Policy/Advocacy

Congress came to an impasse on President Biden’s Build Back Better Act (BBBA) while Fiscal Year 2022 appropriations also remains in flux.

This week, FutureEd published an analysis of the national and regional trends for how school districts and charter organizations plan to use COVID-relief aid provided by the American Rescue Plan.

This week, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) announced their new director, Valerie C. Williams.

This week, Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona issued a letter to schools and districts explicitly stating that COVID-related stimulus funds can be used to support the workforce and address the serious teacher and staffing shortages nationwide.

This week, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) announced it will establish a new task force to address nationwide teacher and staff shortages.

On Thursday, Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) and Representative Alma Adams (D-NC) introduced the EDUCATORS for America Act, a bill that would provide $1 billion to address national educator shortages. The...

The U.S. Supreme Court heard a case on Wednesday that challenges Maine’s ban on state-funded vouchers for parochial education.

Last week, the U.S. Department of Education announced two new initiatives that will help state and local entities utilize American Rescue Plan funds to address the impact of lost instructional time on students’ social, emotional, mental, and academic well-being.

Last week, the U.S. Department of Justice reached a settlement with Maryland’s Frederick County Public Schools on discriminatory seclusion and restraint practices used against students with disabilities.

Congress passed a continuing resolution (CR) that keeps the federal government operating at Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 spending levels through February 18. Please join us in urging appropriators to finalize FY 2022 and maintain the proposed increases to IDEA.