CoSN 2026 was a wonderfully collaborative event, bringing new ideas, fresh approaches to challenges, and celebrations of wins to education technology leaders across the country. As a proud sponsor of the CoSN conference, Funds For Learning was proud to take part in rich discussions, share some of our expertise with CoSN members, and catch up with old friends and depart with new ones. Highlights from this year’s conference included:
CoSN Advocacy Auction & Reception – CoSN is a leading presence in state and federal ed-tech policy discussions, promoting positive changes in policy surrounding artificial intelligence, screen time balance, and student data privacy, among many other ed-tech topics. CoSN is also a strong advocate for cybersecurity and the E-rate program, and we were proud to sponsor the advocacy reception and silent auction to ensure that this important work can continue in the future.
Keynotes and Concurrent Sessions – CoSN 2026 offered members and sponsors an incredible opportunity to learn, challenge, and share ideas on the topics that are top-of-mind for ed-tech leaders across the country. Panel discussions and collaborative sessions on topics like AI, cybersecurity, and the ongoing screen time debate provided us with a much deeper undestanding – and appreciation – of the myriad of challenges and opportunities facing our schools.
Future-Proofing Tech Funding: E-rate & Policy Essentials was a panel presentation by Reg Leichty, founding partner at Foresight Law + Policy, Sheryl Abshire, former CTO of Calcasieu Parish Public Schools in Louisiana, and John Harrington, CEO of Funds For Learning. Together, Reg, Sheryl and John provided updates on critical ed-tech and funding policy issues, shared some of the latest E-rate program statistics, and challenged CoSN members to get involved in advocacy discussions in any and every way possible.
After the Cyber Pilot: What the Data Says – and What Schools Need Next, presented by FFL senior analyst Brian Stephens, took a comprehensive look at years of data supporting the needs and costs associated with significant cybersecurity challenges facing schools. Combining responses from FFL’s annual survey, hundreds of comments directly from schools and libraries, data from the FCC’s cybersecurity pilot program, and years of E-rate funding data for firewalls paints a very clear picture: there is an urgent and ongoing need for advanced cybersecurity solutions to protect the nation’s student data privacy and education networks. The session spurred an excellent discussion about the human capital needed to implement cybersecurity solutions, a critical – and often underresourced – component of a successful cybersecurity posture.
Overall, CoSN 2026 was a huge success, and we look forward to CoSN 2027 in Orlando! For more information about CoSN, please visit https://www.cosn.org/.
