/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 & PolicyFinance & BudgetsCollege- Career- and Life-ReadinessDistrict & School OperationsSchool Safety & CybersecurityTechnology & AIed-techeducation technologyedtechaied techtechurn:uuid:17cbc1b5-3fd7-43d2-86a2-773bb0ed9291/resources/blog/aasa-urges-house-appropriations-committee-to-reject-fy26-proposal The Leading Edge BlogAhead of September 9 hearing on the FY26 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Services proposal, ������sent a letter to the House Appropriations Committee urging members to reject the measure. Mon, 08 Sep 2025 18:28:13 Zurn:uuid:88fa97a3-0d14-491b-b9c2-7207d8bbd5ee/resources/blog/used-plans-new-civil-rights-enforcement-disparate-impact-rules The Leading Edge BlogIn its Semi-Annual Regulatory Agenda updated this week, the U.S. Department of Education stated it would issue a number of rules aimed at walking back prior civil rights requirements and aligning program enforcement with the President’s priorities.Fri, 05 Sep 2025 19:25:52 Zurn:uuid:84c78a0e-ef4c-45bd-9923-5e5ba65cacd9/resources/blog/aasa-urges-senate-to-pass-bipartisan-fy26-proposal The Leading Edge BlogToday, ������led a letter—joined by five other K-12 organizations—to the Senate urging them to swiftly pass the bipartisan FY26 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Services proposal that advanced through committee in late July. Thu, 04 Sep 2025 21:32:54 Zurn:uuid:ecd7223d-5efd-4f9e-b2d6-6050e7661e36/resources/blog/ed-opens-beta-testing-for-2026-27-fafsa-form The Leading Edge BlogCollege- Career- and Life-ReadinessThe U.S. Department of Education is beta testing the 2026–2027 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) form before it goes live to the public by October 1. Thu, 04 Sep 2025 19:19:53 Zurn:uuid:4b6962d4-4163-426e-9f58-75710281d0be/resources/blog/aasa-opposes-house-lhhs-subcommittee-fy26-proposal The Leading Edge BlogAdvocacy & PolicyFinance & BudgetsOn Sunday the House LHHS subcommittee released its proposal for FY26, funding that would be available to schools for the 26-27 school year. ������released letter in response.Tue, 02 Sep 2025 17:40:01 Zurn:uuid:09144a93-e703-449f-9468-d63679cf3ae1/resources/blog/aasa-whitepaper-on-obbb-impacts-on-k-12 The Leading Edge BlogAdvocacy & PolicyFinance & BudgetsNew whitepaper that outlines the key policy and funding impacts for public schools following the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.Tue, 02 Sep 2025 14:57:11 Zurn:uuid:a8bb4f76-ea1a-40ec-9c4a-0357c0696ba5/resources/blog/constitution-day-is-september-17--resources-for-your-district The Leading Edge BlogAdvocacy & PolicyConstitutiondayhub.org is a new resource offering educational institutions a one-stop shop for freely-accessible, high-quality, non-partisan, age-appropriate, Constitution-specific lessons.Tue, 02 Sep 2025 13:18:13 Zurn:uuid:80f50b10-efe8-4c12-bd55-5db2c453acca/resources/blog/ed-issues-new-guidance-on-equitable-services The Leading Edge BlogAdvocacy & PolicyDistrict & School OperationsThe U.S. Department of Education issued a “Dear Colleague” letter that outlines responsibilities of States and districts in providing services to students and teachers in private schools.Mon, 25 Aug 2025 18:21:26 Zurn:uuid:471e3fe0-2301-4e29-9fe7-89bd483703a2/resources/blog/new-undauntedk12-resources-for-infrastructure-investments The Leading Edge BlogAdvocacy & PolicyDistrict & School OperationsFinance & BudgetsThis guest post from UndauntedK12 showcases new resources to help schools make sense of the new federal budget reconciliation bill and implications for clean energy projects at schools.Thu, 21 Aug 2025 17:19:46 Zurn:uuid:1796d819-26fd-49d1-9d02-84426872034e/resources/blog/schoolsafety.gov-launches-2025-back-to-school-campaign The Leading Edge BlogAdvocacy & PolicySchool Safety & CybersecuritySchoolSafety.gov has launched the 2025 Back-to-School Campaign.Wed, 20 Aug 2025 18:12:59 Zurn:uuid:f84e3e2c-8e75-430d-a87d-86af0eff070d/resources/blog/aasa-files-comments-in-response-to-used-proposed-priorities-and-definitions-on-advancing-artificial-intelligence-in-education The Leading Edge BlogAdvocacy & PolicyTechnology & AIed-techeducation technologyedtechaied techtech������filed comments in response to Secretary McMahon’s priorities and definitions on advancing artificial intelligence (AI) in education.Wed, 20 Aug 2025 17:54:30 Zurn:uuid:77999948-5367-4d10-8564-17a435102678/resources/blog/how-the-one-big-beautiful-bill-impacts-higher-education The Leading Edge BlogThe One Big, Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB), signed into law on July 4, made significant changes to higher education that district leaders should be aware of.Mon, 18 Aug 2025 19:25:10 Zurn:uuid:06b45497-b749-4b21-9128-c12aec6d13f6/resources/blog/federal-agencies-release-joint-workforce-plan The Leading Edge BlogAdvocacy & PolicyCollege- Career- and Life-ReadinessThe U.S. Departments of Education, Labor (DOL), and Commerce released a joint plan last week for workforce development, titled “America’s Talent Strategy: Building the Workforce for the Golden Age.” Mon, 18 Aug 2025 17:12:21 Zurn:uuid:e11c763b-e1d7-4be6-a454-24be81154f70/resources/blog/senate-committee-advances-fy26-lhhs-bill The Leading Edge BlogToday, the Senate Appropriations Committee passed its Fiscal Year 2026 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies bill with bipartisan support.Thu, 31 Jul 2025 21:18:55 Zurn:uuid:bb704633-9f58-4d88-a846-1772202c9a51/resources/blog/july-ed-releases-withheld-funds-to-education-grantees The Leading Edge BlogToday, ED released the funds to states it had previously withheld under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act Titles I-C, II-A, III-A, and IV-A and the Adult Education Family Literacy Act. Here's what districts need to know. Wed, 30 Jul 2025 19:20:38 Zurn: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 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 & AIed-techeducation technologyedtechaied techtechAdvocacy & 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 Z