16,000 US seniors named 2027 National Merit semifinalists
More than 16,000 high school seniors across the United States have been named semifinalists in the 2027 National Merit Scholarship Program, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation announced this week. The semifinalists now advance to a multi-step competition for about 6,700 scholarships worth a combined total of roughly $24 million, to be awarded next spring. The […]
NYC opens free 2-K, bans classroom AI through grade 8
New York City opened its first day of the 2026-2027 school year Thursday with the launch of a free public program for two-year-olds, a one-year moratorium on generative artificial intelligence use through eighth grade, and new limits on classroom screen time for younger students. The 2-K program admitted roughly 2,000 children on its first day, […]
MIT trains college faculty to teach AI in class
The MIT Schwarzman College of Computing has launched a summer training program that brings college faculty from around the country to Cambridge to learn how to teach foundational artificial intelligence and machine learning across their own disciplines, from engineering and statistics to finance and sustainability. The inaugural AI Educators Pilot ran for one week in […]
Three-Year Degrees Spread as Accreditors Ease Rules
The push to shorten the American undergraduate degree reached a federal milestone this month. The US Department of Education published a proposed rule on August 20, 2026 that would bar accrediting agencies from categorically blocking degree programs that take less time than tradition requires, and on August 24, 2026 the Middle States Commission on Higher […]
Poll: Americans seek stronger AI rules for K-12 schools
A new public opinion poll released this week indicates a strong bipartisan desire among Americans for stricter regulations regarding artificial intelligence (AI) use in K-12 classrooms. The research, conducted by The Century Foundation (TCF), found that a significant majority of voters believe the federal government has been too slow to address the increasing presence of […]
Trump Admin Pushes to Shut Down Education Department
President Donald Trump and Secretary of Education Linda McMahon hosted a Back to School event at the White House on Monday, August 24, 2026, highlighting efforts to dissolve the Department of Education and advance school choice initiatives. The event took place as students across the country, including those in Washington, D.C., returned to classrooms this […]