National School Boards Association history

Passage of the 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)--and the subsequent wave of new federal funds and accompanying regulations--prompted NSBA to retool its capabilities to influence federal policymaking.

When NSBA established the Council of School Attorneys (COSA) in 1967, school boards were responding to growing activism in the federal courts.

For the first several years of its operation, Association offices were located at West Virginia University, with West Virginia School Board Association (WVSBA) eventually moving its headquarters to Charleston in 1968.

The power of grassroots advocacy was well-recognized by the time NSBA established the Federal Relations Network (FRN) in 1973--just as it is recognized today.

The National Affiliate program began in 1980 and now boasts more than 2,500 member districts.

School Board News (SBN), NSBA's member newspaper, which began publication in 1981.

Beginning in 1994, the organization began a deliberative approach to "out-source" for many of its staffing services, contracting with various persons and agencies.

NATIONAL SCHOOL BOARDS ASSOCIATION. 2002. <www.nsba.org>.

In 2006, NSBA launched the Center for Public Education (CPE) as an information clearinghouse, to help school board members, state and national policymakers, and anyone else find reliable and unbiased information on public education issues.

In 2013, NSBA launched its national awareness campaign, “Stand Up 4 Public Schools,” and continues to greatly expand its traditional and social media presence.

An updated edition of the Key Work was launched in 2015.

The NSBA advocated for restoring the workforce diversity training that President Donald Trump’s administration had appropriately blocked in 2020.