September 29, 2026

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Members of the KEDC team in front of the Capitol during Congressional Visits.

Nearly 100 AESA members gathered in Washington, D.C., September 23-25 for the 2026 Advocacy in Action Conference, combining timely policy discussions with direct advocacy on Capitol Hill.

Members explored issues including federal funding, the educator workforce, EDGAR, Head Start, student data privacy, special education, and the changing federal policy landscape.

A few takeaways we're bringing home:

• State advocacy matters. Many of the decisions affecting ESAs and districts are happening closer to home.

• Policy becomes practice quickly. ESAs are critical partners in helping districts navigate changing requirements and resources.

• Relationships matter. Advocacy works best when connections with lawmakers and their staff continue throughout the year.

• Tell the ESA story. Concrete examples of how ESAs expand access, solve problems, and strengthen schools help policymakers understand our impact.

Thank you to everyone who joined us in Washington and continues to advocate for public education throughout the year.

AESA member Sarah Ness of Southeast Service Cooperative presented the award to members of Senator Smith’s staff during Capitol Hill visits.

AESA recognized U.S. Senator Tina Smith of Minnesota with the 2026 AESA Congressional Service Award during Advocacy in Action in Washington, D.C.

Nominated by Southeast Service Cooperative (MN), Senator Smith was recognized for her support of education, workforce development, and regional partnerships that strengthen STEM learning and connect education with workforce opportunities.

AESA member Sarah Ness of Southeast Service Cooperative presented the award to members of Senator Smith’s staff during Capitol Hill visits.

Bring your leadership team to Business Strategy Framework 2.0: Managing Strategic Resources, October 26-27 in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Led by MIT Professor Duncan Simester with Doreen Marvin and Andy Pechacek, BSF 2.0 will help your team tackle decisions around resources, growth, partnerships, AI, and what’s next for your ESA.

BSF 2.0 is now offered only once a year. After October, the next opportunity is expected in fall 2027.

The hotel reservation deadline is October 4, so now is the time to make your plans. Hotel details are included in your registration confirmation email.

P.S. New to the Business Strategy Framework?

BSF 1.0 will be offered December 4-5 in Orlando, immediately following the AESA Annual Conference & Expo. Learn more and register.

Join Tina Viletto, Esq., on October 13 at 2:00 pm ET to explore how an affiliated nonprofit can support funding, scholarships, professional learning, and special initiatives, including opportunities connected to the new Federal Scholarship Tax Credit beginning in 2027.

There’s still time to save on the 2026 AESA Annual Conference & Expo, but not much. Early bird pricing ends tomorrow, September 30.

Join colleagues from across the country December 2-4 at the Hilton Orlando for ESAs in Action, featuring three days of learning, connection, and ideas designed specifically for educational service agencies.

We loved seeing your photos from Advocacy in Action last week! If you captured a great moment in D.C. or have a reflection or takeaway you’d like to share, we’d love to hear from you.

Send your photos and thoughts to Claire Sowder, Director of Communications & Marketing, for a chance to be featured in AESA communications.

Photo courtesy of Central Rivers AEA Facebook

Two-year-old Braelyn of Denver, Iowa, recently received something pretty special: a 3D-printed wheelchair, thanks to Central Rivers AEA’s Early ACCESS team and Make Good, a global network of makers who create 3D-printed assistive technology for children at no cost.

For Braelyn’s family, the wheelchair is just one part of the support they’ve received.

“From the beginning, they have met Braelyn where she is, celebrated her progress and helped us find ways to support her as she grows. Having a team that listens to our family, understands Braelyn’s needs and truly wants to see her succeed has made such a difference.”

It’s a wonderful example of what can happen when expertise, creativity, and partnership come together around a child and family.

Looking for professional learning resources to support inclusive technology implementation including the What and What or alignment to MTSS ? Explore CITES’ collection of short videos and companion facilitation guides that help district and school teams build shared understanding, spark discussion, and take action across key topics in the CITES Framework, including leadership, infrastructure, teaching, learning, and assessment. Check out the video series and PD guides.

In September, the U.S. Government Accountability Office released a report documenting the real-world consequences of deferred maintenance and aging school facilities, finding that nearly 20 percent of school districts were forced to cancel school during the 2024-25 school year due to facility problems. These problems affected an estimated 2 million students and resulted in approximately 3.5 million lost days of learning. Research findings and AESA's insight availalbe here.

The National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program currently serves daily meals to approximately 30 million children in over 94,000 schools, which plays a critical role in addressing food insecurity and ensuring students are ready to learn. AASA surveyed its members in June and July 2026 to gather data on the current state of school meal programs, identify challenges, assess current capacity, and find opportunities for improvement. You can review the survey in its entirety, including graphics the AASA website.

As states consider whether and how to participate in the new Federal Scholarship Tax Credit (FSTC), ESAs may be part of important conversations about what implementation could mean for public schools and the students they serve.

A new resource from EdCounsel outlines practical considerations, key decision points, and strategies for states that choose to participate. The resource is designed to help state leaders consider implementation approaches that align with state goals, maximize support for public school students, and address potential risks to public education.

The 74 examines how parent advocacy helped Boulder Valley School District adopt what is likely the nation’s first neurodiversity-affirming policy that applies to all students and explores the ongoing work to implement the policy across the district.

A new Brookings survey finds that student cellphone use increased over the 2025-26 school year despite widespread phone bans, with teens reporting weaker enforcement of school policies and no impact of cellphone bans on their happiness, stress, relationships with teachers, and other well-being indicators.

New test data analysis by NWEA shows that students in grades K-8 are beginning to see “sizable improvements” after years of post-pandemic stagnation, particularly in reading test scores, and that historically underrepresented groups such as Black and Hispanic students, as well as students attending high-poverty schools, accounted for much of those reading gains.

This article summarizes the results of the latest Youth Risk Behavior Survey released by the CDC. Although there are important variations and nuances in the data, the overall trend is positive with significant improvements since the steep declines in teenagers’ mental health during the pandemic.

A new study finds that when universal free school meals end, teachers report increases in student hunger, behavioral challenges, and barriers to learning, with concerns that recent federal policy changes could further exacerbate these trends.