The past year has been one of new policy fights and changes in how federal education policy interacts with local school districts.

Those attending the AASA national conference in Nashville can learn more in the policy strand of sessions Three sessions will take place on Thursday, Feb. 15. At two of them, AASA’s policy team — Noelle Ellerson Ng, Sasha Pudelski and Leslie Finnan — will discuss in depth the current status of federal policies, from budget and appropriations to IDEA, Perkins, E-Rate and other topics.

Joining the trio on the first day are Chris Borreca and Janet Horton, school attorneys who will discuss the Endrew court case and what the outcome means for FAPE and special education in schools.

On Friday, Feb. 16, Tim Hodges from Gallup will present his data on the teacher shortage issue and strategies for school leaders to address the problem. Rural superintendents will find the Rural District Roll Call session useful, where the AASA staffers feature Hillary Goldman of the National Association of Federally Impacted Schools, Rob Mahaffey of Rural School & Community Trust and Allen Pratt of the National Rural Education Association to discuss research, trends and policy updates around rural education.

Also on the second day, a timely discussion of immigration and the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program is slated. Attorney Maree Sneed and Superintendent Lupita Hightower will discuss the current state of immigration legislation and how it affects schools and students.

(Leslie Finnan is AASA’s senior public policy analyst.)