September 15, 2026

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

AESA’s 2027 Educator Field Studies aren’t just for ESA staff. We want educators and leaders from the schools and districts you serve to join us, too. Better yet, go together! ESA and school/district colleagues can learn side by side and bring new ideas back to their region.

Portugal - BLUE FUTURES

June 23-July 2, 2027
Explore education, sustainability, applied STEM, ocean and environmental learning, and culture.

South Korea - FUTURE-READY
June 23-July 2, 2027

Explore education, STEM, innovation, technology and AI, research, and workforce learning.

Help us build the teams!

Use our new Educators Field Studies Recruitment Toolkit with ready-to-use emails, social posts, newsletter copy, personal invitation language, and more to recruit your own staff and school/district colleagues.

Advocacy in Action is almost here, but there’s still time to join us in Washington, D.C., September 23–25!

Come connect with ESA leaders from across the country, get up to speed on the federal issues affecting education, and take your voice directly to Capitol Hill. You’ll leave with timely insights, stronger connections, and a better understanding of what’s ahead for ESAs and the communities you serve.

If you’ve been on the fence, we’d still be happy to have you. Pack your bags and join us in D.C.!

Leading special education at an ESA comes with challenges that are often best understood by others doing the same work. AESA’s Special Education Director Network kicks off September 22, creating a space to connect with peers, tackle timely issues, share resources, and learn how other ESAs are supporting districts and students.

Who should join?

• Special education directors
• Pupil services directors
• Associate directors
• Department coordinators
• Other ESA leaders responsible for special education programs and services

Together, members will dig into the issues shaping their work, from staffing and compliance to service delivery, systems improvement, and supporting districts with increasingly complex student needs. It’s also a place to compare approaches, share resources, and talk candidly with peers who understand the unique role ESAs play in special education.

Meet the Facilitator:

The first meeting is a week from today, so now is the time to join the 2026–27 network.

An affiliated nonprofit can open doors to charitable contributions, grants, scholarships, professional learning, special initiatives, and other opportunities to advance your mission.

Join Tina Viletto, Esq., Governance and Policy Advisor, on October 13 at 2:00 pm ET to explore how ESAs can put a 501(c)(3) to work strategically, including what the new Federal Scholarship Tax Credit, beginning January 1, 2027, could mean for K–12 education. You’ll also get practical guidance on governance, compliance, common pitfalls, and making the most of a nonprofit you already have.

Whether you have a 501(c)(3) or are wondering if you should, this FREE session may uncover opportunities you didn’t know were on the table.

More than 600 new individual members have created their AESA logins this fall, and we love seeing so many of you discover that you belong here!

But now that you have your login... what’s next?

Join us October 28 at 2:00 pm ET for You Belong Here: Connecting with AESA, a free orientation designed to help you turn that login into connections, resources, and opportunities.

And you don’t have to be new to join us! Whether you just created your login or have been part of AESA for years, this is a chance to discover benefits, resources, programs, and connections you may not know about.

We’ll show you around AESA, share practical ways to get involved, and help you connect with colleagues across the country.

you.

You belong here. Come see all that’s waiting for you.

The 2026–27 Tech InCITES webinar series connects educators, EdTech and assistive technology specialists, IT professionals, administrators, and families with thought leaders and innovators in inclusive technology. Each 30-minute webinar offers practical insights and strategies you can put to work. New this year, CITES will also host an optional informal discussion and Q&A immediately following each presentation.

Coming September 24: Generative AI, AT and the IEP

Join assistive technology leaders from CITES and QIAT on September 24 from 1:30–2:00 pm ET for a timely conversation about generative AI in special education. Explore where AI can enhance instruction and streamline workflows, what emerging evidence tells us, and when traditional approaches may still be the better choice. An optional 30-minute discussion will follow.

The Keep Schools Connected: Help Protect E-Rate webpage has everything you and your members need to respond to the FCC’s proposal is live, and now UPDATED with an easy-to-use letter writer.

Looking for timely learning opportunities? Here are four upcoming webinars covering workforce challenges, school safety, federal policy, and teacher compensation.

Hiring, Retention, and Fill Rates: A Data-Driven Sub Strategy
September 16 | 2:00 pm ET
Education Week will explore data-driven strategies for strengthening substitute recruitment, improving retention, and increasing fill rates.

Register >>

Enhancing K-12 Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management Practices
September 17 | 1:00-2:00 pm ET
Join the CISA School Safety Task Force for virtual training focused on strengthening behavioral threat assessment and management practices in K-12 schools. Register >>

Federal Tax Credit Program: Partnerships and Next Steps
September 22 | 3:00 pm ET
The final session in the Scholarship Granting Organizations webinar series will bring the pieces together, focusing on partnerships and next steps related to the new federal tax credit program. Register >>

Spending Smarter on Teacher Pay
September 25 | 1:00 pm ET
Get an early look at new National Council on Teacher Quality findings on teacher compensation, retention, student outcomes, and how states are approaching smarter investments in teacher pay. Register >>

A new Brown University report examines the challenges facing immigrant students in Massachusetts and highlights effective strategies, including flexible school schedules, while exploring the impact of changing federal immigration policies on schools.

A CRPE study finds that most districts are focused on stabilizing systems like assessment, curriculum, instruction, professional learning, and staffing rather than transforming them.

As debates over AI's role in teaching and learning continue, Los Angeles and New York City have announced significant new restrictions on student use of AI tools.

• LAUSD Restricts All students from Using AI Tools: LAUSD will block student access to generative AI platforms during the 2026-27 school year while it reviews instructional uses and safeguards.
• New York City pauses AI use for elementary, middle school students: New York City has imposed what it describes as the nation’s most expansive AI moratorium, restricting AI use

EdWeek analyzes the results of a nationwide survey from 2024 that show while most superintendents believe pre-K is critical for student success, only about one-third identify it as a top district priority, raising questions about the barriers to expanding early childhood investments within districts.