COSSBA (Consortium of State School Boards Associations)
MSBA is a founding member of the Consortium of State School Boards Associations (COSSBA). Formed by a group of state school boards associations in 2021, COSSBA is a nonpartisan, national alliance dedicated to sharing resources and information to support, promote and strengthen state school boards associations as they serve their local school districts and board members.
Upcoming COSSBA Events
2026 COSSBA Federal Advocacy Conference
When: September 21-23, 2026
Where: Washington, D.C.
Visit the COSSBA website for information.
2027 COSSBA National Conference
When: March 12-14, 2027
Where: Dallas, Texas
Visit the COSSBA website for information.
COSSBA Webinars
Visit the COSSBA website for information about their next webinar(s) and to access previous webinar recordings.
COSSBA Federal Education Report
As a benefit of MSBA’s membership with COSSBA, MSBA members can access the federal COSSBA Education Report. Members can also access the COSSBA Court Report (scroll down further below).
COSSBA Education Report – September 9, 2026 | FCC proposes changes to the E-Rate program | USDA and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announce dual initiatives to overhaul school nutrition | U.S. Department of Education reminds schools of obligation to comply with parental rights laws
COSSBA Education Report – August 10, 2026 | USDA child nutrition proposed rule advances to Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs | Senate fails to move farm bill over SNAP benefits | Senate Commerce Committee advances children’s online safety legislation
COSSBA Education Report – August 3, 2026 | FCC weighs changes to E-Rate, could gut school and library Wi-Fi funding | AI hearing spotlights risks to career pathways and entry-level jobs | Senate committee advances nominees and bipartisan education bills
COSSBA Education Report – July 27, 2026 | Federal school meal reimbursements increase slightly for 2026-2027 | U.S. House education panel advances education and student privacy bills | U.S. Department of Education announces elimination of unnecessary burdens on CTE programs
COSSBA Education Report – July 20, 2026 | COSSBA comments to Office of Management and Budget on proposed rules for federal financial assistance | Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition webinar highlights FCC proposal to reform E-Rate program | U.S. Department of Education issues Title IX sexual misconduct guidance
COSSBA Education Report – July 6, 2026 | International teachers needed in U.S. classrooms threatened by visa delays and fees | U.S. House passes KIDS Act, advancing online safety and AI chatbot protections | Brookings Institution on AI and the future of teaching and learning
COSSBA Education Report – June 29, 2026 | FCC proposes scaling back or eliminating E-Rate program | U.S. Department of Education approves Vermont waiver for greater federal funding flexibility | U.S. House panel explores modern apprenticeships as alternative pathway
COSSBA Education Report – June 22, 2026 | FCC launches review of E-Rate program | U.S. Department of Education announces interagency agreements for special education and civil rights | Senate education panel examines AI’s growing role in K-12 education
COSSBA Education Report – June 15, 2026 | COSSBA expresses fiscal year 2027 education funding bill concerns | Brookings Institution examines past, present, future of America’s school boards | U.S. House appropriators advance fiscal year Education Department funding
COSSBA Education Report – June 8, 2026 | FCC approves E-Rate bidding portal, major changes take effect in fiscal year 2028 | Alliance for Learning Innovation makes case for differentiated pay | House Appropriations Subcommittee advances fiscal year 2027 LHHS-ED bill
COSSBA Education Report – May 26, 2026 | COSSBA signs coalition letter urging continued federal investment in school cybersecurity | U.S. House cybersecurity panel examines education vulnerabilities | U.S. Education Department advances state flexibility through waiver, Ed-Flex authority
COSSBA Education Report – May 18, 2026 | COSSBA signs letter ahead of cybersecurity hearing | U.S. Department of Education, Health and Human Services launch joint family engagement and school support grants | House Education Committee holds four-hour hearing on Department of Education priorities with Secretary McMahon | National Assessment Governing Board approves new civics framework revision process for the National Assessment of Educational Progress
COSSBA Education Report – May 4, 2026 | Coalition urges FCC to delay, reconsider E-Rate bidding proposal | U.S. education secretary testifies in front of LHHS-ED Appropriations Subcommittee | Urban Institute on federal policy changes reshaping education funding
COSSBA Education Report – April 27, 2026 | U.S. Department of Education announces competition for the Supporting Effective Educator Development grant program | U.S. Senate committee holds hearing on the fiscal year 2027 Health and Human Services budget | U.S. senators introduce measure to repeal federal voucher tax benefits
COSSBA Education Report – April 20, 2026 | COSSBA submits testimony on fiscal year 2027 federal education budget | Departments of Education and Labor announce first grant competitions under new partnership | House budget panel examines fiscal year 2027 Trump budget request
COSSBA Education Report – March 30, 2026 | ESSER pandemic spending is over — what will its legacy be? | Global summit advances AI and technology collaboration in education | Webinar explores youth mental health, technology, policy responses
COSSBA Education Report – March 23, 2026 | Districts express concerns over pending USDA updates to nutrition standards | White House launches task force to eliminate fraud in federal programs | U.S. House Education Committee advances education measures
COSSBA Education Report – March 16, 2026 | Federal funding distributions for schools are far from over | In rural America, a teacher pipeline from abroad starts to dry up | Senators request Government Accountability Office investigation into education grant transfers
COSSBA Education Report – March 9, 2026 | U.S. House Agriculture Committee advances Farm Bill amid SNAP debate | First Lady addresses UN Security Council on education, tech, peace | House Education Committee member Burgess Owens announces retirement
COSSBA Education Report – March 3, 2026 | How eliminating the U.S. Department of Education threatens students with disabilities | U.S. Department of Education expands interagency partnerships | Brookings Brown Center evaluates Noyce STEM Teacher Scholarship impact
