Archive for April 2025
Showcasing the Transformative Impact of Educational Service Agencies
AESA was honored to be featured in School Administrator magazine, highlighting the critical role ESAs play in supporting schools, educators, and students nationwide. Read the full breakout stories that demonstrate ESA innovation and impact.
Read MoreFERPA Update
In recent weeks, USED has leveraged the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) as a policy tool to incentivize state compliance with other administration policy priorities. This blog post summarizes two sets of actions: specific communications with Maine and California, related to parent rights to access education records, and a broader ‘Dear Colleague’ letter about FERPA and students’ gender identity.
Read MoreESSER Liquidation Update
On March 28, the Department informed SEAs that the Administration has canceled any prior approval for “late liquidation” of remaining funds from a variety of federal pandemic recovery funds, including American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER and Homeless Children and Youth (HCY) funds.
Read MoreED Issues New DEI Directive for States
The U.S. Department of Education issued a new directive requiring every state education agency (SEA) to certify within 10 days that they are complying with federal civil rights laws, including Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard (SFFA). The certification does not demand the end of DEI efforts, but instead reiterates the need to ensure those efforts are lawful under Title VI and to cease “illegal DEI practices.”
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