Bernstein Strategy Group is a full service government relations and consulting firm that provides comprehensive lobbying services, grassroots organizing, event coordination, research and strategic planning.
Our representatives are experts in federal policies related to: education; telecommunications; technology; appropriations; and privacy. We have the knowledge and experience to guide clients through the corridors of Congress and the Executive branch, and work closely with various industry and non-profit stakeholder groups to achieve client objectives.
Who We Are
PRESIDENT, FOUNDER
Jon Bernstein
The president and founder of BSG, Jon has been working on education, education technology and telecommunications issues since 1995. Jon is an expert on federal legislative and regulatory issues related to the E-Rate program, education appropriations, and the No Child Left Behind/Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Currently, Jon serves as the Co-chair of the Education & Libraries Networks Coalition (EdLiNC), an organization focused on preserving and protecting the E-Rate program, which is comprised of all of the major public and private education associations and the American Library Association. He is also the Executive Director of the National Coalition for Technology in Education and Training (NCTET), a non-profit, non-partisan organization that examines and supports the use of technology to improve education and training in America and hosts the quadrennial NCTET Inaugural Presidential Ball. Jon also helps lead the Homework Gap Big Tent and Title II funding coalitions.
Prior to launching the Bernstein Strategy Group in 2005, Jon served as Vice President at Leslie Harris & Associates, where he worked on k-12 education policy and appropriations issues, the E-Rate program and blocking/filtering legislation. Before joining Leslie Harris & Associates, Jon served as an Attorney Advisor with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), working on common carrier issues for the Accounting Policy Division and, later, for the Office of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs. Prior to joining the FCC, Jon lobbied for the National Education Association (NEA) on a variety of issues, including education technology, the E-Rate, Internet filtering, school safety and copyright. He also served a stint as Interim Manager of NEA's Federal Relations Division.
Jon's lobbying career began with The Lightspan Partnership, an educational software provider. In that position, he worked on federal education authorization and appropriations issues and collaborated with EdLiNC and Congress to help pass E-Rate as part of the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
Jon's first policy job in Washington was with the Office of Senator Dianne Feinstein, where as Legislative Fellow, he helped staff her on judiciary, crime, immigration, and intellectual property issues.
Education
Northwestern University School of Law, Chicago, IL
Colgate University, Hamilton NY, Magna Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa
Bar Admissions
Illinois
Our Successes
Since its inception, BSG has focused its work on the intersection of high technology and education policy. This has led us to represent prominent non-profit organizations and for profit companies focused on education technology and to become involved in federal, and occasionally state, legislation and regulation related aimed at providing students and educators with the technological tools, skills and knowledge necessary for a 21st Century education. It has also occasioned our collaboration with much of the k-12 community through coalitions like CEF, EdLiNC, NCTET, Homework Gap Big Tent and the Title II and Title IV, part A funding coalitions. Since 2005, BSG has worked on behalf of its clients and in partnership with our k-12 community allies to ensure that: all schools and libraries have access to broadband and all classrooms to sufficient Wi-Fi; all students have access to digital devices and content accessible to them in their schools and homes; all educators receive regular and appropriate opportunities for technology professional development; and all parents, students and teachers can engage in safe online and digital learning with the assurance that their privacy is not compromised.
With education technology as a central focus, BSG has played prominent and leading roles in efforts to modernize the E-Rate and Lifeline programs, reauthorize the education technology provisions of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, obtain federal appropriations for education technology-related programs, and protect student data privacy. We are proud of the role we played to secure federal stimulus funding, to establish and fund for a decade the Enhancing Education Through Technology program, and to establish and fund its successor program — Title IV, Part A. Additionally, Jon Bernstein was instrumental in developing Congressionally approved compromise language related to schools educating students on appropriate behavior in online chat rooms, social networking sites, and cyberbullying.
The past few years, though, have yielded our most meaningful ed tech successes to date: the establishment of the $7.17 billion Emergency Connectivity Fund to help bridge the homework gap during the pandemic; a $1.5 billion increase in the E-Rate’s annual cap; the establishment of a significant education technology component in ESSA; and the inclusion of language in ESSA to set aside funding for principal professional development. BSG played leadership roles in these efforts, coordinating and leading many meetings, drafting group talking points letters and press releases, and negotiating with staff on language and terms.