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Federal Policy Watch

Welcome to Federal Policy Watch, a regular blog series from OAESA designed to keep our members informed about federal decisions that directly impact PreK-8 education. These updates are provided by OAESA’s Federal Relations Representative, Dr. Nick Neiderhouse, and will highlight key policy developments, funding decisions, and national conversations shaping the work of school leaders. Our goal is to ensure you have timely, relevant information to navigate the shifting federal landscape with confidence and clarity.

Federal Relations Update -- March 2026

Federal Relations Coordinator Meeting Summary -- March 2, 2026

National School Leaders Advocacy Conference Session Overview

  • David reviewed the recently concluded NAESP National School Leaders Advocacy Conference (NSLAC). Attendees said the conference was well-organized and productive. They also noted a positive tone, strong practitioner presence, and less political tension compared to previous years.
  • Sessions included:
    • Kirsten Baesler, Assistant Secretary for K-12 Education, who talked about increasing flexibility, returning authority to the states, and the importance of school leaders.
    • Scott Palmer provided a comprehensive overview of the political and policy landscape during the first year of the Trump administration and previewed what to expect in 2026, along with a “coherent framework” for understanding federal shifts and emphasized strategies for maintaining school leader voice.
    • Katy Anthes discussed how to overcome the challenges of politicized atmospheres.
    • Hedy Chang, of Attendance Works, presented how preK-8 school leaders can address chronic absenteeism.
    • NAESP colleagues Adrea Sifers, Xavier Reed, J Anderson, and Aaron Burd presented Advocacy Boom Sessions.
    • John Schilling connected the legislative agenda to congressional meetings and elevating the power of the principalship. 
    • Additional sessions focused on key policy and practice areas, including education issues in the states, K–12 education finance, the challenges of the interagency agreements, and the role of education technology in supporting teaching, learning, and school operations.

NSLAC Key Takeaways

  • David shared several main takeaways from the conference and presenters:
    • The importance of principal voice in policy discussions and decision-making.
    • School leaders have an important role in de-politicizing education. To do that, principals should build relationships across ideological divides and leverage the power of listening as an effective advocacy tool.
    • Moving K-12 education programs to the Department of Labor will create significant but largely unreported challenges with operational and logistical details such as  grant administration, disbursements of funds, and IT system integration between federal agencies and with state education agencies.

Congressional Meeting Feedback

  • FRCs shared the experiences of their NSLAC congressional meetings.
    • Meetings were largely positive and supportive.
    • Even conservative members expressed hesitation about dismantling the Department of Education.
    • Some offices were reluctant to engage on FY27 funding challenges.
    • Immigration was top of mind in many offices.
  • Scheduling meetings has become more difficult over the past several years. Some offices never responded to meeting requests.
  • Some participants successfully secured meetings by:
    • Following up directly
    • Calling out lack of response or visiting any way
    • Leveraging public pressure via social media
  • After their meetings, attendees noted that they felt cautiously optimistic that federal education funding will remain stable or improve this year.

2026 NAESP Legislative Agenda 

  • The framework for the 2026 Legislative Agenda is a “Whole Child Education.”
  • The three pillars of the legislative agenda are:
    • Health & Safety 
    • Supported & Engaged 
    • Leadership 
  • NAESP is asking Congress to prioritize staffing every school with a full-time nurse, increase reimbursement rates for school breakfast (28 cents) and lunch (45 cents) programs with a longer-term goal of a return to universal school meals, supporting the mental health of educators and staff, and strengthening formula grant funding to support after-school programs (Title IV-B), student support and academic enrichment grants (Title IV-A), as well as Head Start.
  • The final pillar of the legislative agenda calls for maintaining funding for the Title II professional development program at the current level and for fully funding both IDEA and Title I.

Interagency Agreements Updates

  • The Department of Education announced a new round of Interagency Agreements to move K-12 programs to the Department of Health and Human Services.
  • Programs being transferred are: 
    • Promise Neighborhoods (previously included in the move to the Department of Labor)
    • Full-Service Community Schools (FSCS) (previously included in the move to the Department of Labor)
    • School Emergency Response to Violence (Project SERV)
    • Statewide Parent Engagement Centers (SFEC)
    • Ready to Learn Programming
  • Special education has not yet been moved but is expected to be at some point. There has already been significant pushback from parent and disability groups about moving it that has delayed any move (special education was one of the programs Secretary McMahon talked about moving since her confirmation hearing last year). There are significant legal protections and statutory requirements related to IDEA that would complicate any transfer.

Funding Updates 

  • FY26 funding was enacted and is a huge win for education.
    • Maintained current funding levels for K-12 programs.
      • Rejected the administration’s proposed cuts and elimination of programs like Title II.
    • Provided nominal $20 million increases for Title I and IDEA that are importantly symbolic about federal investments for education.
    • Included language requiring the Department of Education to regularly update Congress on their progress in implementing their interagency agreements.
  • FY27 Budget Outlook
    • The administration is expected to release their FY27 budget request at the end of March.
    • Title II is likely to be proposed for elimination again, as it has been in every previous Trump administration budget request. 

Texas Primaries

  • Mark Terry provided an update on the Texas primary elections that were being held the next day, Tuesday, March 3.
    • No Democrat has won statewide office in Texas in 20+ years.
    • Incumbent Senator John Cornyn is facing a primary challenge from state Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt.
    • A runoff is likely in the Republican primary.
    • The competitive Senate Democratic primary pits Rep. Jasmine Crockett against state legislator James Talarico.
    • Several House seats are considered competitive.

Primary Results 

  • Neither incumbent Senator John Cornyn nor state Attorney General Ken Paxton got more than 50% of the vote so they will compete in a runoff election to be held in May.
  • State Representative James Talarico won the Senate Democratic nomination.

 

Federal Relations Archived Updates:

Questions can be directed to OAESA Federal Relations Coordinator: Dr. Nick Neiderhouse at nneiderhouse@rossfordschools.org

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