the suit argues the policy violates Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause by allegedly denying white students equal access to advantages such as 25‑to‑1 student‑teacher ratios, extra points in magnet‑school admissions and more frequent parent‑teacher conferences. The complaint says more than 600 LAUSD schools qualify for the race‑based designation while fewer than 100 do not, and includes a parent‑plaintiff whose children attend a non‑designated school and who alleges they were denied magnet admission because of the policy. LAUSD declined to discuss specifics of the pending litigation but said it remains committed to giving all students meaningful access to services and enrichment. The case lands as Trump administration officials push to dismantle remaining Civil Rights‑era school desegregation orders, while civil‑rights advocates argue those orders—and policies like LAUSD’s—are still necessary to address entrenched racial disparities and ongoing segregation.