August 25, 2026

🔊 Audio Overview of this edition. Give us your feedback!

The time is now to support E-Rate. The program is at real risk, and education leaders need to make their voices heard. This federal update outlines what you and the schools you serve need to know about the FCC’s proposed changes to the E-Rate program and how to respond.  Please read and share our overview, FAQ, and call to action. 

We need your voice at the table. We hope you’ll join us at Advocacy in Action, taking place September 23-25 in Washington, D.C. 

there is a lot happening in Washington that could have a significant impact on the nation's educational service agencies (ESAs).

The Hotel reservation deadline is TODAY, August 25. 

You’ll find the hotel reservation link in your conference registration confirmation email. 

Through AESA Global's international partnerships, participants will learn alongside educators and institutions, experience education and culture firsthand, and bring new ideas and perspectives home.

These experiences are open to ESA staff and educators from the schools and districts they serve, including teachers, principals, instructional coaches, curriculum leaders, district administrators, and STEM, humanities, and CTE educators.

Consider sending a team from your region! Learning together gives ESA and district colleagues a shared experience they can build on when they return home.

Choose Your Adventure!

Throughout the coming weeks, we'll be taking a closer look at each of AESA's professional learning networks launching this fall. Discover what makes each network unique, meet the facilitators, and find the community that's right for you.

Behavioral health has become one of the most pressing issues facing schools and districts. Student needs are growing, staff are stretched, and education leaders are being asked to build stronger systems of support.

ESAs have an important role to play, and the people leading this work shouldn't have to figure it out alone.

The AESA Behavioral Health Network brings together professionals from educational service agencies across the country to learn from one another, share strategies and resources, and tackle the challenges they are seeing in the schools and districts they serve.

Meet the facilitator:

The Behavioral Health Network kicks off on September 23. If someone at your agency works in behavioral health, mental health, student wellness, school psychology, social work, student services, or related areas, encourage them to join the network.

AESA is pleased to welcome LINKS Mat-Su Parent Resource Center in Wasilla, Alaska, as our newest Institutional Member!

Led by CEO Aaron Wright, LINKS has served the Mat-Su community for more than 30 years, providing resources, advocacy, training, referrals, and connections that support individuals and families.

We’re excited to welcome Aaron and the LINKS team to the AESA community and look forward to connecting them with members across the country.

InterMountain ESD (IMESD) and the Oregon Trail Regional Educator Network (REN) are helping early-career educators build strong foundations through their GROW & Mentoring programs.

In a recent #OregonStrong video, IMESD Instructional Coaches Jennifer Teeter and Beth Naughton share how coaching, mentorship and job-embedded support help new teachers build confidence and strengthen their practice.

It’s a great example of how ESAs are supporting school districts in developing and retaining the next generation of educators.

AESA members have two opportunities to help inform national research on the technology issues facing schools and districts. Please participate and share these surveys with technology leaders in the school districts you serve.

Project Unicorn: School System Data Survey

Project Unicorn's School System Data Survey takes a broad look at K-12 data and technology infrastructure, including interoperability, privacy, cybersecurity and digital access.

Responses help shape Project Unicorn's annual State of the Sector Report and provide policymakers, EdTech providers and education leaders with a clearer picture of school system needs.

Why participate? Participants have access to free 1:1 technical assistance with a Project Unicorn expert and early insights from the State of the Sector Report.

Survey Link: https://www.projectunicorn.org/ssds 

Project Tomorrow: K-12 Cybersecurity Survey

While Project Unicorn looks broadly at K-12 data and technology infrastructure, Project Tomorrow's 2026 K-12 Cybersecurity Survey focuses specifically on cybersecurity.

AESA members are encouraged to participate and share AESA's dedicated survey link with district and school technology leaders across their service areas. Using this link helps ensure that ESAs and the districts they support are represented in the national findings. AESA will also receive aggregated findings specific to our network.

Survey Link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CyberAESA

The survey closes August 31, 2026.

AI. Accessibility. Assistive technology. Instructional tools. Districts are making decisions across all of these areas, often at the same time and not always as part of the same conversation.

That’s where ESAs can add real value.

Join AESA on September 8 from 2:00-3:00 pm ET for a practical session with our collaborating partner, the Center on Inclusive Technology & Education Systems (CITES).

You’ll explore how to help the districts you serve connect the dots across technology, instruction, accessibility, leadership, and family engagement, with an emphasis on building systems that work for all learners.

Best of all, you’ll leave with tools, resources, and examples you can actually use in conversations with your districts.

The primary topics this month are the upcoming launch of Season 9 of the CoSN/AASA EmpowerED Superintendents edLeader Panel broadcasts and the CoSN resources regarding the upcoming FCC review of the E-Rate program.

The third session of our Scholarship Granting Organizations (SGOs) series titled Approaches to Implementing the Federal Tax Credit — Deciding What Would Work for You is being held on September 2 at 3:00 pm ET. You can register for this session as well as Session 4 by clicking this link. Please share with your school districts. 

Returning to school can be especially challenging for students who are grieving a loss. The National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement (NCSCB) has created free back-to-school resources to help schools and districts support grieving students during this transition.

The toolkit includes practical guidance, ready-to-use social media graphics and captions, editable Canva resources, and sample messaging for educators and school leaders.

Access the resources:

• Social Media Tool Kit (folder)
• Guidance Document

Please share these resources with the schools and districts you serve to help ensure grieving students feel supported as they return to school.

The U.S. Department of Education published a new guidance document for superintendents that lays out the Department's interpretation of the legal standards governing the consideration of race in school discipline and how districts can ensure compliance with federal law. The guidance builds on a regulatory change issued in July that eliminated disparate impact liability under Title VI

The Senate Commerce Committee recently advanced several bipartisan bills aimed at strengthening online safety and privacy protections for children, including measures addressing social media, AI chatbots, and AI-enabled technologies. AESA supports efforts to establish meaningful safeguards for students while preserving the important role of state and local education leaders in technology and privacy decisions. Read more about the proposals and what they could mean for schools and students.

EdWeek covers the recent Executive Order on childhood vaccines, with a focus on how the order is affecting students, families, and schools as the new year begins.

A new report based on interviews with educators across 14 states finds that schools played an increasingly critical role in supporting immigrant students amid heightened immigration enforcement. The report also offers systemic recommendations to better support educators and protect students.

Despite ongoing efforts to transfer program responsibilities to other agencies, the U.S. Department of Education will continue to send billions of formula dollars for the current school year through its own online payments system this fall, the agency confirmed.

This article examines how varying state definitions and measurement approaches for chronic absenteeism make it difficult to compare trends and assess the full scope of the issue, prompting calls for more consistent tracking practices within states.