September 16, 2025

AESA is excited to welcome back Camden County Educational Services Commission, headquartered in Clementon, NJ, and led by Superintendent Daniel Del Vecchio. After last being a member in 2020–2021, Camden County ESC has rejoined our network of educational service agencies. We look forward to partnering again to advance innovation, collaboration, and support for schools and communities.

As part of its 50th-anniversary of IDEA series, the Massachusetts Organization of Educational Collaboratives (MOEC) reflects on the profound impact of its special education programs in the state. In the latest installment, Fond Farewell: Sometimes Students Leave and That’s the Goal, Cape Cod Collaborative, a MOEC member and a newly re-established AESA member, shares inspiring stories of students who have successfully transitioned from collaborative programs to greater independence. This milestone underscores MOEC and its members’ commitment to preparing students for life beyond the classroom.

From Butler County ESC in Hamilton, OH, join curriculum specialists Dave Clark and Robin Szary on Schoolwide Download, the podcast where classroom practice meets possibility. Each episode combines real-world stories, practical tools, and thoughtful conversations to give K–12 teachers, instructional coaches, and education leaders strategies they can use immediately. With segments like Opening Spark, Main Chat, and Try This Tomorrow, professional learning has never been more accessible, engaging, or relevant.

In its Semi-Annual Regulatory Agenda updated earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Education (USED) stated it would issue a number of rules aimed at walking back prior civil rights requirements and aligning program enforcement with the President’s priorities. For example, USED stated that as soon as this fall it would issue a rule outlining a process for withholding federal funds from schools that are found to be in violation of federal civil rights laws including Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. Read more.

Constitutiondayhub.org is a new resource offering educational institutions a one-stop shop for freely-accessible, high-quality, non-partisan, age-appropriate, Constitution-specific lessons. This flyer details how a 2005 law passed by Congress created Constitution Day and specifies that all students in educational institutions that receive federal funding are to be given a lesson about the U.S. Constitution on Constitution Day. The resources at consitutiondayhub.org focus on K-12 institutions and encourage school districts to take a district-wide approach to Constitution Day.

USED officials recently informed state education agencies that the Department is ending the longstanding National Blue Ribbon Schools program. USED stated that the change is part of its effort to “return education to the states.”

Florida’s Surgeon General announced plans to end all vaccine mandates, including for school children, making Florida the first state to do so, although no timeline was provided for the change.

Educators, advocates, and child psychologists report that heightened immigration enforcement is causing trauma and school avoidance in the new school year, prompting districts to provide resources to families and explain the legal rights of all children in public schools.

The74 highlights five trends driving K-12 education toward becoming an innovation leader, including shifts in homeschooling, flexible work, new technologies, school choice policies, and openness to new types of institutions.