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The U.S. Supreme Court has in recent years issued rulings on a number of key issues in K-12 education, ranging from E-rate to curriculum and free speech. We’ve compiled Supreme Court cases since the 2019-20 term to track the high court’s influence on K-12 education policy.

K-12 in the courts

• The Trump administration’s efforts to downsize the Head Start program and restrict its diversity, equity and inclusion efforts hit a roadblock on Jan. 6 after a federal judge temporarily blocked actions taken by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services last year. The preliminary injunction from the U.S. District Court in Seattle says HHS’ anti-DEI warnings to Head Start providers puts them “in an impossible situation” where they cannot comply with the government’s DEI prohibitions while also fulfilling the program’s purpose, which is to provide early childhood education for historically underserved populations.
• Texas’ statewide teachers union sued the Texas Education Agency on Jan. 6 over state investigations into more than 350 public school teachers and staff who posted comments about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The state education agency on Sept. 12 directed Texas public school superintendents to report educators who posted “reprehensible and inappropriate content” on social media about Kirk’s death. The Texas American Federation of Teachers said the posts were made on teachers’ “own time and using their own resources” and that they were often posted on their private pages.
• The U.S. Supreme Court could soon weigh in on whether parents have the right to know their children’s LGBTQ+ identity and whether teachers have the right to share or conceal that information. A U.S. District Court ruling in Mirabelli v. Olson in late December said that district policies that prevent teachers from informing parents about students’ gender expression violate the First and 14th Amendment rights of parents. However, the decision was immediately appealed to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals by the state, which overturned the block on district policies on Jan. 5. A conservative law firm said a day later that it intends to appeal to the Supreme Court in an emergency request.

Guidelines, standards and accountability

• Iowa is the first state approved for a waiver for certain federal education regulations — a move that will allow the state to have greater decision-making in academic programming and fiscal management, according to a Wednesday announcement by Iowa leaders and U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon. The waiver will let the Iowa Department of Education combine four federal funding streams into one and reduce compliance costs by $8 million, according to a U.S. Department of Education statement.
• The Trump administration on Jan. 7 announced its 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which will inform federal nutrition requirements for school meals nationwide. The new guidelines stress avoiding highly processed foods and added sugars while emphasizing the need for nutrient-dense proteins and vegetables in every meal. A FAQ describes the guidelines as a “flexible framework” with a single core goal of eating whole or minimally processed food most of the time.