Welcome to

PTA Region 2 Legislative Advocacy

everychild.onevoice

PTA members are active for a variety of reasons, however, most want to help children.  Not just their own child, but all children!  One of the best ways to advocate and make a difference for all children is to work with the PTA Legislative Teams.  The PTA has Legislative personnel at all levels.  From our Advocacy Coordinator Kim Howard to State Legislative Director Paul Cheek down to the grass roots with a Legislative Chair at your local unit. 

“If you speak up for a child, you are a child advocate.”

-Nancy Amidei

Important Dates

October 3-4, 2008 Legislative Assembly
Sea-Tac Marriott
November 20, 2008 Legislative Round Table
February 26, 2009 WSPTA Focus Day
Legislative Building, Olympia

First Steps

Every local unit PTA can advocate for children, whether they have a Legislation Chair or not, by:

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Recruiting a Legislative Chair

The position of Legislation Chair is an important one to fill, but often left for last to fill as we recruit board members.  I know the right person for the job is in your community, just waiting to be asked.

- Lisa Bond, WSPTA President 2003

What skills do they need? (In order of importance)

(Note that knowledge of legislation is NOT listed…they can easily learn about legislation, the first three priorities are tougher to learn)  

Who are they?

What is the job? 

What support will they have?

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Every Child. One Voice.

Summer, early fall is an exciting time for PTA.  We are all busy putting our boards together, finding committee chairs for our Walkathons, Auctions, Safety Improvement committees, figuring out our goals for the coming year.  We do really good, important work in our local schools.  We have become a necessary and integral part of our local school environment.    

But we have another role, equally important, and that is to speak up in defense of children.  Sometimes we are so busy helping our own kids in our own schools it’s easy to forget our advocacy role.  This is why your legislation chair is so important.  This chair connects the voices in your local unit, with other voices from across the state in defense and support of children. 

There is tremendous power in numbers.  Each and every voice matters.  The PTA has a unique role to play as advocates.  There is no other organization in this state that speaks solely for children.  

So what can you do?

  1. Help find a legislation chair for your local unit.  All they need is good communication skills and an interest in advocacy.  We will train and provide all of the resources the chair will need.
  2. Give your legislation chair 5-10 minutes at the beginning of every PTA meeting.  This is difficult, there is lots to talk about, there are fundraisers, and committees, and boardwork, but we have to be diligent. To truly implement Every chld one voice, it has to be a priority.  Prioritize 5-10 minutes for your legislation chair.
  3. Sign up for action alerts and ask every member who attends PTA meetings to sign up for action alerts (sign up at www.wastatepta.org/legislation.  Use your email lists to encourage people to sign up for action alerts.
  4. Place legislative articles in your PTA newsletters – these are provided by the state and region and simply need to be placed into the newsletters.

Just taking the above simple steps help you and your local unit to represent Every Child with One Voice.

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Did You Know...

Did you know your students can get a 4.0 and not get into college? 

Did you know that the State only pays for a 5 period high school day?

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It’s true!  Washington State High School Graduation credit requirements are among the very lowest in the nation.  And so is our education funding.   There is a convergence of events that make this year one of the most important years in decades for Washington State. The State Board of Education is preparing to ask the legislature to raise the graduation requirements and the Joint task force on Basic Education finance is redefining basic education and how to fund it.

The State Board of education is suggesting a more rigorous curriculum, with three pathways to the diploma, a college emphasis, a college and career ready route and a career emphasis.  No matter which path a student takes, the curriculum will be more rigorous.  24 credits will be required, including more math and art.

The Joint Task Force on Basic Education Finance will report by the end of the year what they believe Basic Education should include, how much it costs and how we can fund it.  They are looking at everything from paying for a 6th period day, putting performance pay into teacher compensation, to all day kindergarten.

It’s important that parents and the community understand and weigh in on these issues.  This will cost more money, and this will take significant work for school districts.  The PTA has a very unique voice, we are the only organization in the state that represents the needs of students.  We need to learn about these and give our viewpoints.  Next are some ways to participate.

PTA has formed a Basic Education Funding steering committee to develop the PTA position on funding reform.  If you are interested in providing input, send me an email at kellymunn@comcast.net    Many of these issues will also be brought to our Legislative Assembly in October for the delegates to weigh in on.  Members can contribute to this process by completing a survey in the fall. To keep up with the latest legislative happenings and how you can participate we also strongly encourage you to sign up for both the Grassroots Connection and the Action Alert listservs. 

Grassroots Connection Listserv
This is an electronic update of legislative matters, including hearing schedule and bill updates regarding issues affecting children.

Action Alert Listserv
These emails alert you to fast-breaking happenings in Olympia and request you to contact your legislator on specific issues that relate to the WSPTA legislative platform. 

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How do I start doing my job as Legislation Chair?

1. Ask your PTA president for the Advocasy and Legislation Leadership packet.  This pamphlet gives a great overview of your job.  

2.  Goto  www.wastatepta.org  legislation and sign up for the grassroots connection and action alerts  

3. Make sure that your board gives you 5-10 minutes at every PTA meeting at the front of the agenda. (we’ll provide you with information) 

4.  Place articles in your newsletters (we will provide the newsletter articles) 

5.  Attend Fall conference trainings (leg chair basics class and what is going on in Olympia class) 

5.  Plan on attending Legislative Assembly October 3rd & 4th (ask your president for details) 

6.  Recruit a couple of people from each of your local units to attend the PTA Region 2 Legislative Roundtable November 20th 7:00  

7.  Recruit 5 people from each of your local units to attend Focus Day in Olympia Feb 26th

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Useful Links

WA State PTA Legislation

Who represents me?

Voter Registration Info

Click here for links to other useful PTA and related web sites regarding legislative advocacy. 
 

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What is Region 2?

Region 2 consists the Bellevue , Issaquah, Lake Washington, Mercer Island, Riverview and Snoqualmie School Districts and serves 103 local units with 40,170 members.

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Region 2 Legislative Chair (RLC)

Kelly Munn
 kellymunn@comcast.net
(425) 391-3253

Please feel free to contact me anytime!

Last updated: July 9, 2008