Member Communications: Keeping You Connected
| AESA offers four distinct electronic publications as well as our Federal Updates blog designed to keep members informed, engaged, and connected. These communications provide valuable updates, insights, and resources tailored specifically for educational service agencies (ESAs). | |||
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FERPA 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.
Reconciliation vs. Appropriations
With growing discussion around potential cuts to Medicaid and other critical programs, this resource clarifies the key differences between the reconciliation and appropriations processes—and what each could mean for education.
ED 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.”
Want to Stay Updated?
If your ESA is a member of AESA, you are eligible to receive all of these valuable publications! To ensure you don’t miss out, please complete the form to confirm we have your most up-to-date contact information.