By Alvin Buyinza, Word In Black
Reporting on education can sometimes feel like déjà vu. The same education issues — low reading scores, school discipline, a lack of counselors, a need for more diverse teachers, and a lack of access to college prep courses — rarely get resolved. They just roll over into another calendar year.
But in 2025, K-12 public schools have been through the wringer thanks to a trio of unprecedented disruptions that have rocked teachers and students alike. And in 2026, these high-stakes battles will likely continue.
Below are three major education issues that teachers, parents, students, and advocates will still be talking about in 2026.
- Trump Will Keep Trying to Dismantle the Department of Education
In March, the Trump administration began making good on one of its biggest campaign promises: Dismantling the U.S. Department of Education. A flurry of Reduction in Force actions, also known as RIFs, hit thousands of federal employees.
Taking down the Education Department, an agency Trump and his MAGA allies have called riddled with “wokeism” and “liberal ideologies,” is a key element of Project 2025.
But doing so is easier said than done.
Federal workers given the pink slip by Trump have fought back in court, filing lawsuits that challenge the legality of the mass firings. This legal pressure, combined with public backlash, has slowed the administration’s efforts. Furthermore, only Congress has the authority to shut down the agency, not the president. And as of yet, the majority of Congressional leaders, on either side of the aisle, have shown little indication they want to do so.
Still, don’t expect Trump and the MAGA base to back down. A small sliver of Republicans have introduced bills aimed at the department, but none of them have really gone anywhere.
At the very least, the president will likely continue to chop away at the department.
- School Leaders Will Be Pulled Deeper Into Immigration Battles
Schools have increasingly become a frontline of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have detained students during raids in multiple cities. Some students have even skipped school out of fear that they, too, could be detained.
As a result, schools have seen spikes in absenteeism and bullying, according to a survey of high school principals. For many educators, ensuring students’ safety now extends far beyond classroom walls.
Already, an informal network of child care providers is working with immigrant families to care for their children in the event parents are detained. And several reports have shown teachers standing up against ICE to protect their students.
That resistance is unlikely to stop in 2026.
“By targeting schools, Donald Trump’s ICE is creating fear and chaos, and our students, their families, and communities are paying the price for these traumatic and extreme immigration actions,” Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association, said earlier this year. “We have a professional and moral responsibility to keep our students safe. We will continue to show up for our students and their families, and we will stand up at our schools and communities when they are under attack.”
- AI in Schools Is Here to Stay
In 2026, the debate won’t be over whether AI belongs in schools — it will be over how much control educators can maintain over its use. Whether it’s helping students write their next assignment or teaching them how to read, artificial intelligence has — for better or for worse — firmly embedded itself in K-12 schools.
Experts and educators have raised the alarm about AI’s racial biases, misinformation, and the risk of stunted learning. Yet, an increasing number of students and teachers (yes, teachers) are using AI in the classrooms.
As AI’s popularity grows, schools and teachers will have to learn to build guardrails around its use.
This editorial was originally published in Word In Black.
