MinecraftEdu was a long-lasting project which sought to bring a special education-focused version of Minecraft to classrooms, and it was met with a great deal of enthusiasm. Some time after being acquired and re-branded Minecraft: Education Edition, there was a period of uncertainty about where the project would go. Now, it seems, the wait is soon to be over.
It is expected that Education Edition will be rolling out to participating classrooms as early as this month. Touting many of the features of its predecessor, it will also bring a number of newer, streamlined features to make lesson planning, group activities, and overall management significantly easier to implement. For teachers without an intimate familiarity with Minecraft, there will also be a number of pre-made lesson plans; the game is nonetheless expected to maintain the same level of overall freedom and diversity that makes it such a powerful learning tool, as well as a fun game. (Within reason, of course - students should probably expect resistance if they plan to pour lava on their classmates' in-game avatars!)
An exact release date is not currently known. Educators are able to sign up for a cost-free beta as well, should they wish to test out the program early. Neat!