Jon Bernstein
Founder and President
Bernstein Strategy Group’s Founder and President, has over 25 years of experience in education, technology, privacy, appropriations, and telecommunications policy. Jon began his Washington, DC tenure in 1994 as a Legislative Fellow for Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA). He later became legislative counsel for The Lightspan Partnership, an educational software company. In 1997, Jon moved on to lobby for the National Education Association, leaving there in 1999 to commence work for the Federal Communications Commission. He departed the Commission in 2001 to begin work in private practice and launched BSG in 2005. Today, Jon works closely with many of the major K-12 education associations as co-chair of both the Education and Libraries Networks Coalition and the Homework Gap Big Tent Coalition and as Executive Director of the National Coalition for Technology in Education and Training. He also helps lead the Principals Group, which focuses on professional development funding and related issues. He received his BA from Colgate University and his JD from the Northwestern University Law School.
All Articles
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Final FY26 Appropriations Preserves Title II-A and Title IV-A
Yesterday afternoon, the U.S. House of Representatives passed, on a vote of 217 to 214, a five bill FY 2026 Appropriations minibus that contains final FY26 funding for the Departments of Labor, HHS, Education, Transportation, HUD, State, and Defense. It does not include final FY26 funding for the Department of […] -
U.S. Department of Education finalizes interagency agreements
On Nov. 18, the U.S. Department of Education announced that it had finalized six interagency agreements with four other federal agencies that will transfer some but not all responsibility for multiple USDE programs. Nearly all K-12 programs will be administered by the Department of Labor under this agreement, with Indian […] -
Wide array of AI legislation introduced
Despite the federal government remaining closed for more than a month, multiple bills related to AI and students have been introduced in the past several weeks. On October 28th, the Senate HELP Committee’s Chair Bill Cassidy, R-LA, dropped his Learning Innovation and Empowerment (LIFE) with AI Act, which focuses on […] -
Indiana files request to consolidate K-12 programs
On October 17, the state of Indiana submitted to the U.S. Department of Education a request to consolidate multiple federal K-12 programs, including all or parts of Titles I, II, III, and IV, into a single block grant, which could be used for "any activity authorized under the Elementary and […] -
Government shutdown and education funding: What's at stake
The government shutdown is here. This crisis has been coming for a long time. Congressional Democrats have been spoiling for a fight with the Trump Administration for months and this funding crisis represents one of the few times that Senate rules have provided them with real leverage. Additionally, House and […] -
House Appropriators Propose Deep Cuts to FY26 Education Funding
The House Labor HHS Education Appropriations Subcommittee is expected to approve at its September 2nd markup a FY 2026 funding bill which would cut the Department of Education by $12 billion, a 15% cut. This reduction would be achieved through programmatic eliminations, deep cuts to Title I, and significant reductions […] -
Executive order calls for shake up of federal grantmaking oversight
On August 7, the President signed an executive order on Improving Oversight of Federal Grantmaking. This new standard of review is likely to further delay grant awards and appears intended to skew awards away from the usual recipients, particularly the higher education research institutions that the Administration has been assailing. […] -
Senate Appropriations Committee approves moderate FY 2026 Labor HHS Education bill
On July 31st, the Senate Appropriations Committee debated and approved its version of the fiscal year 2026 Labor HHS Education Appropriations bill, clearing them for floor action after Congress’ August recess. While this bill made a few significant cuts, including slashing $40 million from the Department of Education’s Program Administration […] -
Administration announces release of all withheld K-12 and adult education funds for FY 2025
Today, after weeks of pressure from educators, Democratic and Republican members of Congress, state governors, and attorneys general, the Trump administration announced that it would release $5.5 billion in fiscal year 2025 K-12 and adult education funding that it had withheld from allocating to states for more than three weeks. […] -
24 state attorneys general sue for release of FY25 money
On Monday, 24 states filed suit in federal district court in Rhode Island against the Department of Education, the Office of Management and Budget, and the President for failing to allocate more than $6 billion in fiscal year 2025 education funds on July 1. All of the states are led […]
