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On July 30, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee held its first significant markup of K-12 education legislation this Congress. AESA has been closely following these proposals and shares the positions outlined below on the bills and amendments considered by the committee.

On July 23, the U.S. Department of Education announced it would be removing regulations that had been in place for over 60 years that recognized discrimination can occur through the effects of a policy, not just intent.

On July 7, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) approved Arkansas for a Sec. 8401 waiver under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), including some flexibility that other States have not yet received, as well as for Ed-Flex authority.

On July 15, the House Education and Workforce Committee passed a series of bills meant to codify many of the Inter Agency Agreements (IAAs) announced by the U.S. Department of Education over the past year.

The U.S. Department of Education has announced a new national K-12 enforcement initiative focused on preventing sexual misconduct in schools and addressing the practice commonly known as “passing the trash”—when an employee credibly accused of sexual misconduct is allowed to move to another position or district without appropriate accountability.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a draft Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that raises serious concerns for the future of the E-Rate program.

On April 17, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) published an interim final rule modifying the compliance timeline for its ADA Title II website accessibility requirements. The rule extends the original deadlines by one year.

A group of 21 states has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), challenging grant terms that would require grantees to align with administration policies on gender, immigration, and diversity. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Massachusetts, could have significant implications for other agencies that attempt to integrate executive orders and similar terms into federal grants.