California State PTA supports California Schools and Local Communities Funding Act and encourages PTA members to get involved in the campaign. This initiative will change how commercial and industrial property is taxed and raise between $6 billion and 10 billion to support our schools (40 percent) and other local governments (60 percent).

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LEGISLATIVE ALERTS

Legislative Alerts are calls to action on key advocacy issues.

2019

Stay tuned!

PTA SPONSORS FAMILY ENGAGEMENT LEGISLATION

California State PTA Sponsors AB 2878 to Strengthen Family Engagement in Schools

Family engagement is a key predictor of student success. That’s why California State PTA is sponsoring Assembly Bill 2878 by Assemblymember Rocky Chávez (San Diego).

Research shows authentic family engagement leads to reduced absenteeism, decreased dropout rates, increased student achievement and increased graduation rates which lead to young adults who are college and career ready.

This bill demonstrates a commitment to connecting families, schools and communities and to improving student outcomes. AB 2878 seeks to use research-based guidelines to define what authentic family engagement could look like in the Education Code to help guide schools. The suggested activities have been developed using research-based family engagement practices and standards, including, but not limited to, the PTA National Standards for Family-School Partnerships. It could also include:

Outreach in multiple languages
Outreach to parents and families that are underrepresented in the school, school district or county office of education
Outreach strategies that are diverse and innovative.

Adding Family Engagement to LCFF Priority #3 would better reflect the true engagement local education agencies could implement, based on their local needs. It’s time to engage all parents and families for the success of our students, our schools and our state.

Learn more:

Be on the lookout for upcoming information so you can help keep family engagement moving forward, and be sure to share your family-engagement success stories with us so we can spread the word in the Capitol and in our communities and across California! Thank you for all that you do for our kids – it makes a difference.

For questions, please reach out to Director of Legislation Lea Darrah at ldarrah@capta.org or Executive Director Sherry Skelly Griffith at sgriffith@capta.org.

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A D V O C A C Y

ADVOCACY GOALS

Support adequate funding for public education by educating our members and policy makers and advocating for legislation to bring California within the top 10 states in per pupil funding
Promote schools as a safe and welcoming environment for all students, families and communities and support children’s health and welfare in all aspects of their lives
Support and protect high-quality public education from efforts that would weaken this vital foundation of our democracy
Advocate for authentic and measurable family-engagement standards in education policy.

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ADVOCACY AND SOCIAL MEDIA AND YOU

Amplifying the PTA voice is easy with the new Social Media Advocacy Chart. Tweet post or share anything in the green column. Think twice before sharing items from the yellow sections and do not share anything from a PTA account if it came from the red column.

Use social media to lift up PTA – you are an advocate and we need your voice!

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VOLUNTEERS MAKE A DIFFERENCE

“Volunteers are at the heart of PTA advocacy. We speak up for all children and families to make a difference at the local, regional, state and national level.” — Lea Darrah, 2017-2019 Director of Legislation

PTA volunteer legislative advocates representing the broad scope of the organization closely monitor pending legislation and testify at public hearings to ensure our voice is heard. The advocates include the director of legislation, state advocates, a federal advocate and consultants with specialized skills. They meet with elected officials and policy-makers, speak at meetings of the California Legislature and carefully monitor both state and federal legislation. Advocacy focus areas include education funding and policy, community and school safety, juvenile justice, child care and early education, children’s health and other issues affecting kids and youth.

Volunteer advocates also analyze statewide ballot measures and determine California State PTA’s position, based upon convention resolutions and other PTA authority. For questions or more information about our legislative advocacy program, please contact the Director of Legislation at legislation@capta.org.

GET INVOLVED

There are several ways you can get involved in our advocacy efforts and help make a difference:

Get informed and engaged with our Sacramento Update e-newsletter and Legislative Alerts
Attend our annual Legislation Conference
Contact your legislators
Research current legislation
Learn more about California’s state budget
See California laws by subject area
Check out federal legislation and policy information from National PTA
Review PTA position statements and resolutions
Read how PTA volunteers are giving the gift of civic engagement.

Urge Federal School Safety Commission to Include Parents

On Friday, May 18, Santa Fe High School in Texas experienced a school shooting that resulted in 10 deaths. This tragedy occurred one day after Secretary DeVos held an informal meeting of the Federal School Safety Commission. National PTA is concerned that information about the listening sessions has yet to be publicized. National PTA, along with seven other national organizations, sent a letter to Secretary DeVos urging the Federal School Safety Commission to release public information around the listening sessions. Make your voice heard by sending your comments and recommendations related to school safety to safety@ed.gov.

Tell Congress to Invest in SFECs!

In May, the Department of Education requested comments on implementation for the Statewide Family Engagement Centers (SFECs) program. National PTA’s comments to the department focused on five key areas including the definition of “statewide entity” as well as the importance of awarding grants to statewide parent centers rather than taking a regional approach to the SFEC program. 138 organizations recently signed onto a letter in support of full funding for SFECs in FY19. Tell your members of Congress to invest in family engagement!

Youth Advocacy Summit Nominations Now Open

Are you 18-22? Are you interested in advocacy? Apply now to attend the National PTA Youth Advocacy Summit, Oct. 14-16—all expenses paid. You’ll attend advocacy workshops, visit Washington, DC and meet policymakers. Learn more and apply now!

FEDERAL NEWS

First Lady Announces New Initiative Focused on Child Health

First Lady Melania Trump announced her new BE BEST initiative in May. The mission of the initiative is to address some of the major issues facing children today and encourage children to establish positive social, emotional, and physical habits. The Be Best initiative will focus on three pillars: child well-being, social media use and opioid abuse. Learn more.

ADVOCACY SKILL OF THE MONTH

Join a Coalition

There’s strength in numbers. Joining or forming a coalition is an important advocacy tactic to amplify your message. To learn more, check out our new coalitions page in our Advocacy Toolkit! For a list of the federal policy coalitions National PTA is a member of, visit our new policy coalitions page.

NEW RESOURCES

Get state-by-state data on critical measures of educational inequality.

Use National PTA’s step-by-step guide to joining or forming a coalition!