EdTrust’s Work: Quarterly Updates

New York

In March, EdTrust-New York released an analysis using its To & Through data tool showing that many students, particularly those from high-poverty high schools, leave college without earning a degree. ETNY also published a literacy analysis finding that more than 400,000 students remain in districts using curricula not fully aligned with the science of reading, despite progress under the 2024 Back to Basics law. The organization additionally raised concerns that NYC’s class size reduction law could deepen inequities if implementation disproportionately benefits more advantaged schools. In April, we supported efforts to protect undocumented students’ right to a public education. and promote safe, inclusive schools. Additionally, the New York Equity Coalition’s new report found that thousands of qualified students still lack access to eighth grade Algebra 1. In May, we released a report finding that New York advanced literacy reforms largely fail to address the needs of multilingual learners, who continue to face alarmingly low reading proficiency rates.

Tennessee

For the second year in a row, EdTrust-Tennessee helped lead the Education for All-Tennessee campaign and blocked efforts to exclude children from public education based on immigration status. Legislation requiring students to prove immigration status and turning educators into immigration enforcers failed. This outcome illustrates the tangible difference that can be made when communities organize and speak up. We also made progress on school funding. Tennessee has long undercounted students from low-income backgrounds, limiting the essential resources available to their schools. Our Undercount report informed bipartisan legislation requiring the state’s funding review committee to study and recommend improvements for identifying economically disadvantaged students by November 2026.

West

This spring, EdTrust-West organized community forums with candidates for Superintendent of Public Instruction in Los Angeles, San Diego, and Fresno. In May, EdTrust-West hosted “Advocacy Day 2026: Leaders Affirm That Black Minds Matter” in Sacramento. We convened nearly 100 advocates who participated in advocacy training and moved office to office, sharing personal stories to champion legislative priorities from our Equity 8, including $1B for community schools and diversifying the teacher workforce. EdTrust-West launched a first-of-its-kind Student Parent Resource Hub. This digital tool transforms a daunting college search into a streamlined experience, allowing student parents and other adult learners to easily find and compare campuses based on programs and services critical to parenting students.

EdTrust in Louisiana

EdTrust in Louisiana continues to advance advocacy and literacy efforts focused on equity, opportunity, and student outcomes across the state. This spring, Louisiana ranked first nationally in reading growth, reflecting continued investments in evidence-based literacy strategies and statewide reading supports. Our team has continued convening advocates, school leaders, higher education partners, and community organizations through initiatives like the Capital Region Literacy Coalition and statewide leadership roundtables focused on educational equity, student voice, and pathways to opportunity. We also continue to engage partners around the ongoing redistricting and voting rights battles across Louisiana, recognizing the direct intersection between civic representation and educational outcomes.

EdTrust in Massachusetts

Working with our Massachusetts Education Equity Partnership (MEEP) coalition, we submitted a collective  FY27 State Budget Advocacy Letter urging greater investments in Early Education and Care, full funding for Literacy Launch, expanded access to Early College and the SUCCESS Program, and sustained support for universal free school meals. Additionally, through our higher education coalition (CHEAO), we submitted both a FY27 Higher Education Budget Recommendations Letter and a FY26 Supplemental Budget Letter focused on affordability, access, and student-centered supports across the public higher education system. We also helped shape statewide conversations on artificial intelligence in education — leveraging findings from our statewide parent poll to publish a blog with EdTrust President and CEO Denise Forte and secure coverage in EdTech Magazine on how schools can build trust with families as AI reshapes classrooms. Finally, we partnered with MEEP to deliver a comprehensive memo to the Statewide Graduation Council outlining equity-centered guardrails to ensure Massachusetts’ new graduation framework prepares every student for college, career, and civic life.

EdTrust in Texas

As lawmakers prepare for the next legislation session in January, EdTrust in Texas is seeing  the fruits of prior policy wins. More than 500 school systems opted into the state’s new “PREP Allotment,” and recent statewide data shows positive movement in teacher certification and retention. Landmark wins transforming how the state funds community colleges are translating into improved student outcomes, with Texas now outpacing the nation in credential production and rising completion rates among Pell recipients. Student, parent, and educator leaders continue to propel our work forward. Equipped with model policies to improve college and career readiness, coalition partners are winning district-level policy changes. Members of our Higher Education Student Advisory Council are analyzing funding and outcomes at their four-year universities and influencing a new performance-based funding model expected to impact more than 700,000 students. And we are lifting up colleges that are driving completion by meeting students’ basic needs and replicating proven models like ASAP.

EdTrust-Midwest

In May, EdTrust-Midwest released Ready for Rigor, a report showing that many Michigan students still lack access to advanced coursework and the resources that support college and career readiness. The report makes clear that these gaps reflect inequities in opportunity, not students’ ability or interest, and offers actionable recommendations for change. In April, we also released new equitable funding analysis, including the 2026 Student Opportunity Tracker and the revamped Opportunity for All website. More than two dozen advocates joined EdTruts-Midwest in Lansing to push for fair funding, and state budget proposals now include increased support for students from low-income backgrounds and English learners. We also highlighted teacher pipeline gaps in our March brief, Strong Start, Strong Teachers.

On the Hill

From March through June 2026, EdTrust advanced an advocacy agenda focused on protecting federal education investments and the Department of Ed. A centerpiece of this work was our Hill Day, which convened advocates from 10 states for in-person meetings with 40 Republican and Democratic congressional offices, including congressional leadership staffers. Also, EdTrust’s senior leadership joined a press conference and a Senate Democratic Steering and Policy Committee roundtable, both of which focused on pushing back against mass firings across federal education programs, proposed education defunding, and efforts to dismantle ED’s core functions. Finally, EdTrust conducted a detailed analysis of the President’s budget request, identifying provisions that would reduce support for key programs and weaken federal safeguards. We issued a statement opposing many of these proposals and called on Congress to reject them. Additionally, during Secretary McMahon’s most recent congressional appearances, we provided real-time responses challenging her assertions that minimized the impact of cuts and called for greater transparency and accountability.

Coalition Work

In Maryland, MAREE’s advocacy was instrumental in passing four priority bills that increase student protections and expand educational access. These bills included a ban on 287g Agreements, passage of the Youth Charging Reform Act (SB323) to end the automatic charging of 14- and 15-year-olds as adults, passage of the Maryland Community Trust Act (SB 791) to limit local law enforcement’s cooperation with ICE, and the DREAM Act expansion to increase in-state tuition access for undocumented students. Session concluded with an end-of-session celebration with over 60 advocates, students, and community leaders. MAREE also submitted written testimony on Maryland’s proposed comprehensive adolescent literacy policy, which will expand Maryland’s statewide literacy framework to grades 4-12.

In Kentucky, the Prichard Committee concluded legislative session with the passage of HB253, which requires evidence-based reading curricula and dyslexia supports statewide.

In Delaware, EdTrust and Rodel submitted testimony on the first in a series of bills creating a more equitable school funding formula, an important step towards long-overdue reform.