Introduction to Advocacy Fourth District Advocacy Training September 15, 2017 Vivien Moreno, VP Advocacy and Kathleen Fay, Sacramento Safari

PTA advocacy speaks up for all children “Let us have no more croaking as to what cannot be done; let us see what can be done, and above all, see that it is done.” Alice McLellan Birney, 1897 “Those who show up, make the decisions.” Celia Jaffe, CAPTA President–elect, January, 2017

PTA Authority to take action National Position California State PTA Local Advocacy Convention Resolutions Position Statements Legislative platforms and policies approved at convention Issue related guidelines State Legislation Issues and Ballot Measures State Resolutions Organizational positions Determine if CAPTA has taken a position on an issue before acting locally If not: President appoints a committee to study the issue and present it to the voting body. If PTA approved that is your authority to act. *Do not go against an official CAPTA position

Are PTA Advocates Lobbyists? … NO Nonpartisan Volunteer Nonprofit Champion securing adequate laws for the care and protection of children Partisan Paid to represent a particular POV

Where Do You Advocate? Make sure you are on every unit and council meeting’s agenda and provide a report. (Use The Communicator and the Talking Points to get started.) Write an article concerning a PTA issue relevant to your school and get it in the e-newsletter or newsletter (Advocacy vs. Information: be careful about material you send home with children.) Consider attending a school board meeting. It is a great way to learn about the big picture in public education.

When do you Advocate? Unit meetings, Council Meetings, School Board Meetings Stay informed and be ready to answer questions any time With State Legislators during Sacramento Safari and at localoffices when they are back home.

How Do We Advocate? Report at units and council meetings Share Legislation Alerts and PTA calls to action Host Voter Registration drives Attend Sacramento Safari Start a written report that can be e-mailed to all unit presidents to share with their unit members. *Use the Bcc function to keep e- mail addresses confidential

Advocacy Resources CA PTA toolkit Legislative Advocacy Chairman Job Description Fourth District Advocacy Resource Notebook Advocacy Communicator- sign up advocacy@fourthdistrictpta.org Legislative action alerts- sign up at www.capta.org website Ed100 https://ed100.org/ Fourth District PTA www.fourthdistrictpta.org California PTA www.capta.org

Questions? – We get Answers! Think of a question later? Email us at advocacy@fourthdistrictpta.org Thank you for Advocating for our children and attending our training session!