September 8, 2026

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

There’s plenty happening at AESA this week! Find an opportunity that fits your role, or share one with a colleague who should be part of the conversation.

Sept. 8 | Building Inclusive Technology Systems
Explore how ESAs can help districts connect technology, accessibility, instruction and AI to build systems that work for every learner. Free for AESA members.
RSVP →

Sept. 9 | Business Officials & Human Resources Network
Connect with ESA finance and HR colleagues from across the country to share ideas, tackle common challenges and learn from one another.
Learn More & Join →

Sept. 10 | Inside the AESA CTE Learning Lab
Get a firsthand look at the new CTE Online Learning Lab and meet facilitator Kristy Volesky. This introductory webinar is free and open to AESA members and their K–12 and community partners.
RSVP →

Three days. Three ways to connect, learn and bring something useful back to your ESA.

As the E-Rate conversation continues at the FCC, AASA, AESA’s advocacy partner, is inviting AESA members to join its E-Rate Town Hall on September 9.

Hear directly from superintendents, library leaders, and policy experts about the latest developments, what they’re watching, and how education leaders can help protect E-Rate.

September 9 | 2:00 pm ET | Free

For AESA members already following this issue closely, the town hall is an opportunity to get the latest perspective, hear from others in the field, and prepare for the advocacy ahead.

If your ESA has someone leading behavioral health, mental health, student wellness, integrated student supports, or related services, please send them our way.

AESA’s new Behavioral Health Network was created specifically for the people doing this work inside educational service agencies. Schools increasingly rely on ESAs to help build coordinated, sustainable behavioral health supports, but the ESA professionals leading that work don't always have a national group of peers they can turn to.

We want to change that.

Beginning September 23, the network will bring ESA professionals from across the country together to share what’s working, troubleshoot challenges, exchange resources, and learn from colleagues who understand the unique role ESAs play in supporting schools and communities.

Meet the Facilitator:

ESA leaders: Think about who is doing this work in your organization. Forward this to them. Encourage them to join.

We need their expertise in the conversation, and chances are, they could use this network of colleagues, too.

Across the country, states are rethinking what students should know and be able to demonstrate before earning a high school diploma. New approaches are putting greater emphasis on career readiness, credentials, work-based learning, financial literacy, computer science, AI and other demonstrations of readiness.

The August AESA State Examiner looks at what’s changing in states including Washington, Indiana, New York, Louisiana, Georgia and Massachusetts, and, importantly, what those changes could mean for ESAs.

Also in this issue: state budget and policy developments, national education reports, and a practical 90-Day Advocacy Readiness Plan to help your ESA prepare for the 2027 state policy agenda.

Jennifer Ambrosius of CESA 8

Photo courtesy of LinkedIn

Maggie Bunten of San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools

Photo courtesy of LinkedIn

Congratulations to Jennifer Ambrosius of CESA 8, selected for Project Unicorn’s 2026–27 Emerging Leaders Cohort!

Over the next 10 months, Jennifer and other early-career education leaders will deepen their understanding of data interoperability and the safe, secure use of education data, learn from field experts, work with a dedicated mentor, build relationships with peers across the country, and apply their learning through a microcapstone project.

There’s another AESA connection, too. Maggie Bunten of San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools is one of five national mentors who will help guide the cohort.

It’s exciting to see AESA members on both sides of this national learning experience, developing emerging leaders and sharing the expertise found across educational service agencies.

The Coalition to Support Grieving Students has updated its guidance for educators ahead of the 25th anniversary of September 11. The Coalition also offers resources for talking with students about terrorism, school shootings and other violence in the news.

ESAs are encouraged to share these resources with the schools and professionals they support.

25 Years After 9/11: Guidance for Educators →

Talking to Children About Violence in the News →

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking on August 24th that would make it easier for the agency to terminate or discontinue discretionary grants and further cement administration policies in regulations. While most of the proposed revisions focus on competitive grants administered by the Department of Education, several provisions could also have significant consequences for formula funding streams. The proposed rule is open for comment through September 23rd, and AESA will be submitting comments opposing these proposed changes. Read more.

AASA, AESA’s advocacy partner, and the National Association of Education Foundations (NAEF) have released a new Public School Scholarship Granting Organization Toolkit. The toolkit is designed to help organizations understand their options for engaging with the new Federal Scholarship Tax Credit, including potential roles as Scholarship Granting Organizations (SGOs).

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the Harvest to Hallways Initiative to provide new investments and technical assistance for school meal programs. The announcement is the latest step in a broader federal effort to change federal nutrition programs. USDA is also expected to release new school meal regulations in the coming months. Read more.

An update, on September 8, the House passed the Senate's CR to fund the government until December 11. It will now go to the White House for the President's signature.

Six governors are joining educators, researchers, and advocates in calling on the American Academy of Pediatrics to issue national guidance encouraging families to support early math development through everyday activities like board and card games. Research shows that early numeracy skills are among the strongest predictors of long-term academic success, and math-rich gameplay can help young children build number sense, reasoning skills, and confidence. The initiative aims to give families the same kind of trusted guidance for early math that has helped make reading aloud a cornerstone of early childhood development. Learn more and sign the petition here: https://weareallsolvers.org/aap/

Drawing on multiple studies, a new Brookings analysis examines the growing use of AI surveillance in schools and raises questions about bias, equity, and unintended disciplinary consequences.