June 9, 2026

Earlier today, we announced that registration is now open for AESA’s 2026 Annual Conference and Expo, held at the beautiful Hilton Orlando in Orlando, Florida. Conference programming is designed around the key priorities and emerging trends impacting ESAs today:

• Leadership in Action: Executing Visionary Strategies
• Innovation & Technology: Driving Systemic Change
• Entrepreneurship & Sustainability: Ensuring the Future of ESAs
• Student-Centered Solutions: Advancing Access
• Governance & ESA Boards: Strengthening Leadership and Oversight
• Administrative Excellence (New!): Empowering the ESA Backbone

Recognizing outstanding members of the ESA community has always been an important part of the AESA Annual Conference & Expo. Through our awards program, we honor the leaders, innovators, and changemakers whose work strengthens ESAs and improves outcomes for schools and students.

Know someone deserving of recognition? Submit a nomination and help us celebrate excellence across the ESA community.

2025–26 Global Training Coordinator Stuart Brown of West 40 ISC will be present to share his insights and experiences from the program, offering a firsthand perspective on its impact for ESAs, educators, and students.

There are plenty of networking opportunities out there. What makes AESA's Professional Networks different is the people. You'll connect with colleagues from educational service agencies across the nation who understand the unique challenges and opportunities of your role.

The conversations are relevant, the connections are meaningful, and the ideas are immediately applicable. We think that's pretty special—and worth the investment!

Join a network today and choose to pay this fiscal year or defer payment until after July 1, 2026. Invoices simply need to be paid before your network's first meeting.

2026-27 Professional Networks

• Behavioral Health Network – Advancing behavioral health supports across ESAs
• Business & HR Officials Network – For CFOs, business managers, and HR leaders
• Communications & Marketing Network – For ESA communications and marketing professionals
• Executive Assistant to the CEO Network – Supporting those who support ESA CEOs
• Professional Learning Consultants Network – For consultants delivering professional learning
• Professional Learning Directors Network – For leaders overseeing professional learning systems
• Special Education Director Network – For special education leaders and directors
• Technology Leaders Network – For technology and innovation leaders

Your peers are here. Join them!

This one-day workshop on July 14 gives teams simple, practical tools to improve pricing decisions, test ideas before broader implementation, and identify new opportunities for growth.
Separate registration applies. Register here>>

Project Unicorn’s annual School System Data Survey (SSDS) helps the education sector better understand K–12 data capabilities and infrastructure, providing critical insights to policymakers, EdTech providers, and school leaders. Using only aggregate, non-identifiable data, the survey informs national efforts to improve interoperability, privacy, cybersecurity, and digital access and shapes Project Unicorn’s annual State of the Sector Report (2025).

Why participate?

• Personalized support: Free 1:1 technical assistance with a Project Unicorn expert
• Early insights: Advance access to the State of the Sector Report and pre-release briefing
• Incentive: Complete the survey by June 30 to receive a $15 gift card

Your participation helps strengthen a modern, secure, and effective EdTech ecosystem nationwide.

One June 5, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies advanced its Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 funding proposal. This funding would be available for districts in the 27-28 school year. While not as drastic as the prior year’s proposal, House Republican leadership, who wrote the bill without consulting Democrats on the Committee, once again propose significant cuts to most K-12 funding. Top level takeaways here.

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has proposed new revisions to the Uniform Grants Guidance, which dictates the terms under which federal awards must be managed, as well as how and when they can be granted and rescinded. These changes will impact LEAs as well as many other recipients of federal funding. More on what this means for schools here.

Second Lady Usha Vance’s 2026 Summer Reading Challenge is officially live for your communities to participate. Details, including the reading log form, submission form, and prizes, can be found at http://www.wh.gov/read.

This year, the Summer Reading Challenge includes a brand-new Nationwide Leaderboard, where you can see how your state ranks against others across the country.

This New York Times article takes a deep look at a cluster of schools in Gwinnett County Public Schools that are implementing the district’s AI framework at each level in the cluster.

Two studies published this month on declining adolescent sleep quality have renewed calls from experts to delay school start times, citing evidence that later starts can improve student health, attendance, and academic achievement.

A new Columbia University study examines how districts drive improvement in reading and math through five key implementation strategies.

Chalkbeat examines the difficult budget outlook facing school districts, noting that more than half of the nation’s 50 largest districts have implemented or are considering cuts amid declining enrollment, rising inflation, the end of federal pandemic relief funding, and increasing healthcare costs.

A report on efforts to reduce chronic absenteeism in Michigan schools found that frequent home visits to families of absent students contributed to encouraging attendance gains over a three-year period, while noting that the strategy is not a guaranteed solution and should be paired with additional interventions.

This Hechinger Report article summarizes some key federal policy changes for higher education financial assistance that are worth knowing about as K-12 leaders as well.