1. FINDING AND USING YOUR VOICE: ADVOCATING AT YOUR STATE CAPITOL
Amber McConnell, Joshua Fearing, & Kim osmani

2. What is Advocacy?
Building a relationship with your Members of Congress.
Issue identification, research, and analysis.
Voicing opinions for or against legislation.

3. Where are Educators in the Process?
Educators' voices should be heard.
Most educators do not know how (or that they are even able) to effectively communicate with lawmakers.
Lawmakers can only make decisions based on what they know.

4. Special Education Legislative Summit
2-Day Event
Hold a
Special Education Legislative Summit

5. DAY 1
On day 1, participants receive knowledge and training needed to be an effective special education advocate, including
Detailed issue briefings explaining the critical issues facing special education and general education
Insider perspectives from experts in education policy organizations
Coaching and practice sessions delivering effective advocacy messages

6. DAY 1 Agenda Registration Welcome from Senator Dossett
Getting Your Legislative Groove On: Learning to Advocate with Legislators
Presentation from OK Policy Institute

7. DAY 1 Agenda Continued Presentation of bills currently on the floor
Break into small groups to discuss current bills
Determine groups to speak to legislators on Day 2 and sign up for times.

8. Oklahoma 2017 Legislation Overview
Josh Fearing
Oklahoma Division of Career Development and Transition

9. State Testing

10. Senate Bill 2 J.J. Dossett, District 34
Removes U.S. History test as requirement for graduation
If passed, could potentially remove a barrier to graduation

11. House Bill 1522 Josh Cockroft, District 27
Removes U. S. History as a requirement for graduation
Potentially adds assessments to be determined by the Board.
If funds allow, a nationally recognized college- and career-readiness assessment as recommended by the State will be administered to students in high school at no cost to the student.

12. Senate Bill 162 Stephanie Bice, District 22
Creates the Oklahoma Civics Education Initiative Act
Requires students to pass the United States Citizenship Test “as administered by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service and which is required of all applicants applying for United States citizenship.”

13. Services, Student Rights, and General Disability

14. Senate Bill 37 Kyle Loveless, District 45
Regulates length of school year
Requires schools to maintain 5 days a week
If passed, could affect (protect) service days for students on an IEP

15. House Bill 1684 Harold Wright, District 57
Requires school years to consist of 80% 5 day weeks
If passed, could affect (protect) service days for students on an IEP

16. DAY 2 Participants have the opportunity to be heard by legislators
Share views, student successes, and struggles with members of Oklahoma legislature at the capitol.
Meetings are pre-set; we discussed issues and concerns in groups directly with those who make important decisions for our field.

17. Tips for Day 2 of Summit
Wear comfortable shoes.  You may be doing a lot of walking!
Be prepared to go through metal detectors and security lines.
The schedule is unpredictable.  You may have to wait through no fault of the Legislator or their staff.
Keep the contact information for the offices you are visiting with you.  Should you be delayed, call the office and let them know.
If in a large group – identify speakers for your group.
Be prepared to give your business card to the assistant at the front desk and the person you are meeting with.

18. Consider These Things
Meeting Location Meeting space is limited Nontraditional locations (hallway, cafeteria) Meeting Length Approx minutes Important to be clear and concise

19. The Meeting
Introductions Introduce yourself – your professional role, overview of children you work with, etc Key Legislative Issues Choose 2-3 issues to discuss, you will not be able to cover all issues Conclusion Thank them for their time Ask what would be the best way to follow up with them

20. Keep in Mind
Lawmakers legislate by anecdote! Compelling stories prompt action. Tell your story and make it personal.
Lawmakers need to “hear from home!” Constituents have an impact. Lawmakers listen to those who vote!

21. Staff members have… Direct access to legislators. Their bosses’ trust.
Knowledge (sometimes!) on issue areas.
INFLUENCE over legislators’ decisions and actions!

22. Staff Members Remember who they are.
Don’t under/overestimate what they know.
Don’t underestimate their influence.
Maintain your credibility.
Provide concise, useful information.

23. Remember Visit before asking for a favor! Do not attack ideas.
Follow up.
Be a resource and stay connected.
Thank Legislators and staff.

