Federal Updates

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency will provide training that will feature a facilitated discussion with school and district leaders on their experiences with managing anonymous threats – such as hoax calls, threats received on social media or via email, and notes found on school grounds – and maintaining the safety of their communities.

C-SPAN offers a robust set of resources to school and classroom leaders. Their program, called C-SPAN Classroom, offers free education resources featuring @CSPAN’s programs including current events videos, Lesson Plans, Bell Ringers, Constitution Clips and ‘On This Day’ in History events.

The U.S. Department of Education has released a series of new resources designed to highlight its impact, investments, and reach, particularly over the past four years.

The Biden Administration withdrew their proposal to streamline Medicaid reimbursement for schools in late December. The proposed rule would have only required districts to notify parents that they are billing Medicaid for IDEA-related services.

The Funding Year (FY) 2025 FCC Form 471 application filing window will open on Wednesday, January 15, 2025, at 12:00 noon ET and will close on Wednesday, March 26, 2025, at 11:59 p.m. ET.

USED and HHS released Non-Regulatory Guidance Supporting High-Quality Preschool with Title I Funds: Guidance to Local Educational Agencies and Schools on Implementing the Required Head Start Program Performance Standards for Title I-Funded Preschool Programs.

AESA, through the Federal Education Privacy Coalition is co-chairs, joined 11 other national organizations in a letter expressing support for passing COPPA 2.0 before year’s end.

The Social Security Administration released a Dear Colleague Letter for the release of their School Professionals and Survivors Benefits Toolkits, designed to help increase awareness of their benefit programs.

AESA and AASA are joining forces to collect stories and anecdotes about E-Rate usage in ESAs and schools nationwide. This effort is critical to supporting the amicus brief for the upcoming Supreme Court case on E-Rate. 

As you may recall–the Senate passed the Kids Online Safety and Privacy Act (KOSPA) in July, incorporating two major student and child privacy bills–the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) and the Children and Teen’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0). The House Energy & Commerce Committee passed different versions of KOSA and COPPA 2.0 in September, leaving questions about how these bills would proceed.