Federal Legislative Priorities

As the Washington, D.C. office for our state associations, NSBA is committed to ensuring the voice and perspective of school boards are heard and recognized by members of Congress and the Executive Branch. In pursuit of excellence and equity in public education, we advocate for federal policies that strengthen public schools and local governance. We also work to ensure that support for public education is a top priority for the nation.

In addition to the specific issues outlined below, NSBA believes Congress must continue its oversight of the implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) to ensure state and local flexibility in K-12 education. As states and districts work to implement the law, Congress must recognize the critical role of local school boards to lead the local district planning process and set policy and programs to best meet student learning needs.

NSBA thanks Congress for its commitment to sustained federal support for programs that enable each student’s success in our nation’s public schools. NSBA urges federal policymakers to maintain and expand that support so that local school districts can address student needs and provide an environment where they can learn and thrive. We look forward to working with members of Congress to address the nation’s school children’s needs.

NSBA Federal Advocacy Priorities

NSBA believes the following issues must be addressed in order for local districts to maximize educational opportunities that are available for every student to reach their greatest learning potential:

I. Prioritizing Student Health and Well-Being
 NSBA urges Congress and the Administration to prioritize student health and well-being by continuing and increasing federal resources that help schools support student physical health, mental health, safety, and social needs. NSBA urges Congress to (1) sustain school-based Medicaid services and other governmental programs that ensure access to health care for economically disadvantaged students and their families; (2) provide greater and sustained resources for locally devised programs that are critical to the safety of students, such as school resource officers, school counselors, and the provision of emergency preparedness training; and (3) provide funding and programmatic resources for states and districts to use trauma-responsive training, to provide other mental health resources, and to support restorative justice programs in schools.

II. Securing Full Funding of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
 NSBA urges federal policymakers to maintain and build on the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act’s (IDEA) purpose to assist local school districts in providing for the education of children with disabilities. Congress must support the promise of a Free Appropriate Public Education for students with disabilities by fulfilling its commitment to support no less than 40% of the excess cost of educating eligible students, and by providing flexibilities for local school districts to fulfill their funding requirements. IDEA should be updated and reauthorized to promote informed and informal collaboration between parents and schools in identifying, evaluating, and serving students with disabilities; encourage more collaboration through effective and efficient due process systems to ensure precious resources are directed toward services for students; and eliminate unnecessary and overburdening requirements for local school districts that do not directly impact educational outcomes for students.

III. Advocating for Continued Title Funds
 NSBA urges Congress to strengthen the Title Acts by reauthorizing the Elementary and Secondary Education ACT (ESEA) and to fully fund the current law to support states and local school districts in achieving the goals of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Congress should continue to support teacher and principal effectiveness by providing funding for innovation, research, and implementation of locally developed strategies to improve it. Congress should authorize and fully fund Impact Aid to local school districts to help support education for all students whose parents or legal guardians reside in or work on federal tax-exempt property or within local school districts that include federal tax-exempt property.

IV. Promoting Equitable Access to Technology and Technology Education
 NSBA urges Congress and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to continue to modernize and strengthen programs that improve the capacity, quality, and speed of connectivity in our nation’s schools and communities. Federal programs should close technology gaps that hinder students in rural and low-income communities from accessing information and innovative instruction options, such as personalized learning, and prioritize students’ access to crucial instruction in STEAM areas, including computer science.

V. Advocating for Student Nutrition and Funding Needs
 NSBA urges Congress to prioritize student health by reauthorizing the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act with increased flexibility for schools so that they can successfully administer the program. Congress should cover the full cost of implementing and complying with programs that provide breakfast to all eligible students in districts that implement it; implement and fully fund a Universal School Meals Program that would make breakfasts and lunch free to all children, without adversely affecting the federal funding formula; and amend the poverty level requirement for the free and reduced lunch program to utilize the area median income requirement used by the Departments of Housing and Urban Development or the national federal poverty line.

VI. Promoting Protection/Accountability for the Use of Public Funds
 NSBA believes that public education is a civil right and is necessary to the dignity and freedom of the American people. All students should have equal access to an education that maximizes their individual potential. Public education has been entrusted to states and local school boards, and school boards are accountable to their communities for providing programs of educational excellence and demonstrating accountability through student achievement. NSBA believes that local accountability for this public service of the highest order, education, is a crucial component of its success. Private schools or other entities that receive public subsidies, funding, or support under state or federal law, whether directly or indirectly, should be held to the same reporting and accountability standards, including the same annual assessments of student proficiency, required of public schools as a condition of continued eligibility to receive public subsidies or funding.