24. Steps for Meeting with Your Member of Congress
1. Identify your legislators.
2. Call your legislator’s office and ask to speak with the Scheduler. Generally, this request is most effective if done at least one month in advance. Most offices require that you send a “Meeting Request” via to the Scheduler.

25. Steps for Meeting with Your Member of Congress
3. Put “Meeting Request” and a specific date in the subject field of your . In the body of your
While the exact date of your visit may be set, the more meeting times you provide for that day, the more likely you will get a meeting with the member of Congress. Be flexible with your schedule.
Let the scheduler know exactly how many people will attend your meeting and provide their names and home town.
Provide a brief synopsis of the issues you would like to discuss. Limit this list to three topics.

26. Steps for Meeting with Your Member of Congress
4. If you do not hear back within a couple of days, resubmit your request and state that you are “just checking back regarding your meeting request for DATE/TIME.” But don’t be too aggressive.

27. Tips for Planning Aim for the middle of a session.
Schedule a meeting room at the capitol early to have a "home base."

28. Prior to Your Meeting
Learn your Legislators’ Committee assignments as well as any general biographical information which is usually available on their web pages. You never know what you might have in common – high school, college, military, etc. A personal connection is invaluable.

29. Prior to Your Meeting
Determine whether this legislator has been supportive of similar issues.
If your legislator has been supportive, you want to thank him or her. If not, you want to educate them on these issues and ask for their support.

30. During your Visit
Prepare a one to two minute brief introduction of yourself and/or your group. Then allow the group to introduce themselves and where they are from.

31. During your Visit
Start with a positive note by finding some common ground. If your legislator has supported a priority issue for education (i.e., voted for or co-sponsored a bill), thank them for that support.

32. During your Visit
Please keep in mind your meeting will only last 15 to 20 minutes so you want to avoid getting distracted with non-essential conversation. Provide a brief overview of the issues (maximum three) you would like to discuss and your position. You want to focus only on a few issues to avoid overloading the legislator or their staff with too much information. Keep the conversation simple and polite.

33. During your Visit
When discussing specific topics, it is important to use personal anecdotes to explain why the issue needs action. Explain a position with facts and use personal stories to back it up. Legislation affects neurosurgeons and their patients. Make sure they understand the personal ramifications or benefits from their actions.

34. During your Visit
Be positive and avoid partisanship. It is also extremely inappropriate to discuss political contributions.

35. During your Visit
If there is time, it is appropriate to ask the legislator for a picture.
If you use Twitter, Facebook or Instagram, post your picture with a nice comment, making sure to include your legislator’s Twitter handle or hashtag so they see your positive feedback and can share your post with other constituents.

36. Meeting Logistics
Be prepared to not necessarily meet in an office, especially for meetings with the U.S. House of Representatives.
Offices are small, so some meetings are held in hallways outside the office or you may walk down to the cafeteria.

37. Meeting Logistics
Bring business cards and offer your cell phone number to the legislator or staff.
Ultimately, you want to build this relationship, so provide a direct contact number.

38. Meeting Logistics
Allow time for long lines at the entrance of buildings for security screening.
Wear comfortable shoes and leave metal objects — change, keys, etc. — in your hotel or car.

39. Meeting Logistics
If you are running late, call the office and let them know. The same goes if you need to cancel your meeting.

40. After Your Visit
Write a thank you letter or summarizing your visit.
Thank the member of Congress again for his or her support on your issues and most importantly, if there was a certain bill they agreed to co-sponsor or vote for, remind them of that bill.

41. After Your Visit
Maintain ongoing communication with the legislator and their staff through letters, s, or calls.
Offer to serve as a resource to them on education issues. You never know when they will need a content expert.

42. After Your Visit
Find out when the legislator will be back in the district and offer to host a visit to your school.

43. Connection
How did we make it happen? (partners, funds, space, time, organization, going through the bills, etc.)

44. Partners
Funding from Oklahoma Developmental Disabilities Council to pay for meeting space.
Teamed with OK-CEC to provide food.
Contacted Oklahoma Policy Institute for speakers.
Asked Legislator to provide keynote.

45. Partners continued
Contacted Partners in Policymaking to provide speakers.
Charged a small fee to have funds for the following year.

46. ?

47. Contact Information
Amber McConnell
Joshua Fearing
Phone:
Kim Osmani