/The Leading Edge, AASA's policy & advocacy blog, provides up-to-date information about activities in Washington, D.C. and Capitol Hill that affect you and your school district.The Leading Edge BlogAdvocacy & PolicyDistrict & School OperationsFinance & BudgetsCollege- Career- and Life-ReadinessTechnology & AIAmerican Rescue PlanStudent & Child PrivacySchool Safety & CybersecurityImmigrationE-Rateurn:uuid:688d7fa6-9637-444c-9a6a-96b9bbd7001f/resources/blog/ed-issues-guidance-on-state-esea-waivers The Leading Edge BlogAdvocacy & PolicyDistrict & School OperationsToday, the U.S. Department of Education today sent a letter to all SEA leaders inviting them to utilize ESEA waiver processes to reduce statutory and regulatory burdens and be more innovative.Tue, 29 Jul 2025 21:18:42 Zurn:uuid:bcb6390f-fb70-4c0c-bf4f-51d37f337d59/resources/blog/update-administration-moves-to-disqualify-immigrant-students-from-head-start-and-certain-cte-programs The Leading Edge BlogUPDATE: Enforcement paused until Sept. 3 for 20 states + DC. Tue, 29 Jul 2025 15:54:55 Zurn:uuid:3ae3425a-09ad-47ae-aeb3-b6bbac056dd9/resources/blog/update-on-fy25-funding-freeze-july25 The Leading Edge BlogAdvocacy & PolicyFinance & BudgetsUPDATE July 25: The Administration announced the release of the remaining $4.9 billion in K-12 funds.Fri, 25 Jul 2025 19:20:45 Zurn:uuid:9443c59c-1aa9-42a0-a639-ce7f863fa8b3/resources/blog/aasa-joins-600-organizations-to-urge-the-administration-to-release-fy25-funds-immediately The Leading Edge BlogThis week, ������joined 600 national, state and local organizations in a letter to the USED and the OMB urging leadership to release FY25 education funds immediately. Fri, 18 Jul 2025 13:48:28 Zurn:uuid:24cb4e94-6be6-4edc-b82d-0444b700b1b2/resources/blog/ed-and-dol-interagency-agreement-re-perkins The Leading Edge BlogAdvocacy & PolicyCollege- Career- and Life-ReadinessOn July 15, the U.S. Department of Education announced the “Workforce Development Partnership” which will allow Department of Labor to take on a greater role in administering career and technical education (CTE) programs.Wed, 16 Jul 2025 16:17:35 Zurn:uuid:44d81229-1b67-488c-b817-b33ba955197b/resources/blog/webinar-how-to-claim-the-40-000-tax-credit-for-your-electric-school-bus The Leading Edge BlogAdvocacy & PolicyFinance & BudgetsJoin World Resources Institute for a webinar to learn what the 45W tax credit is, who is eligible to claim it, and how elective pay can help you receive the credit as a check.Fri, 11 Jul 2025 14:53:30 Zurn:uuid:75cc8cab-cb2b-481f-95a5-3bddd814a715/resources/blog/the-advocate-july-2025-what-to-expect-at-the-aasa-asbo-legislative-advocacy-conference The Leading Edge BlogAdvocacy & PolicyAs we close out the week waiting to see what will happen with reconciliation and ready to enjoy a long holiday weekend, our advocacy team is excitedly waiting for next week.Thu, 03 Jul 2025 16:04:53 Zurn:uuid:a647c18e-1c89-4bb8-bf9c-980cf05812e7/resources/blog/first-federal-school-voucher-program-passes-senate The Leading Edge BlogAdvocacy & PolicyFinance & BudgetsThe voucher language currently in the bill has some important differences from where we started.Tue, 01 Jul 2025 19:29:13 Zurn:uuid:eb2d43c1-f9e3-4959-879b-0ed015caf818/resources/blog/ed-announces-its-withholding-many-fy25-funds The Leading Edge BlogYesterday afternoon, less than 24 hours before all federal education funds are expected to be available, the U.S. Department of Education notified states that it was not going to allocate FY25 funds for Title I-C, Title II-A, Title III-A, Title IV-A and Title IV-B – until further review. Tue, 01 Jul 2025 15:32:35 Zurn:uuid:74ef7447-7543-4273-bc74-5eb6267de5bc/resources/blog/aasa-on-ai-in-reconciliation The Leading Edge BlogTechnology & AIAdvocacy & PolicyAs the Senate moves at a fast and furious pace to pass a bill whose text isn’t yet final, we wanted to highlight one area of advocacy where we’ve been engaged.Mon, 30 Jun 2025 19:37:21 Zurn:uuid:6a51a7e7-68ba-4d17-90c3-ffcb74668899/resources/blog/esser-liquidation-update-june-2025 The Leading Edge BlogAmerican Rescue PlanLast night, Secretary McMahon sent a letter to non-plaintiff states and territories, notifying them that the U.S. Department of Education is going back to the ESSER payment process that was in place prior to the March 28, 2025 letter terminating approved late liquidation extensions.Fri, 27 Jun 2025 15:21:28 Zurn:uuid:c89b0b17-3275-4ea5-9cff-709b68306148/resources/blog/updates-from-aasa-s-student-and-child-privacy-center-2025-resources-and-activities Student & Child PrivacyThe Leading Edge BlogAdvocacy & PolicySchool Safety & CybersecurityToday’s guest blog post comes from Amelia Vance, founder and president of Public Interest Privacy Consulting, LLC. In that role she also staffs the ������Student & Child Privacy Center.Tue, 03 Jun 2025 19:09:20 Zurn:uuid:c74b5327-a3cd-437d-bda1-20e02b4358a9/resources/blog/used-budget-summary-proposes-drastic-cuts-to-k12 The