October 29, 2019
Hotel Rooms are Selling Fast for
AESA Annual Conference
AESA's Annual Conference is right around the corner!

If you have registered for the conference, you should have received an email confirmation that includes a link to reserve your hotel room. We encourage you to do this as soon as possible as the AESA room block is filling up fast.

If you haven't registered for conference yet, please do so soon as the discounted room rate expires November 12 at midnight .

AESA is a member of the Coalition to Support Grieving Students . 
Our Coalition appreciates the important role that educational service agencies and schools can play in supporting grieving students. This topic has rarely been part of professional training of school personnel or included as a component of continuing education offerings. The Coalition's website  was created to fill this gap. It provides training resources specially designed for school professionals, including brief video modules on a range of topics. Each video module is accompanied by a handout that summarizes the key points covered in the video. There are also some additional materials, as well as links to other websites, that can be found in the Additional Resources section.

Our Coalition appreciates the important role that educational service agencies and schools can play in supporting grieving students.
You may also wish to visit  www.achildingrief.com for resources for your work or family. You can order a print copy or download a PDF copy (in English or Spanish) of a parent booklet— After a Loved One Dies—How Children Grieve: And how parents and other adults can support them —that is made available at no cost by the New York Life Foundation.  Click here  to download and/or order these free materials.
 
Please inform the schools and districts in your region about the resources on these sites.
Encourage them to incorporate this information in their bereavement policies and procedures, staff training plans, and community education initiatives, so that they can be better prepared to meet the needs of grieving students and their families.
Federal Advocacy Update

Education Funding Possibly Pushed To Spring

Reports from Congress are that Congressional leaders are coalescing around a decision to pass a continuing resolution (CR) that would push funding for the US. Department of Education until February or March of 2020.

Impeachment proceedings affecting long-term continuing resolution
The time that may be required in both chambers to devote to impeachment proceedings is the main impetus for crafting a longer-term CR although negotiations are also said to be at a standstill because there is no agreement as to how to fund the President’s border wall. As Senator Shelby, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, said yesterday, “unless a miracle happens around here with the House and the Senate, we will have to come forth with another CR.” 

ESAs: Less time to plan for 2020-21
Multiple continuing resolutions are challenging for AESA members because ESAs and school districts have less time to plan for forthcoming funding for the 20-21 school year. Politically, it is problematic as well because the temptation to pass a year-long CR (which is level funding) is higher the longer that funding bills are delayed.

Further, while many people describe a year-long CR as level funding it’s important to remember that a CR does not adjust for inflation, so in reality it is a cut in terms of buying power. Given where we started this year with House Democrats recommending $1 billion in additional funding for both IDEA and Title I, it would be really disappointing to end up with no funding increases for these key formula programs.  

Sasha Pudelski, AESA Assistant Director, Policy & Advocacy 
Business Partner Spotlight
USI Insurance Services provided valuable information during a recent webinar regarding cyber security. Many ESAs across the country have had to deal with ransomware issues, phishing scams and other security threats. As a member of AESA, you can receive a free link to this important webinar! You will learn what is included in a vulnerability scan of your digital environment, the suite of cyber security services including ransomware prevention software, Denial of Service (DoS) Mitigation Tool and Credential Monitoring that USI has to offer! Simply email afiene@AESA. us to receive the link to the webinar!
Affinity Group:
CEO Networking Opportunity
Are you a new CEO or fairly new CEO? If you are looking to network with others new to the ESA leader role, then this Affinity group is for you! The purpose of this Affinity group is to connect new CEOs with one another, and with AESA and its member agencies for the purpose of networking, benchmarking, learning, problem solving, and resource acquisition.

Our first Zoom Video meeting is November 1 @ 8:00 am Pacific; 9 am MST; 10 CST; and 11 EST.  New CEO Agenda November 2019  

If you would like to join us, please contact Jada Rupley, Superintendent, Clackamas ESD,  jrupley@clackesd.org , or Donna Gaffney, Director, Montgomery County IU 23,  dgaffney@mciu.org .
ESA Spotlight: 
AESA Central Region Symposium
Executive directors from ESAs in Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, and Nebraska recently met for their first annual Central Region Symposium. Education Transformation Through ESA Leadership was the theme for the event held in Minneapolis, Minnesota. After a welcome by AESA Executive Director, Joan Wade, each state highlighted an innovation that is currently taking place in their state. Opportunities to network and learn from each other was a highlight of the event.