As students in many parts of the northern hemisphere start a new school year, IEN begins our annual scan of the back-to-school headlines. This year, with the surge of interest in the presidential election since Kamala Harris became the democratic nominee, a number of news stories have focused on the election, the candidates, and their education policies. Harris’ choice of Tim Walz – a former teacher – to be her candidate for Vice-President contributed to a wave of stories about Walz and his record and even spawned stories about his wife Gwen Walz – also a former teacher – and other educators who are running for office. Several stories, most from Education Week, also explore whether and how teachers might try to address in their classrooms the election and the many controversial issues that divide and polarize Americans today. Part 1 of our 2024-25 Back-to-School scan pulls together some of these election-related stories. Next week’s scan will provide a round-up of stories about many of the other issues that are in the news in the education sources that we follow as classes resume.
For some historical perspective on how the issues have evolved since the school closures of the COVID-19 pandemic, explore the back-to-school headlines from previous years:
- Fall 23: Crises and Concerns: Scanning the 2023-24 Back-To-School Headlines (Part 1) Natural Disasters, Climate Change and the Start of School in 2023: Scanning the Back-to-School Headlines (Part 2); Educational Issues in the News Across the US: Scanning the Back-to-School Headlines (Part 3)
- Fall 22: Hope and trepidation: Scanning the back-to-school headlines in the US; “Over it” but unable to escape it: Going back to school with Covid in 2022; Going back to school in 2022 (Part 3): Scanning headlines from around the world;
- Fall 21: Going back to school has never been quite like this (Part 1): Pandemic effects in the US; Going back to school has never been quite like this (Part 2): Quarantines, shortages, wildfires & hurricanes;
- Fall 20: What does it look like to go back to school? It’s different all around the world…;
- Fall 19: Headlines around the world: Back to school 2019 edition.
Policies, Platforms & Issues
Decision Guide: What happens to education under Trump v. Harris, U.S. News
From transgender student rights to ‘woke’ curriculum, Harris and Trump offer two starkly different views on the federal government’s role in education.
Harris-Walz and Trump-Vance tickets offer radically different visions of public education, EdSource
Education Policy: How Harris and Trump Differ on K-12, Higher Education and More, ABC News
4 Takeaways on What VP Picks Vance and Walz Mean for the Race to Come, PBS Newshour
Education Debates You’ll Likely Hear About in the Election, Explained, Education Week
Public education reform missing from 2024 presidential platforms, Axios
What education could look like under Trump and Vance, Hechinger Report
Trump’s Agenda47 on education: Abolish teacher tenure, universal school choice, patriotism, USA Today
Trump’s VP Pick: What We Know About JD Vance’s Record on Education, Education Week
Vance vs. Pence: How Trump’s VP picks compare on education,Thomas B. Fordham Institute
What Would Happen to K-12 in a 2nd Trump Term? A Detailed Policy Agenda Offers Clues, Education Week
The Great Project 2025 Freakout, Rick Hess, Education Week
Trump Vows Historic Cuts to Education Department in Second Term, Washington Examiner
Why ending the U.S. Department of Education is so alluring to the GOP — and so difficult, Chalkbeat
Republicans’ missing policy issue: Education, Thomas B. Fordham Institute
At Moms for Liberty National Summit, Trump Hardly Mentions Education, Education Week
Harris Could Set Democrats’ K-12 Agenda: By Reviving Ideas from 2020, The74
Where Does Kamala Harris Stand on Education? Inside the 2024 Democratic Platform, Education Week
What We Know About Kamala Harris’ Education Record, Education Week
Veep, Candidate, brat: Kamala Harris Fires Up Gen Z on Social Media, The74
Kamala Harris’s presidential race is taking on a life of its own on social media, particularly with Gen Z followers, who are responding to her perceived energy and authenticity with viral videos of her dancing, laughing and recounting her mother’s lessons.
Kamala Harris’ Potential VP Picks: Where They Stand on Education, Education Week
What education could look like under Harris and Walz, Hechinger Report
The Education Issue Americans Agree on That’s Not Good News for Teaching, Education Week
Long a Stranger to the Spotlight, Child Tax Credit Earns Embrace of Both Parties, The74
A technocrat’s dream, the Child Tax Credit isn’t a subject you’d expect would receive much attention in the middle of a heated presidential race. But both the Harris and Trump campaigns have recently embraced proposals to expand the program, which offers relief to parents of kids under 17 years old. Democrats and Republicans both see the credit’s political appeal, but depending on the election outcome, neither party may hold enough power to enact its vision.
Millions of campaign dollars aimed at tilting school voucher battle are flowing into state races, AP
The Future of Property Taxes Is on Ballots This Fall. Why It Matters for Schools, Education Week
What Role Should the Federal Government Play in Education Policy? NEPC
Educators/Candidates
Harris chooses Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a former educator, as running mate, K-12 Dive
A Teacher in the White House: What Harris-Walz Could Mean for Education, Education Week
Tim Walz is Kamala Harris’ running mate. Here’s what he’s done for education in Minnesota, Chalkbeat)
Tim Walz, a Former Teacher, Is Kamala Harris’ Running Mate
The Freshman: How Tim Walz Went From the Classroom to Congress (from 2007), Education Week
Tim Walz was a high school teacher and football coach from southern Minnesota. He had no political experience whatsoever, but he didn’t like the choices being made on Capitol Hill, and struggled to explain them to his social studies students. So Walz made a decision: He would run for Congress as a Democrat.
8 Things to Know About Tim Walz, the Democratic Ticket’s Top Teacher, The74
Harris Pick Tim Walz Would Be First K-12 Teacher Since Lyndon Johnson to be VP, The74
How Teaching Shaped Tim Walz’ Politics, The Nation
‘Coaching and Politics’: What Coaches See in Tim Walz’s VP Candidacy, Education Week
Gwen Walz, wife of Harris’s VP pick Tim Walz, is also a longtime teacher, Washington Post
Tim Walz’s wife Gwen, a former teacher, is a ‘champion’ of college behind bars, USA Today
Are Educators a Natural Fit for Public Office? These Candidates Think So, EdSurge
Tim Walz isn’t the only former educator running for elected office this year. In fact, a number of current teachers and school leaders will be on the ballot in November.
Jan. 6 Protester, Former Supe Vie to Lead North Carolina’s Schools, The74
Teaching the election
Schools Are Now Political Battlegrounds. We’ve Been Here Before, Education Week
Why Most Teachers Won’t Be Talking About the Election in Their Classrooms, Education Week
Teaching the 2024 Election: Learning Opportunity or Landmine? Education Week
Big Ideas for Upending Polarization, Education Week
How Teachers Tackle 2024 Election Discussions, Education Week
11 Ways to Teach the 2024 Election With The New York Times, New York Times
Teaching Presidential Elections Isn’t Easy. How One Teacher Manages, Education Week
How Should Educators Approach the 2024 Election? Rick Hess, Education Week
International Education News 