Coast2Coast delivers for governance teams

More than 300 attendees gathered in Washington, D.C. to advocate for California students

Assertive advocacy, practical policy and bipartisan spirit were on display as more than 300 California school trustees and superintendents converged on the nation’s capital for the fourth annual CSBA-ACSA Coast2Coast Federal Advocacy Trip. As part of the largest delegation in Coast2Coast history, participants sharpened their advocacy skills, absorbed timely policy insight and delivered an unequivocal message to Congress: strong public schools are America’s best investment, and California’s 5.8 million students can’t wait for political gridlock to clear before their needs are met.

CSBA CEO & Executive Director Vernon M. Billy set the tone during the event’s April 28 opening session when he urged attendees to elevate student needs above adult conflict, while ACSA Executive Director Edgar Zazueta reminded members to tell their story that illustrates the impact of federal policy on local students in personal terms.

Examining education data, policy, politics and law

Attendees were then treated to a dissection of the current federal political scene by two of the country’s most well-connected education lobbyists, one from the right and one from the left. Reg Leichty — telecommunications, technology and privacy counsel for former United States Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee Chairman Bill Nelson (D–FL); senior legislative aide to former Sen. Bob Kerrey (D–NE); and founding partner at Foresight Law + Policy — predicted a Republican-led Congress will movePresident Donald Trump’s education priorities through the budget reconciliation process instead of standalone legislation, complicating efforts to defend the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and child nutrition funding.

Todd Strategy Group Principal Peter Oppenheim — who formerly served as assistant secretary for legislation and congressional affairs at the U.S. Department of Education; General Counsel on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee; and advisor to Chairman Lamar Alexander (R–TN) and Ranking Member Richard Burr (R–NC) — noted, “This Administration is really engaged in education, but I don’t think they have a blueprint for what they want to do,” underscoring the value of well-prepared local leaders filling the vacuum.

This rich discussion was followed by an examination of the legal context surrounding the U.S. Department of Education led by David Fontana, the Samuel Tyler Research Professor at George Washington University Law School, who stressed that education leaders on both sides of the aisle need to learn to differentiate between “the awful and the unlawful,” as not every objectionable policy is unconstitutional.

Jon Valant — director of the Brown Center on Education Policy, senior fellow in Governance Studies, and the Herman and George R. Brown Chair in education studies at the Brookings Institution — kicked off April 28’s afternoon sessions with a tough and unflinching look at student achievement. Valant pushed back on the narrative that U.S. students are at the bottom of the barrel academically, stating that America “is more middle of the pack among OECD [Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development] countries” but “at the bottom in mental health.” He also noted that test scores started to drop before COVID, sparking a decline that accelerated during the pandemic. He added that despite a slight post-pandemic bounce back in math, there’s nothing similar in English and students are nowhere close to gaining the lost ground. Overall recovery has also been muted when it comes to attendance. Valant posited that the U.S. is witnessing cultural shifts in how much families value sending their kids to school. He said it’s an open question whether these are temporary trends or the sign of a new status quo.

April 29 began with a panel on education polling data from November 2024 from Jesse Kline, a senior analyst with Lake Research Partners, and Bob Carpenter, founder of Chesapeake Beach Consulting and a veteran of leadership roles with the California Legislature and the California Republican Party. Kline offered the sobering statistic that 45 percent of both Democrats and Republicans say K-12 education is “a very big problem,” and that doesn’t include respondents who described education as “somewhat of a problem.” Along those lines, 52 percent of Americans give their own local schools an “A” or “B” grade, but just over 20 percent gave schools nationally an “A” or a “B.” Overall, nearly three-quarters of Americans feel dissatisfied with the quality of public education, including 83 percent of Republicans and 67 percent of Democrats. Carpenter added that 57 percent of people felt favorably toward school boards but only 19 percent felt “very favorable” about school boards. He also added that a majority of voters across age and education lines are opposed to abolishing the Department of Education.

Star power on stage and on Capitol Hill

California’s Rep. Kevin Kiley (R–03), Rep. Ted Lieu (D–36) and Sen. Adam Schiff (D) addressed Coast2Coast attendees on April 28 and April 29, delivering rousing speeches emphasizing the importance of education to the well-being of the population and prosperity of the U.S. and praising school board members for their vital public service. Then, on April 30, trustees and superintendents fanned out across the House office buildings on Capitol Hill to meet with congressional members and staff to deliver crucial messages gleaned from their own experiences and the key issue briefings offered by CSBA and ACSA. In their meetings, Coast2Coast attendees asked Congress to take action on five key bipartisan priorities:

1. Protect core federal programs. Attendees pressed lawmakers to hold ESSA Titles I–V harmless, maintain Title II professional learning funds and preserve the 25 percent Community Eligibility Provision threshold so every hungry child can be satiated and ready to learn.
2. Fulfill the 40 percent IDEA promise. With federal aid covering barely 8-10 percent of California’s special education costs, members asked for a definitive path to the long promised 40 percent federal contribution, which would be a win for students with disabilities and for general fund flexibility.
3. Reauthorize the Secure Rural Schools (SRS) Act (HR 1383/S 356). In 39 California counties, SRS dollars keep small campuses open, positions staffed, buses fueled and broadband running, among other critical uses. Participants urged every delegation member to sign on as a co-sponsor to extend the program through Fiscal Year 2029.
4. Expand connectivity and cybersecurity. From the homework gap to ransomware threats, attendees advocated for a stronger E-Rate program, funding flexibility in the Federal Communications Commission Cybersecurity Pilot and inclusion of school buses in eligible service categories.
5. Tackle the educator workforce crisis. Housing shortages and soaring teacher attrition rates demand federal action. Delegates supported housing innovation grants, residency stipends and continuation of proven programs like Teacher Quality Partnership and Supporting Effective Educator Development.