Delivered via email: April 3,2026
COSSBA Federal Advocacy Conference
Registration for the COSSBA Federal Advocacy Conference began April 2. Join IASB and other Illinois school board members in Washington D.C., September 21-23, to advocate for students in your school district. Key topics board members will advocate for include increased federal funding for Illinois school districts and support for student achievement data and research. IASB needs your voice to share the value of public education with Congressional legislators. You will have the opportunity to build relationships with your federal representatives, attend outstanding training related to federal education issues, learn how to tell your district’s story, and develop a network of board members across the nation who are working to share the importance of public schools. IASB will host a dinner exclusively for Association members. Join us to make this year’s conference the best one yet!
Adoption of COSSBA Advocacy Tenet
The Student Achievement Data and Research Advocacy Tenet, proposed by IASB, was adopted during the COSSBA Annual Business Meeting on March 13. The Tenet expresses COSSBA’s support for federal funding for the most important tools school board members need in their efforts to drive student achievement: state assessment and National Assessment for Educational Progress (NAEP) data, as well as evidence-based research on student outcomes. IASB was the first COSSBA member state to propose and successfully adopt an advocacy tenet. Attendees at the Federal Advocacy Conference in September will help promote the importance of these key tools during their visits to Congressional offices.
FY2027 Budget Update
The President released his FY2027 budget on April 3. The document states that the budget, “puts the Department of Education … on a path to elimination,” and proposes reductions to federal education spending similar to the FY2026 proposal. As a reminder, though similar cuts were proposed last year, Congress ultimately enacted stable funding for education. The budget proposes stable funding for the two largest federal education programs, Title I and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Similar to the previous year’s budget, the proposal suggests combining 17 federal education programs (totaling $6.5 billion) into a single funding stream, with reduced federal funding of $2 billion, titling this block grant the “Make Education Great Again” (MEGA) grants. The budget eliminates 12 other federal education programs (totaling $2.1 billion) such as the Teacher Quality Partnership and English Language Acquisition program. Notably, funding was reduced for state assessments and federal education research, key programs outlined in the COSSBA Student Achievement and Research Advocacy Tenet. Congressional reaction to the President’s proposal diverged on party lines with Democratic leaders criticizing increases in defense spending at the expense of domestic programs. Detailed funding tables can be found on the Department’s website.
Separately, Congress continued working toward the development of the education budget in the FY2027 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Act. As a part of this process each Representative and Senator submits their own funding priorities. IASB spent early 2026 communicating federal funding priorities to Illinois legislators. Many Illinois legislators signed letters to the Appropriations Committee supporting full funding for IDEA and increased funding for the Institute for Education Sciences, the agency tasked with conducting federal education research. Other Members of Congress directly submitted IASB’s priorities to the Committee. IASB is preparing to submit testimony containing our FY2027 funding priorities to the House Appropriations Committee in April.
Committee Action
House Education and Workforce Committee Adopts Curriculum Bills
On March 17, the House Education and Workforce Committee unanimously approved the Science of Reading Act. The bill prioritizes funding in the Comprehensive Literacy State Development Grants program for state grants that align to the science of reading. The bill also disallows grant funding from going to literacy instruction that uses so-called “three cueing” strategies. Separately, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee helped organize a briefing regarding the science of reading and is said to be developing its own, more expansive literacy legislation.
The Education and Workforce Committee also approved the Stop Sexualization of Children Act which prohibits funding of curricular material it deems “sexually oriented.” This bill was adopted on a party line vote with Democrats expressing opposition to the definition of “sexually oriented” they viewed as too expansive. Committee action is the first step in the legislative process. While the process continues, IASB is working to determine the impact of these bills on Illinois school districts.
Department of Education Actions
Interagency Agreements (IAAs) and Department Relocation
The Department of Education announced the 10th Interagency Agreement (IAA) to move education programs to five other federal departments on March 19. Since June of 2025 the Department has moved 119 programs to other departments. Following this statement, on March 27 the Department announced that it would move out of the Lyndon B. Johnson headquarters building in August to relocate to a smaller building, and that the Department of Energy would take over the lease. The Department released a fact sheet regarding the upcoming move.
View this Education Week graphic outlining the move of dozens of Education Department programs to other agencies.
School Nutrition Grant Requirements
On March 23, 21 states, including Illinois, sued the Department of Agriculture over changes to school nutrition programs that took effect at the start of 2026. The changes prohibit school districts that receive child nutrition funds through programs such as the school lunch and breakfast programs from using funds to allow undocumented immigrants access to taxpayer provided benefits. Grant recipients also must certify other conditions related to the administration’s policies on women’s sports. The states argue that Congress requires all students to have access to school provided meals regardless of immigration status and that other proposed conditions are unspecified and vague.
Advocacy Ambassadors
The IASB Advocacy Ambassador Program is a grassroots program designed to build relationships between school board members and state and federal legislators. IASB hosts monthly virtual Advocacy Ambassador meetings to brief members on bills under consideration, legislative action, and hot legislative topics. Advocacy Ambassadors also have access to new legislative update videos in the IASB Advocacy Ambassadors Online Community. If you have not already, join this great group of members working to advocate for public education.
The next Advocacy Ambassadors meeting is on April 17 at noon. Sign up today to get access to this members-only webinar and resources to help in your advocacy.