IASB Named Founding Member of Consortium of State School Boards Associations

IASB Named Founding Member
of Consortium of State School Boards Associations 

April 15, 2022

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – The Illinois Association of School Boards is one of 22 founding school boards associations that comprise the new Consortium of State School Boards Associations (COSSBA).   
 
COSSBA is a non-partisan, 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. Membership and participation in COSSBA are voluntary and open to all state school boards associations.  
 
On April 10, the associations met in Raleigh, North Carolina and signed a resolution formalizing the organization and allowing it to move forward with full development of relevant programming and events through shared resources, federal advocacy, and alliance groups. 
 
IASB President Simon Kampwerth Jr. and Executive Director Tom Bertrand represented IASB at the founding meeting. Illinois was elected to serve as Chair of the COSSBA Transitional Steering Committee (governing board) until January 2023. 
 
“As a founding member, our state association has been actively involved in the formation of this new organization,” said Bertrand. “Participation in the consortium will enhance IASB service to members at the federal level with advocacy support, information resources, and national networking opportunities.”   
 
More information about the Consortium can be found on COSSBA’s website at cossba.org.   
 
COSSBA services available to member state associations and the school boards that they serve include communications, government affairs, technology, legal, equity, and policy. In addition to a centralized repository of resources for use by members, COSSBA will host an annual conference, a leadership and executive symposium, a federal advocacy event, and events for an urban school leaders' alliance.  As a national consortium, COSSBA will advocate on behalf of school boards associations regarding federal education issues and policies.  
   
About the Illinois Association of School Boards  
The Illinois Association of School Boards (IASB) is a voluntary organization of local boards of education dedicated to strengthening public schools through local citizen control. Although not a part of state government, IASB is organized by member school boards as a private not-for-profit corporation under authority granted by Article 23 of The Illinois School Code. Nearly 100% of the school boards statewide hold active membership and support the Association through annual dues. IASB programs are designed to provide leadership, service, and advocacy for local school boards to support excellence in local school board governance and quality public education.