Gov. JB Pritzker on Monday approved a bill creating a direct admissions program. Along with it, he approved bills that implement new state standards for programs offering college credits to high school students, and new requirements for financial aid application assistance.

The finding from the administration is the latest intensification in the White House’s battle with Harvard, which lost more than $2.6 billion in federal research grants after rejecting a list of federal demands calling for sweeping changes to campus governance, hiring and admissions.

The decision was not a final ruling in the case, but the justices strongly suggested that the parents will win in the end.

“I step into this role with a deep sense of responsibility and an unwavering commitment to the students, families and the educators who make this district extraordinary,” interim CPS CEO Macquline King said Thursday.

The “Safe Schools for All Act” passed both chambers of the General Assembly. It would prohibit schools from denying any child access to a free public education based on their actual or perceived immigration status, or that of their parents.

Chicago Public Schools hired a former police officer who was on the city’s do-not-hire list after he was fired for inappropriate communication with a 17-year-old girl. Newly released records reveal he submitted false work histories before landing a full-time position at Lane Tech.

Late last year, Mayor Brandon Johnson’s handpicked school board fired Martinez without cause after he refused to take out a $300 million loan to cover the cost of a new teachers’ contract — but he remained on the job for the last six months, as dictated by his contract.

The board on Wednesday voted to approve Macquline King, Mayor Brandon Johnson’s senior director of education policy and a former CPS principal, as Chicago Public Schools’ interim CEO.

In the Trump administration’s latest attack against international students, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced last week the U.S. will begin “aggressively” revoking visas of Chinese students, including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party and those studying in “critical fields.”

“You don’t get everything done in one year,” Gov. JB Pritzker said during a post-session news conference when asked about several of his initiatives that failed to pass this year. “Sometimes they (lawmakers) spend two years, four years, six years, trying to get something big done.”

The Chicago Board of Education on Thursday approved a new two-year charter renewal for Urban Prep Charter Academy, which operates a pair of South Side high schools predominantly serving Black male students.

Martinez on Thursday reflected on his time as Chicago’s schools chief during what will be his final monthly meeting of the Board of Education before he exits to take over as Massachusetts’ next school board commissioner.

Chinese students studying in the U.S. are scrambling to figure out their futures after Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Wednesday that some of them would have their visas revoked.

The government already has canceled more than $2.6 billion in federal research grants for the Ivy League school, which has pushed back on the administration’s demands for changes to several of its policies.

In its lawsuit filed in federal court in Boston, Harvard said the government’s action violates the First Amendment and will have an “immediate and devastating effect for Harvard and more than 7,000 visa holders.”

Northwestern President Michael Schill said the funding will be used to help promote “greater understanding around complex issues that fosters informed, respectful dialogue among students of all backgrounds.”