Leading Edge BlogToday, the Trump Administration released additional budget materials to Congress for FY26. While not officially the full FY26 budget proposal, this information builds upon the “skinny budget” and provides specific funding requests for programs. Overall, the FY26 Budget Summary calls for a $12 billion cut in funding and presents Congress with a series of proposed trade-offs that reduce federal investment in K-12 education and ultimately harm schools and the students they serve.Sat, 31 May 2025 02:29:06 Zurn:uuid:062b74fd-5a0a-4792-9b38-c42f2d495315/resources/blog/how-else-will-the-big-beautiful-bill-impact-schools The Leading Edge BlogWhile AASA’s advocacy regarding the budget reconciliation package has been laser focused on cuts to Medicaid and the creation of a national school voucher program, we wanted to flag two other issues that could impact school financing and student health and wellness.Wed, 28 May 2025 23:20:18 Zurn:uuid:d7a827fe-6ff4-47e4-b133-58077aa689ea/resources/blog/state-department-pauses-appointments-for-j-visas The Leading Edge BlogImmigrationYesterday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a consular cable to U.S. embassies and consulates to temporarily halt F and J visa appointments, including those for international teachers. Wed, 28 May 2025 23:16:38 Zurn:uuid:2d6d6cf0-8e87-45ef-b4e6-92857acf8161/resources/blog/ed-publishes-new-discretionary-grant-priorities The Leading Edge BlogAdvocacy & PolicyThe U.S. Department of Education (ED) published a set of competitive grant priorities that the agency says it intends to apply to all discretionary grants moving forward.Fri, 23 May 2025 19:46:23 Zurn:uuid:ff82da70-f58a-434b-a034-091f71d40d0b/resources/blog/federal-judge-orders-ed-to-re-hire-workers-subject-to-rif The Leading Edge BlogAdvocacy & PolicyA federal judge issued a preliminary injunction on Thursday ordering the U.S. Department of Education (ED) to reinstate employees who were terminated under the March 11th reduction in force (RIF).Fri, 23 May 2025 19:44:53 Zurn:uuid:7a43b529-3c0b-497e-8c6b-52fd52326fe2/resources/blog/apply-for-u.s.-department-of-justice's-cops-school-violence-prevention-program-(svpp) The Leading Edge BlogSchool Safety & CybersecurityAdvocacy & Policy������is happy to share a news series of detailed training modules for district leaders and their teams on how to apply for the U.S. Department of Justice's COPS program.Thu, 22 May 2025 19:56:24 Zurn:uuid:614c2e22-a1c5-40fe-8d5b-8f912a497fc4/resources/blog/aasa-joins-140-organizations-in-letter-opposing-federal-preemption-of-state-ai-laws The Leading Edge BlogTechnology & AIAdvocacy & PolicyA provision buried in the House Republican reconciliation package would ban states from taking any regulatory or legislative action on artificial intelligence (AI) for ten years. ������opposes this federal overreach.Mon, 19 May 2025 15:20:09 Zurn:uuid:e8cc7f20-f4c5-4437-8981-607220cba147/resources/blog/kosa-is-back-with-an-education-provision The Leading Edge BlogAdvocacy & PolicyTechnology & AISenators Blackburn and Blumenthal introduced an updated version of the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA).Fri, 16 May 2025 18:43:53 Zurn:uuid:2957cf1c-f558-48f5-88e1-bbaaa047203e/resources/blog/gop-reconciliation-proposal-advances-in-house-vouchers-snap-and-medicaid-implications The Leading Edge BlogAdvocacy & PolicyFinance & BudgetsThis week, three separate House committees met to advance pieces of the Republican reconciliation proposal. This is what superintendents need to know.Thu, 15 May 2025 16:42:03 Zurn:uuid:6f6f2a9d-e004-44b5-87c8-f2bed20858bb/resources/blog/update-senate-votes-to-rollback-hotspots-in-e-rate E-RateThe Leading Edge BlogAdvocacy & PolicyTechnology & AIOn Thursday, the Senate voted 50-38 on S.J.Res.7, a Continuing Resolution Act (CRA) that would roll back a recent update to the E-Rate program that allows E-Rate dollars to be used to provide hot spots to students and library patrons.Fri, 09 May 2025 20:16:19 Zurn:uuid:6c05e9a2-2db7-4734-9e60-889d7abaa38e/resources/blog/small-rural-school-achievement-(srsa)-program-application-expected-may-14 The Leading Edge BlogFY25 SRSA application will be available on May 14. Wed, 07 May 2025 18:29:46 Zurn:uuid:e50dbe5a-5881-4267-b77e-bd8b24c9ecd4/resources/blog/esser-liquidation-update The Leading Edge BlogAmerican Rescue PlanAdvocacy & PolicyFinance & BudgetsOn 3/28/25, the Department informed SEAs that the Administration has canceled any prior approval for “late liquidation” of remaining funds from a variety of federal pandemic recovery funds.Tue, 15 Apr 2025 18:44:04 Zurn:uuid:5c184c0f-e419-4ac0-b02b-fca381446961/resources/blog/ed-issues-new-dei-directive-for-states The Leading Edge BlogAdvocacy & PolicyToday, the U.S. Department of Education issued a new directive requiring every state education agency (SEA) to certify within 10 days that they are complying with federal civil rights laws.Thu, 03 Apr 2025 22:40:17 Z