The Council of School Attorneys is a membership organization for lawyers who work for school boards. The council is a project of the National School Boards Association, though it is self-governing with its own board of directors. The organization claims to have 3,000 members and numerous affiliate state-level organizations around the country, but it is not clear if these numbers have decreased in the wake of the National School Boards Association losing numerous state affiliates and 40 percent of its funding due to a controversial letter asking for federal action against parents who attend school board meetings to protest left-of-center schooling policies including critical race theory-inspired curricula and COVID-19 mandates. ^{1 2 3}

Structure

The Council of School Attorneys is a self-governing project of the National School Boards Association that serves as a professional membership organization for lawyers who practice school law for school board clients. The organization claims to have 3,000 members. ^{2 1}

The council is governed by a board of directors that has 22 voting members and the president and executive director of the National School Boards Association. The group’s annual meeting is held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the National School Boards Association. ²

Member Activities and Events

Members of the Council of School Attorneys gain access to the group’s legal resources, including a journal published 10 times a year, updates on relevant laws and regulations, a 12-volume school law legal primer, and archived webinars and presentations on school law. ⁴

In addition to the annual meeting, the council hosts two annual law seminars, which count towards attendees’ continuing legal education requirements. These seminars include sessions on the current state of Title IX regulations, updates on court rulings regarding student First Amendment rights and how to balance free speech and order in schools, crisis management and public relations, school desegregation, and potential conflicts between state legislation banning “symbols of hate” in schools and federal speech protections. The conferences also cover things such as collective bargaining with teachers unions and various problems created by the Covid-19 pandemic. ^{4 5 6}

Effects of NSBA Letter to Justice Department

In Fall 2021, the Council of School Attorneys’ parent organization, the National School Boards Association, issued a letter to the Biden administration characterizing parents who were attending school board meetings and raising concerns about the use of critical race theory and gender activism in curriculum as akin to domestic terrorists. ⁷ The letter generated a storm of controversy, and in response 17 state school board associations cut their ties and funding to the national group. According to Axios, those associations “accounted for more than 40% of annual dues paid to NSBA by its state association members in 2019.” ⁸

1. “Council of School Attorneys.” National School Board Association. Accessed June 12, 2022. https://nsba.org:443/Services/Council-of-School-Attorneys.
2. “Bylaws of COSA.” National School Board Association. Accessed June 12, 2022. https://nsba.org:443/Services/Council-of-School-Attorneys/COSAs-Governance/Bylaws-of-COSA.
3. Kight, Lachlan Markay, Stef W. “Letter Comparing Parent Protests to Domestic Terrorism Triggers Funding Fallout.” Axios, December 7, 2021. https://www.axios.com/2021/12/07/national-school-boards-association-letter-funding.
4. “Member Benefits.” National School Board Association. Accessed June 13, 2022. https://nsba.org:443/Services/Council-of-School-Attorneys/Member-Benefits.
5. “COSA 2021 Fall School Law Seminar.” National School Board Association. Accessed June 13, 2022. https://nsba.org:443/Events/COSA-School-Law-Seminar-Fall-2021.
6. “COSA School Law Seminar 2021.” National School Board Association. Accessed June 13, 2022. https://nsba.org:443/Events/COSA-School-Law-Seminar-2021.
7. Kight, Stef W. “Thousands of School Board Members Urge Biden to Protect Them from ‘Heinous’ Threats.” Axios, September 30, 2021. https://www.axios.com/2021/09/30/school-board-threats-critical-race-theory.
8. Kight, Stef W. and Lachlan Markay,  “Letter Comparing Parent Protests to Domestic Terrorism Triggers Funding Fallout.” Axios, December 7, 2021. https://www.axios.com/2021/12/07/national-school-boards-association-letter-funding.