January 27, 2026

During their visit earlier this month, AESA Global’s Jason Hiruo and Meimei Zou were recently featured on West40’s Shift Everything podcast. They  discussed the exciting ways international programs broaden horizons and inspire new ways of thinking.

Listen to the podcast to hear their insights and discover how global experiences are shaping the future of education.

Looking to grow your team? AESA members now have a faster, easier way to connect with talented professionals across the ESA network. With the new self-service option on AESA Job Central, your agency can post job openings directly, expanding visibility nationwide and reaching qualified candidates who are ready to make an impact.

Getting started is simple. Just visit My Membership on the AESA website, where step-by-step instructions are available right on the portal’s front page. Want to have an HR colleague post jobs for your agency? Make sure they’re a registered AESA member so they can access the portal too.

We’re currently partnering with the Minnesota Rural Education Association (MREA) to fill their Executive Director role, offering personalized guidance that aligns with the agency’s mission and strategic goals. Application deadline is February 9, 2026.

A new bipartisan FY26 funding agreement preserves critical K–12 programs and adds protections to prevent delays in releasing federal education funds—an issue AESA has strongly advocated to address. Learn more about how this package impacts ESAs and education service delivery nationwide.

The bipartisan and bicameral proposed agreement released last week to fund the U.S. Department of Education at $79 billion for fiscal year 2026 — or at $217 million above FY 2025 levels — dealt a major blow to the Trump administration’s efforts to downsize and eventually eliminate the agency. Coverage on K-12 Dive.

The Trump administration dropped its appeal of a court decision that blocked the implementation of two memos issued last year, which threatened to pull school funding over certain actions around diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). The appeal upholds a ruling by the federal judge finding the letters violated the First Amendment and cannot be implemented. 

On January 15, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation held a full committee hearing framed broadly around online safety. However, the hearing sent an unmistakable signal to education leaders and edtech providers: the federal conversation about youth technology use is growing more pointed, with schools at the center of the conversation. What stood out was the level of bipartisan alignment around how technology is affecting student well-being, cognition, and learning.

With public school enrollment declining nationwide, districts are facing the budget constraints that come with losses in per-pupil funding. As school districts grapple with this financial challenge, K-12 Dive is tracking key district-approved school closures and consolidations.

While most schools deem students chronically absent after they miss at least 10% of school days, poor attendance habits may affect academic achievement well before they reach that threshold, a new study finds. Absence rates of around 3% to 7% signal a risk of scoring below grade-level expectations on state tests down the road, finds an analysis of 9,000 Boston public school students. Researchers studied data from a cohort of students who enrolled in district prekindergarten programs between the 2007-2008 and 2009-2010 school years, tracking year-over-year attendance and achievement information through 8th grade.

Statewide cellphone bans aren’t the only measures policymakers are taking to help schools navigate a complex digital media landscape. At least half of U.S. states have enacted laws to advance media literacy education, with 11 states passing new legislation since January 2024, according to a report released this month by Media Literacy Now, a nonprofit organization.

AESA members now have access to myPlanMember™, a financial wellness platform designed to support the well-being of your agency’s employees.

Through a secure web and mobile platform, myPlanMember offers personalized Retirement Readiness tools, on-demand financial education, and access to licensed financial professionals for your staff.

Member agencies use myPlanMember to help reduce employee financial stress, support overall well-being, and strengthen recruitment and retention efforts — at no cost to your agency!

PlanMember is an approved retirement plan provider and an AESA Business Partner.

Watch a brief overview video or request a demo to see how myPlanMember can benefit your agency.

Between navigating evolving privacy regulations, managing vendor compliance across your current tech stack, and ensuring data flows seamlessly between your platforms, education leaders are often left searching for clear, evidence-based answers.

That’s why we are proud to share a new resource from our collaborative partners at Project Unicorn: Uni.

Uni is a custom-built AI assistant designed specifically to support K-12 leaders, IT directors, and procurement teams. What sets Uni apart is the collaborative knowledge curation process, built on over 50 resources from ISTE, SETDA, CoSN, Ed-Fi, FPF, and other field leaders.

Uni is grounded in the five indicators of the EdTech Quality Framework:

• Safe (Privacy & Security)

• Evidence-Based (Impact)

• Inclusive (Accessibility)

• Usable (Experience)

• Interoperable (Data Flow) 

Why use Uni? Whether you need to align your tech stack with best practices or understand how to procure new vendor contracts, Uni provides clear, practical information to help you make informed decisions.

This is just the beginning. Project Unicorn is inviting the entire community to use Uni and share their insights. Uni represents an important step toward more reliable AI integration in education policy and procurement decisions.