COSSBA Education Report – February 23, 2026 | How can districts and states sustain teacher apprenticeship programs? | Since E-Rate expansion cuts, schools make difficult choices on hotspots | American Enterprise Institute examines the impact of classroom technology on learning
COSSBA Education Report – February 17, 2026 | U.S. Department of Education highlights federal funding flexibility to support teachers | U.S. House Appropriations Committee’s Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee examines “Science of Reading” | U.S. House panel examines court decision on school compliance
COSSBA Education Report – February 9, 2026 | COSSBA signs onto Alliance for Learning Innovation letter | COSSBA sends comments to treasury on new federal tax credit | U.S. Senate committee chair issues RFI on improving academic growth
COSSBA Education Report – February 2, 2026 | How the childcare crisis could strain teacher retention | U.S. Education Department finds California in violation of FERPA | U.S. Departments of Education and Treasury release information on Education Freedom Tax Credit
COSSBA Education Report – January 26, 2026 | COSSBA applauds fiscal year 2026 education funding | National Council on Teacher Quality releases report finding that paid parental leave strengthens families and the workforce | U.S. Senate committee chair issues Request for Information on improving academic growth
COSSBA Education Report – January 20, 2026 | U.S. House Energy and Commerce panel holds FCC oversight hearing | Departments of Education, Interior, and Labor Announce tribal consultation on Indian Education | American Enterprise Institute convenes panel on helping youth “flourish”
COSSBA Education Report – January 12, 2026 | U.S. Department of Education halts funding for Full-Service Community Schools program | U.S. Department of Education approves Iowa’s “Returning Education to the States” waiver | Survey: “How to Increase the Retention of Early Career Teachers”
COSSBA Federal Court Report
COSSBA Court Report – August 17, 2026 | Minnesota federal court dismisses U.S. Department of Justice challenge to Minneapolis Public Schools’ race-based teacher layoff protections | Minnesota federal court dismisses most of Minnesota’s challenge to Trump administration’s Title IX position on transgender student policies | Arkansas federal court rejects Equal Protection challenge to removal of AP status from African American studies course
COSSBA Court Report – August 3, 2026 | Washington federal court blocks U.S. Department of Education from terminating school mental health grants | U.S. Department of Education finds Massachusetts school district violated parental rights by ignoring opt-out requests for behavioral survey | Tenth Circuit Court: School officials may face equal protection claims for deliberate indifference to peer racial harassment
COSSBA Court Report – July 20, 2026 | U.S. Supreme Court allows Texas to enforce age verification law on digital apps | Illinois federal court upholds school district’s transgender bathroom policy; dismisses Equal Protection and Title IX claims | States file new lawsuit to preserve school mental health grants
COSSBA Court Report – July 6, 2026 | U.S. Supreme Court holds that Title IX and Equal Protection Clause permit states to reserve girls’ and women’s sports teams for biological females | Eleventh Circuit Court revives Title IX and equal protection claims based on football team hazing | Texas approves statewide reading list requiring biblical texts in public schools
COSSBA Court Report – June 1, 2026 | Supreme Court to decide whether school and university employees can sue under Title IX for workplace sex discrimination | Pennsylvania federal court: School board violated due process by removing board president one week after election without notice or hearing | U.S. Supreme Court petition to watch: Anoka Hennepin Education Minnesota (AFT Local 7007) v. Huizenga
COSSBA Court Report – May 18, 2026 | Eighth Circuit rejects Title IX challenge to transgender athlete participation, limits private suits to intentional discrimination | Eighth Circuit vacates injunctions blocking Iowa law on library materials, early-grade instruction, and parental notification requirements | U.S. Department of Education finds Kansas school district violated FERPA and Title IX over gender identity practices
COSSBA Court Report – April 21, 2026 | Eighth Circuit rejects Title IX challenge to transgender athlete participation, limits private suits to intentional discrimination | Eighth Circuit vacates injunctions blocking Iowa law on library materials, early-grade instruction, and parental notification requirements | U.S. Department of Education finds Kansas school district violated FERPA and Title IX over gender identity practices
COSSBA Court Report – March 23, 2026 | Ninth Circuit Court revives first grader’s First Amendment claim over “Black Lives Matter” drawing | Fifth Circuit Court denies qualified immunity for principal’s interruption of teacher prayer event | Tenth Circuit Court denies qualified immunity on school sex-segregation policy and public shaming of family over Title IX complaint
COSSBA Court Report – March 9, 2026 | U.S. Supreme Court enters emergency order partially reinstating block on California policy requiring student consent for parent notification of gender transitions | Fifth Circuit Court vacates injunction blocking Louisiana law requiring Ten Commandments displays in classrooms | U.S. Supreme Court: State-created corporations cannot automatically claim sovereign immunity
COSSBA Court Report – February 17, 2026 | U.S. Department of Education issues new guidance on prayer and religious expression in schools | Idaho teacher sues over banned classroom welcome poster | California federal court blocks U.S. Department of Education from cutting federal funding in FERPA/gender identity records case
COSSBA Court Report – February 2, 2026 | Federal government moves to dismiss “Global Nurse Force” H-1B challenge | Fourth Circuit Court rejects First Amendment challenge to Maryland school district’s pronoun policy | Ninth Circuit Court blocks key portion of Idaho’s library “harmful to minors” law
COSSBA Court Report – January 26, 2026 | U.S. Supreme Court hears oral argument in transgender athlete cases | U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights launches 18 Title IX Investigations on transgender athletics participation | Eighth Circuit Court revives First Amendment claims over mandatory equity training
COSSBA Court Report – January 12, 2026 | California federal court enjoins “parental exclusion” policy on student gender identity transitions | Massachusetts federal court grants parent right to LGBTQ+ opt-out | Sixth Circuit Court upholds Fourth Amendment “seizure” of student in gun-related investigation