High School Counselor Week
Weekly stories, facts, trends, and other information from around the country
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October 29, 2026
Colleges Launch National Student Success Project to Answer Doubts About the Value of a Degree
Insight Into Academia – October 26, 2026
A coalition of higher education associations and more than 50 colleges and universities has launched an effort aimed at answering families’ doubts about whether a degree is worth the cost.
Supreme Court to decide if religious schools can take public money and still discriminate
Chalkbeat – October 22, 2026
Between publicly funded preschool programs and state voucher programs, more public money than ever before is flowing to private religious schools. This case asks whether states can put conditions on that public money to ensure all students have access or whether doing so infringes on the First Amendment rights of religious schools.
Trump administration declares seven civil rights guidance documents unenforceable
The Washington Times – October 22, 2026
The Department of Justice and the Education Department will no longer rely on multiple federal civil rights guidance documents covering issues that include racial discrimination in student discipline and race-conscious admissions. The two departments jointly clarified that seven guidance documents they issued are not enforceable, which cover English learners, limited English proficient parents, COVID-related harassment, and racial discrimination in student discipline.
Writing your college essay? Think like a lawyer and present your casePost – October 22, 2026
College Advice & Timely Tips with Lee Bierer
Disability Rights And Resources For Entering College Students
Yahoo! Life – October 25, 2026
Students with disabilities keep important civil rights and protections after high school. But while rights continue, the process changes. Families spend months weighing admission odds, tuition, and campus culture. For a student with a disability, understanding how accommodations really work deserves the same attention. For example, qualified students may receive academic adjustments and auxiliary aids and services, but they shouldn’t expect their high school plan to carry over on its own. They generally won’t find specialized instruction, like a special education teacher, unless they enroll in an optional, fee-based program. And so on. Families should hear all of this and more well before graduation, not after. We cover some of the basics and misconceptions, as well as possible resources and questions to ask.
Student Support Teams: Seeing the Whole Student
EdCircuit – October 12, 2026
A student visits the nurse several times with headaches but has no fever or visible illness. A teacher notices that assignments have stopped coming in. A paraprofessional sees the student sitting alone at lunch. A counselor knows the family is experiencing a significant change. A case manager recognizes that coping strategies that usually help are no longer working. Viewed separately, each observation may seem manageable. Together, they show that something has changed. The challenge is creating a system that allows the right people to connect those pieces and decide what should happen next. The people who see the whole student are often the people who help a school act before a concern becomes a crisis. Their effectiveness depends on whether the system allows them to bring their observations together—and whether the school follows through once they do.
Small colleges are starting football programs, hoping to boost enrollment as student shortage looms
AP News – October 27, 2026
Football is often considered an anchor sport, but t is also expensive. Research has shown that adding football may not be the solution colleges hope it will be. While one study found positive impacts on student life, after factoring in the cost, tuition revenue per student did not increase even in the first year, and that was during a period of growth. In one researcher’s opinion, “…If a school is adding football right now, it’s one of several last-ditch efforts to try to maintain enough enrollment to keep the doors open, because this year’s graduating high school class is going to be the smallest in a generation in terms of sending students to college.”
5 Things to Know About Work Colleges
Inside Higher Ed – October 23, 2026
At the country’s nine recognized work colleges, labor is built into the fabric of the institution, part of their ethos and infrastructure. And for some students, those jobs mean the difference between earning a degree and not attending college at all. Here are five takeaways from our reporting on this small corner of the higher education sector.
Debating Early Decision
The Campanile (CA) – October 20, 2026
This fall, seniors applying to college will be greeted with more types of admissions options than ever before, and students must not only decide where to apply but how. As more colleges adopt binding admissions options, students need to weigh earlier acceptances against limits on choice and finances.
Which Undergrad Credentials Offer Earnings Premiums? New Tool Breaks It Down.
Inside Higher Ed – October 28, 2026
The HEA Group has published a dashboard that takes data compiled to show the potential impact of the upcoming federal earnings test for college programs and breaks it down by state, field, credential level, and more. It allows the public and policymakers to compare the median earnings four years after graduation for completers of various undergraduate degrees and certificates, and shows how much those salaries exceed the median pay for high school diploma earners in each state, i.e., the earnings premium. And it reveals the rarer cases where those who didn’t go to college at all made more.
Why Colleges Can’t Just Cut Costs: The 3 Things That Actually Lower The Price
The College Investor – October 28, 2026
Real net tuition at public four-year colleges has fallen 48% in the past 13 years. The price problem today is housing, fees, and the school you pick, not tuition inflation. And unfortunately, most of the “just cut costs” ideas are worth hundreds of dollars a year per student, not thousands. Only four things significantly cut what a degree actually costs: buying less time, starting at a cheaper school and transferring, changing how you take classes, and not paying for campus housing. Families can act on all four without waiting for a college to change, and potentially save $10,000 and up.
Teen Dating Violence: What Parents Need to Know and How to Help
Psychiatric Alternatives And Wellness Center – October 27, 2026
How common dating violence is among teens, the warning signs parents should know, and how to talk with and support your teen.
How College Accommodations Differ From High School IEPs
U.S. News & World Report – October 20, 2026
Once a student steps onto a college campus, how does the legal and behavioral landscape of learning accommodations such as IEPs or 504 plans change? What is the single biggest hurdle or “shock” that freshmen with learning differences tend to face during their first 90 days of independent living? And what can families do during high school to help?
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U.S. Dept of Education Broadens School Sex Abuse Probe
The 74 – October 7, 2026
The U.S. Department of Education announced this week that it had opened sexual misconduct investigations into multiple school districts, saying it was part of a larger crackdown on “passing the trash.” The phrase refers to the practice of teachers and other staffers who are credibly accused of sexually abusing students and then allowed to quietly resign or move onto another school system.
Employers still want the degree
Lumina Foundation – October 20, 2026
Companies have dropped degree requirements from job postings. States and employers have embraced skills-based hiring. Artificial intelligence is beginning to reshape entry-level work. It would be reasonable to assume that employers are beginning to care less about college. They aren’t. A majority still prefer a candidate with a college degree, even when the job does not require one. 68% prefering at least a bachelor’s degree, and 71% at least an associate degree. And nearly half of hiring decision-makers expect AI to make college degrees more important over the next five years, not less.
