September 23, 2025

AESA members from across the country gathered in Washington, D.C., last week for the Advocacy in Action Conference at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill. The event gave participants the chance to sharpen their advocacy skills and meet directly with federal lawmakers to champion the needs of students, educators, and communities.

The conference opened with a pre-conference session on state-level advocacy, led by Craig Burford and Tina Viletto. The session offered practical strategies for engaging policymakers.

Over the next two days, participants heard federal policy briefings, joined discussions on effective messaging and audience engagement, and put their skills into practice during visits with U.S. Senators and Representatives. Advocacy centered on protecting federal education funding, expanding Head Start and Early Head Start, and ensuring ESA and FCC voices are represented in federal decision-making.

AESA will continue this momentum with federal updates in the Online News and through the Virtual Federal Advocacy Committee Meeting, scheduled for January 21 & 22, 2026. Next year’s Advocacy in Action Conference will return to Washington on September 23–25, 2026.

At last week’s Advocacy in Action Conference, AESA announced that U.S. House Representative Glenn "GT" Thompson of Pennsylvania was the recipient of the 2025 Congressional Service Award. The award honors members of Congress or federal agencies who demonstrate exceptional commitment to policies and funding that benefit students, educators, and communities nationwide.

This year, marking the 50th anniversary of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), AESA recognized Rep. Thompson for his long-standing advocacy for IDEA full funding. Although Congressman Thompson was unable to attend the conference in person, his staff accepted the award on his behalf. Read more here.

The Global Coordinator Training Informational Webinar is taking place September 23, 2:00–3:00 pm ET.

Don’t miss this opportunity to learn how AESA Global’s new program can open doors for your agency. Whether you’re ready to engage now or just exploring global opportunities for the future, this session will give you valuable insights into how the program works, what to expect, and the benefits for your ESA.

You have less than a month to secure the early bird rate for the 2025 Annual Conference & Expo at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

This is your chance to:

• Save on registration before rates increase

• Lock in your spot at the premier gathering of educational service agency leaders and staff

• Access engaging sessions on storytelling, well-being, governance, educational excellence, and more

Early Bird pricing ends Friday, October 17—so act now to ensure you don’t miss out on this opportunity to connect, learn, and lead with peers from across the nation.

The AESA Foundation will showcase a Silent Auction at this year's Annual Conference & Expo to support the Foundation’s important work. While we won’t have a live auction this year, your contributions are more crucial than ever in helping us fuel innovation, support new initiatives, and strengthen the impact of ESAs nationwide.

We invite you to consider donating an item to the Silent Auction. Your generosity helps fund professional learning scholarships for AESA programs and other forward-thinking initiatives.

Popular donations include:

• Gift cards

• Travel packages

• Technology items

• Themed baskets

• Handcrafted or unique items

• And more!

Every donation brings us closer to empowering ESAs nationwide with the resources and programs they need to thrive.

Interested in donating?
Please contact Valentina Viletto, AESA Foundation Coordinator, at tviletto@aesa.us or 267-455-2820.

Business Strategy Framework 1.0

(After AESA Annual Conference and Expo)  

December 5-6, 2025 | The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, CO 

Business Strategy Framework 2.0: Managing Strategic Resources

October 20–21, 2025 | Hilton Garden Inn Tampa in Riverview, FL

• NOTE for BSF 2.0: We’re fast approaching the hotel reservation cutoff—THIS SUNDAY, September 28, 2025. Be sure to register and book your accommodations before then to secure the group rate. Hotel details are included in your registration confirmation email. 

Here’s a great photo from last week featuring our Massachusetts members with their representative, Congressman Jim McGovern. Pictured are Bob Jokela (CREST Collaborative), Congressman McGovern, Joanne Haley Sullivan (MOEC), Susan Farrell (Central Massachusetts Collaborative), and Cathy Lawson (SEEM Collaborative).

Earlier this month, the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission released its Strategy Report, outlining federal initiatives to combat the childhood chronic disease crisis. The report outlines a strategic approach for executive actions to address the childhood chronic disease crisis through “advancing research, realigning incentives, increasing public awareness, and fostering public-private partnerships.” The full text of the report and our takeaways can be found here.

The administration’s recent attempt to bar immigrant students from accessing Head Start and certain federally funded career and technical education (CTE) programs has hit a major roadblock. Two separate court rulings issued recently placed injunctions on the policy, halting its implementation both in specific states and nationwide. These rulings add to ongoing litigation and uncertainty, as states, providers, and families await further guidance from federal agencies. Read more.

Earlier this summer, Congress announced a bipartisan, bicameral working group exploring myriad possibilities related to reforming the Universal Service Fund (USF) program. The US Bipartisan Bicameral working group was announced in June, and final comments were due on September 15. AESA was proud to file in coordination with EdLiNC, the Education and Libraries Network Consortium, the premier advocacy coalition representing all beneficiaries of the E-Rate program. Read more.

This Brookings Institution resource tracks ongoing litigation against the Trump Administration’s most consequential executive actions on K–12 education.

The release of the Nation’s Report Card results showed declines in 8th grade performance in science and 12th grade performance in math and reading from 2019 to 2024, with widening gaps between the highest and lowest performing students.

This month’s article highlights the upcoming District AI Summits and features two edLeader Panel broadcasts centered on the CoSN 2025 Driving K–12 Innovation Report.