The funding delay had schools scrambling to figure out how they might fill an unexpected budget gap, and some after-school programs abruptly closed.

Nearly three-quarters of superintendents in a recent survey said they have to make critical decisions about staff and programs by Aug. 15 or sooner.

In a dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor called the decision ‘indefensible.’ Education Secretary Linda McMahon has said the job cuts are a first step toward eliminating the department, although a legal challenge to the layoffs can continue in the lower courts.

The withheld funds pay for after-school programming, teacher training, and support for English learners. Trump administration officials said the funds are under review due to suspicion they have been ‘grossly misused to subsidize a radical leftwing agenda.’

Education Department officials cite a lack of parking and desk space as reasons they haven’t reinstated laid-off workers. Now the Supreme Court will decide whether they get their jobs back at all.

District administrators are watching their budgets. Educators are watching their words. Everyone is trying to figure out what the Trump administration will mean for schools and students in the long run.

Penny Schwinn used to be the state schools chief in Tennessee, where some conservatives criticized her track record.

The Supreme Court tied 4-4 in a case over whether an explicitly religious charter school could open in Oklahoma. The tie means a lower court ruling will stand, blocking religious charters.

The U.S. Supreme Court let stand an admissions policy that aimed to create a more diverse student body at an elite high school. But the Virginia attorney general said his office found evidence of anti-Asian American bias.

Supporters of the proposed tax credits are thrilled there’s a viable path for them to become federal law. Critics say they would harm public education.