Advocacy

Advocacy Update- January 2026

Principals are uniquely positioned as both instructional leaders and front line advocates for students, educators, and communities. Because we see firsthand how policy decisions translate into classroom realities, our voices carry credibility and urgency in conversations about funding, flexibility, and federal priorities.

Advocacy is not separate from our work—it is an extension of our responsibility to ensure that decisions made at the state and national level support what schools need most to serve children well. When principals engage, policymakers gain insight grounded in practice, and students benefit from decisions informed by real-world impact. As your Federal Relations Coordinator, I am sharing an update after my most recent meeting.

Federal Education Funding & Congressional Updates

• Federal education funding has not yet been finalized; the current Continuing Resolution (CR) expires January 30.
• Negotiations are described as tight-lipped, but overall conditions look favorable for education at this time.
• The Senate plan is preferred over the House plan, which includes proposed cuts to Title programs.
• Expectation is that a bill will pass without a government shutdown.

Funding Consolidation & State Flexibility

• Iowa has received approval to consolidate funding from Title I, Title II, and 21st Century programs for state use, with waivers reducing local district requirements.
• Indiana is applying for consolidation forming somewhat of a block grant approach, seeking broad authority over federal education funds.
• Both Iowa and Indiana have ED Flex authority; eleven states total currently hold ED Flex authority, allowing expanded state-level flexibility.
• Key concern: While we do not have ED flex authority in Tennessee, if the dismantling of the DOE results in state authority and flexibility, which areas will we gain flexibility over, and how will that flexibility affect districts.

Key Policy Issues on the radar

• Artificial Intelligence (AI): Clarification needed on whether federal AI actions that were part of an executive order will for more oversight apply to school policies.
• Cell Phone Bans: Growing policymaker activity and momentum; Policy currently affecting approximately 32 states.
• Telecommunications & Public Input: NTIA telecommunication organization: Listening sessions are underway, generating significant public comment on screen time, social media use with children, most coming from parents; Increased scrutiny of screen time and school-related technology use. Now that schools ban cell phone use, the public asks if school screen time is too much.

Departmental Alignment Concerns

• Strong preference (NAESP position) for K–12 education programs to remain under the Department of Education (DOE) rather than moving to the Department of Labor (DOL).
• Concerns include: Increased bureaucracy in transitioning to the Department of Labor and special education to the Health and Human Services Department. All of their systems run differently than in the DOE and this will cause more administrative burden for states and schools.
• Who will oversee processes that were previously running like a well oiled machine?
• Software and reporting challenges: The DOE and states had programs that “spoke to one another” making for ease of reporting and money distribution, among other things, and DOL programs were created for workforce partnerships, not educational programs.
• While immediate school-level impacts may not yet be visible, state-level changes take months to trickle down. Potential implications include new reporting requirements and administrative demands on schools.
• Emphasis that PreK–8 education is not workforce training and should remain under DOE oversight.

The National School Leaders Advocacy Conference (NSLAC), hosted by NAESP, brings together school leaders from across the country to engage in federal policy discussions and advocate for public education. A team from the Tennessee Principals Association will attend the conference in February to elevate the voices of Tennessee principals and highlight the real-world impact of policy decisions on schools and students.

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