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July 2025: AESA State Examiner

August 1, 2025

Each month, the State Examiner covers five topics including:

  • Legislative Issue Monitoring
  • Statehouse News: Education Policy (with links to news items)
  • State Budget and Finance Monitoring
  • National Reports Impacting Education
  • Advocacy Tips

Each topic includes a brief introduction. To read the full articles under each headline, click on the "+" sign next to the topic. Please find the pdf for readers who prefer to print a version of the July 2025 State Examiner.

Legislative Issue Monitoring

In each edition of the State Examiner, AESA monitors state-level legislation and legislative trends impacting educational service agencies and their client schools and districts. This month’s report for July 2025 reflects on legislation passed in 2025 and forecasting what to expect this fall and into 2026.

State Budget and Finance Monitoring

AESA monitors state level budget and finance news impacting preschool and primary and secondary education. These curated articles (with links) can provide insights into what is happening in your state and collectively across the U.S.  The latest state budget and finance-related news for July 2025 follows below.

National Reports Impacting Education

AESA monitors state and national reports highlighting state-level information of interest to ESAs. As always, it is important to view these reports through a critical lens with attention to research design, methodology, data sources and citations, peer review, and publication venue. This month AESA spotlights reports and survey results from EdNext, Annie E. Casey, Stanford University, and RAND:

Advocacy Tip: Do Your Research & Know Your Legislators

In the ever-changing and dynamic world of state government and politics, effective engagement and advocacy begins well before the first meeting with a legislator, staff member or other influential policymakers.

The most influential (and impactful) advocates recognize that real impact depends on knowing who you are talking to, what matters to them, and how past actions shape their perspectives. This first article in our 2025-2026 academic year series explores why and how “Doing Your Research and Knowing Your Legislators” is essential for building relationships, shaping credible messages, and driving positive policy change for educational service agencies (ESAs) and their constituents.

AESA State Advocacy Resources for ESAs

State-level legislative advocacy plays a crucial role in shaping the educational landscape. While federal policies often set broad educational priorities, state legislatures hold significant power over the funding, governance, and standards that directly impact local schools and districts. AESA supports state-level advocacy by offering training through publications, workshops, and presentations, which can be customized for individual states.

SHARE YOUR ADVOCACY SUCCESS STORIES

 AESA would like to highlight successful state-level advocacy campaigns. Share your triumphs in state advocacy with fellow members! Contribute to our newsletter by submitting your success stories – your experiences can enlighten and inspire others in navigating the often complex landscape of state advocacy. Together, we can amplify our collective knowledge for the benefit of the entire AESA membership. Send your stories to jwade@aesa.us.

 STAY CONNECTED & INVOLVED

Have feedback for the AESA State Advocacy Team? Would you like to see a particular issue area addressed in future editions? Send feedback to jwade@aesa.us.

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