First, the Make Education Great Again grant: eighteen K-12 programs previously funded at roughly $6.5 billion would be consolidated into a single $2 billion block grant, with 25% reserved for literacy and 25% for numeracy. Governors and state superintendents would decide where the rest goes.

Second, McMahon's $10.5 billion request to boost Pell — enough, she said, to both maintain the maximum award and stand up the new short-term Workforce Pell program for credential-based training.

And third, a quieter shift Mark Lieberman caught in Education Week: McMahon didn't once invoke her usual mission of closing the Department, instead emphasizing co-administration of programs with Labor and HHS.

McMahon Still Wants to Relocate Special Ed.—And Other Budget Hearing Takeaways - Education Week (subscription model) - April 28, 2026

Senate Committee Presses Linda McMahon on Cuts to College Prep, Rural Schools - The 74 - April 28, 2026

Linda McMahon punches back at senators questioning Education Department cuts - NPR - April 28, 2026

Civil Rights Cases Slow at Education Dept. Amid Trump's Overhaul - The New York Times (subscription model) - April 28, 2026

Inside the new math wars: Navigating division over teaching approaches - K-12 Dive - April 28, 2026

These States Want to Move Away From a 'College for All' Approach to Testing - Education Week (subscription model) - April 28, 2026

Students Can Hear Questions Aloud When They Take Many Tests. Does It Help? - Education Week (subscription model) - April 28, 2026

Should schools get rid of homework? Some educators are saying yes - NPR - April 28, 2026

With new student loan changes, borrowers fear unsustainable payments. Experts fear a default crisis - PBS News - April 28, 2026

Filing a Financial Aid Appeal? You May Not Get an Answer by May 1. - The New York Times (subscription model) - April 28, 2026

Graduates Reset Ambitions in Pursuit of First Jobs - The New York Times (subscription model) - April 28, 2026

The trust gap in higher education - Community College Daily - April 28, 2026

National University Establishes New Transfer Pathway With Calif. 2-Year Colleges - Inside Higher Ed - April 28, 2026

How ReUp Education Is Helping Students Finish What They Started with Scott Lomas - Scholarships360 - April 28, 2026

Court blocks Education Department's data demands for over 170 more colleges - Higher Ed Dive - April 28, 2026

Board Ouster Raises Further Concerns About NSF's Future - Inside Higher Ed - April 27, 2026

OPT Application Pause Leaves Students in Limbo - Inside Higher Ed - April 27, 2026

Ed Department Funding For Special Education Research May Soon Lapse - Disability Scoop - April 27, 2026

Trump's Top Child Care Official Wants a 'Bonfire of Regulations' - The New York Times (subscription model) - April 28, 2026

What Are the Ingredients of a Good Preschool Curriculum? - Education Week (subscription model) - April 28, 2026

How Early Childhood Sets the Stage for Student Success - The 74 - April 28, 2026

Michigan tests expanding free 'pre-K for all' to home child-care providers - Associated Press - April 28, 2026

Federal grant opens for colleges to establish on-campus child care programs - EdNC - April 27, 2026

Alabama | Birmingham denies another charter application, maintaining longtime rejection record - al.com - April 28, 2026

California | New test could help improve California students' math skills - CalMatters - April 28, 2026

Colorado | Colorado bill would revamp the state's higher education funding formula - Colorado Public Radio - April 28, 2026

Illinois | CPS projected to end school year with $45M deficit as budget challenges persist - Chicago Sun-Times - April 28, 2026

Nevada | Nevada leaders move to connect the dots between classrooms and careers - Las Vegas Sun - April 26, 2026

New Hampshire | New Hampshire clearly values education, but the system is under growing strain - New Hampshire Bulletin - April 28, 2026

NYC | Why New York City Spends So Much on Its Mediocre Schools - The Atlantic (subscription model) - April 28, 2026

Texas | Why Texas school districts are losing superintendents faster than ever - San Antonio Express-News - April 28, 2026

The US Department of Education Just Finalized Its AI in Education Priority. Here's What It Means. - American Enterprise Institute - April 28, 2026

As AI Rewrites the Rules of Coding, Code.org Pushes to Reinvent Itself - The 74 - April 28, 2026

The profound way America and China are diverging on AI - The Washington Post (subscription model) - April 28, 2026

When AI does the work, who does the learning? - eSchool News - April 28, 2026

AI Gives Us Permission - On EdTech - April 28, 2026

STAT Health Tech: Google's clinical director on chatbot challenges - STAT - April 28, 2026

HHS working to restore LGBTQ+ youth suicide prevention hotline - K-12 Dive - April 28, 2026

Apprenticeship Should Be a Centerpiece of Workforce Pell - Education Next - April 28, 2026