The Leading Edge: Policy & Advocacy Blog
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.
Topics include new or proposed regulations and federal policies, federal funding updates and opportunities, advocacy resources and more.
Latest Posts
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July 01, 2022
USDA Provides Additional Funding for School Nutrition ProgramsOn June 30, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced it will provide nearly $943 million in additional funding to schools to help address the significant challenges child nutrition programs continue to face, such as high food costs and supply chain disruptions.
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July 01, 2022
The Advocate July 2022It’s with great excitement to share the legislation AASA helped write and have introduced was signed into law as part of the bipartisan gun legislation known as the Safer Communities Act.
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June 27, 2022
Medicaid in Schools Guidance Language is LawThe bipartisan Safer Communities Act that passed to prevent gun violence last week included language requiring CMS to issue new school-based Medicaid guidance before June 2023.
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June 23, 2022
USED to Hold Public Briefing on Proposed Title IX RegulationsThe U.S. Department of Education will be holding a public briefing on the proposed amendments to the Title IX regulations that we released earlier today.
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June 23, 2022
FY23 Appropriations UpdateWhile we may have thought it was enough to be monitoring 2 SCOTUS cases, the Title IX regulations, the Keep Kids Fed Act and the Safer Communities Act, Congress is all about being busy ahead of the July 4 recess.
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June 27, 2022
AASA Joins Coalition Letter Supporting Safer Communities ActIt’s a busy week on Capitol Hill, and we are pleased to report that the Senate is now considering the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.
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June 24, 2022
Keep Kids Fed ActOn June 25, Congress passed the Keep Kids Fed Act.
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June 21, 2022
AASA Joins Letter Asking for Schools to be Added to WH Conference on HungerOn June 21, AASA joined a group of thirty education, nutrition, and disabilities' rights organizations in calling on President Biden to add a sixth pillar to the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health to emphasize the critical role schools play in addressing student hunger and nutrition.
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June 21, 2022
SCOTUS Decision in Maine Voucher CaseEarlier today the Supreme Court handed down its decision in the Carson v Makin case, a voucher case from Maine premised on whether or not Maine could deny public funds to schools that promote religious instruction.
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June 21, 2022
National Healthy Schools Collaborative Releases Ten-Year RoadmapThe COVID-19 pandemic has made clear how connected health and learning are. Districts cannot return to the pre-pandemic status quo which left millions of children and adults in unhealthy schools.
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June 09, 2022
USED Releases Final Maintenance of Equity RuleEarlier this week, USED released its final rule for the American Rescue Plan’s (ARP) K12 maintenance of equity provision, part of the Elementary and Secondary Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund.
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June 08, 2022
17 National Education Organizations Sign on to AASA Statement on Uvalde Response Package in SenateToday, AASA was joined by 17 organizations representing the full breadth of the national K-12 education community to call on Congress to swiftly pass legislation that will address the senseless epidemic of gun violence in this country.
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June 08, 2022
FY23 Appropriations Children's Budget Coalition LetterAs part of our appropriations advocacy, AASA participates in the Children’s Budget Coalition.
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June 07, 2022
USED Releases Final Notice of RequirementsLast week, USED sent a letter to grantees announcing the Notice of Final Requirements (NFR) regarding the LEA-level maintenance of equity provisions under section 2004(C) of the American Rescue Plan.
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June 03, 2022
New ED-Commissioned Study on ESEA Provisions that Protect StudentsEarlier today, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) published a study concerning requirements under Section 8546 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) for states and schools to protect students from the consequences of assisting – or “aiding and abetting” – school employees in obtaining a new job if they are known or believed with probable cause to have engaged in sexual misconduct with a student or minor.
Latest Advocacy & Policy Resources
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November 21, 2024
PEP Talk Episode 34: The E-Rate SagaType:Podcast Topics: Advocacy & PolicyOn this episode of PEP Talk: Kat Sturdevant gets into the weeds on the current saga of the FCC's Universal Service Fund and E-Rate with Jon Bernstein, an education technology and telecommunications lobbyist and president of Bernstein Strategy Group. -
October 24, 2024
PEP Talk Episode 33: Education in the 2024 ElectionType:Podcast Topics: Advocacy & PolicyOn this episode of PEP Talk: Kat Sturdevant deep dives the role of education in the 2024 presidential election with Jonathan Voss, partner at Lake Research Partners, a national public opinion and political strategy research firm. -
October 22, 2024
A New Education Vision for the 2025-29 AdministrationType:Report Topics: Advocacy & Policy, Finance & BudgetsRecommendations for how the next administration can dramatically improve educational outcomes, reduce educational inequities and ensure the students in our schools today are able to excel in an increasingly competitive global workforce.
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