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Parents across backgrounds report wanting more time with their young children, though financial and practical barriers often limit family experiences.
Many large school districts are adjusting budgets as enrollment declines and operating costs increase.
Schools are providing support to help students cope with stress and disruptions affecting their families and communities.
Research and Practice
New America: What Parents of Young Kids Want: Insights from the 2026 National Parent Survey
A report from New America shares results from the 2026 National Parent Survey, which explores parents’ desires for their families. Surveying 5,500 parents with children under the age of six in every state and Washington, D.C., the researchers found that many parents agree on challenges and wishes for their lifestyles. Seventy-two percent of parents report wanting to spend more quality time with their children, especially through play, outside time, and traveling. For all parents, money is the largest barrier to these experiences, though mothers were more likely to face financial hardships compared to fathers. Low-income families were also more likely to report that transportation or health challenges impacted these moments compared to high-income families. The lack of quality time between parents and children was also prevalent after a child’s birth; the majority of parents took the minimal parental leave (six weeks or less), with 15% of parents taking no parental leave at all.
The Hechinger Report: What Michigan Schools Reveal About Reversing Chronic Absenteeism
Michigan has one of the highest chronic absenteeism rates in the country. Researchers from the University of Michigan-Flint and Wayne State University examined why some schools have better attendance than others. To understand how the school environment may influence students’ absentee rates, the study focused on students who switched schools, including transitioning from middle to high school. Analyzing 2,700 Michigan schools between 2022 and 2025, they found that students in the top quarter of schools with the best attendance rates went to class seven more days per year compared to their peers in the bottom quarter. These differences in attendance rates continued for all three years of the study and were more prominent for children living in low-income areas. Additionally, they found that one intervention, daily and weekly home visits to families with children who were absent, was the most successful way to boost attendance in the schools sampled. However, this intervention was not effective for all Michigan schools, and further research should analyze what specific factors of the home visit program improve attendance rates.
Policy
Chalkbeat: Budget Cuts Hit Half of America’s Largest School Districts
More than half of the United States’ 50 largest school districts are facing budget cuts or a reported budget deficit. The majority of school districts cite declining enrollment as a reason for the budget cuts; often, school districts are funded based on the number of students enrolled. Additionally, rising inflation, including higher food, healthcare, and fuel costs, as well as the end of pandemic relief funding, has also contributed to a lack of funds for school districts. As a result, school districts are laying off staff members, closing schools, and combining classrooms. In Broward County, Florida, enrollment in the public school district has declined by 40,000 students (17%) over the past decade. The district is closing six schools and cutting 1,000 staff members, including 40 student support instructional specialists. An eighth-grade student at Westglades Middle School shared, in light of the cuts to mental health support staff, “… it’s important to have someone that actually helps.”
K-12 Dive: How Can States Encourage Students to Fill Out the FAFSA?
Fourteen states have adopted universal Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) policies, which require or encourage students to complete the form. The FAFSA allows students to receive federal grants and loans. Historically, the documents have been difficult to fill out, leaving students unable to receive funds that they are eligible for. In Illinois and Indiana, filling out the FAFSA is a requirement for high school seniors. However, some states have since repealed their FAFSA completion policy due to family privacy concerns. Students who complete the FAFSA are more likely to graduate from high school, enroll in college, and graduate from college. In the 2026-27 academic year, 5.78 million students have filled out the form. A report by EdTrust recommends that government officials dedicate funding to hiring financial aid specialists to help students fill out the FAFSA, conduct outreach efforts, and create a dashboard to track FAFSA completion.
Around the Nation
AP News: The Minneapolis Immigration Crackdown Ended Months Ago. For These Little Kids, Trauma Remains
Students at Valley View Elementary in Columbia Heights, Minneapolis, were greeted by a therapy dog when they returned to school, months after a surge of immigration officials in their community. The visit was part of a larger strategy to address mental health concerns for students who witnessed arrests, lost friends and family to deportation, and spent anxious weeks indoors, attending school virtually. At least four students at the school were detained and sent to a Texas family detention center. Now, teachers and the school social worker are focusing on helping students process these traumatic events in the classroom through group therapy sessions. Research has found that trauma has lasting effects on children’s health and well-being. Children who have parents with an undocumented status often have chronic anxiety that a parent will be detained or deported, which can lead to school chronic absenteeism, academic disengagement, and emotional distress. The school social worker has witnessed the positive benefits of reopening school, including many joyful reunions between friends who have not seen each other in months. See also: New Survey of Head Start Providers in 7 States Charts ICE’s Negative Impact
WyoFile: Tribal Students in Central Wyoming Release Small Fish in a Big Pond
For the past four months, middle and high school students from Fort Washakie, Wyoming Indian, and St. Stephens schools have cared for baby trout, which hatched from eggs in their classrooms. Now, the students are ready to release the fish into Ray Lake. The program is funded by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department and run by Trout Unlimited and the Wind River Tribal Buffalo Initiative. Students learn about watersheds, beneficial bacteria, and the impacts of amonia in the water. A coordinator of the initiative reported seeing fewer pieces of litter around the lake since the trout program began, indicating that students may now feel a stronger desire to protect the area’s ecological health. Students have also developed a better understanding of the link between preserving the environment and natural food sources; many of the students fish themselves and were enthusiastic about creating healthier waters for their trout.
