Federal Updates

On November 14, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released a new resource, Frequently Asked Privacy-Related Questions About Filing a Complaint with OCR.

Back to Federal Updates Written by Tara Thomas, AESA Policy Analyst November 12th was an exciting night for Congress as each chamber moved bills important to AESA and educators across the country. Although they are not quite past the finish line, these actions are very promising. We will continue to update members with new actions.…

Back to Federal Updates The Regional Educational Lab Program will have representation at the AESA Conference next month. In the meantime, they wanted to share a new literacy-focused resource just released: A Practitioner’s Guide to Improving Literacy Outcomes for Students by Using Evidence to Strengthen Programs and Practices. This resource builds on REL Southeast’s Literacy Roadmap, and was developed to…

Written by Sasha Pudelski, Director, Advocacy at AASA, The School Superintendents Association and member of the AESA advocacy team Many soundbites this week have highlighted the expressed desire by President Trump to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education. Could this happen? Is this a serious proposal? At this time AESA urges educational leaders to maintain…

Written by Sasha Pudelski, Director, Advocacy at AASA, The School Superintendents Association and member of the AESA advocacy team Anticipated funding and policy issues coming out of the 2024 election and what to watch for as a public school educator. While the election results are still being distilled and we do not know with certainty…

Last week, the Environmental Protection Agency finalized a rule creating the first-ever national requirement to test for lead in schools that rely on water from public utilities. The regulation, called the Lead and Copper Rule Improvements, mandates that water systems screen all elementary and child-care facilities, where those who are the most vulnerable to lead’s effects…

Refresher: In June, AASA led an amicus brief in a case in the 5th circuit, responding to the Molak v FCC case in the fifth circuit in support of the FCC. The Molak case asserts the FCC is overstepping its authority in its recent move to allow E-Rate dollars to be used for Wi-Fi on…

Written by Tara Thomas, AESA Policy Analyst On September 25, Congress passed a continuing resolution (CR) to keep the government funded until December 20 and adjourned for recess until after the election. When members return on November 12, the House and Senate will have a long to-do list, including some bills that they must pass,…

Recently, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) released the K-12 School Security Guide Companion Product for School Business Officials, a new resource to help school business officials support physical security planning and implementation initiatives in K-12 schools and school districts.  This new companion product uses guidance and best practices outlined in CISA’s existing K-12 School…