• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content

FRANKLIN ELEMENTARY PTA

Santa Monica, CA

TwitterFacebook
  • Home
  • About PTA
    • What is the PTA?
    • Mission
    • From the 2020-21 PTA President
    • 2020-2021 Franklin PTA Executive Board
    • 2021 Meeting Schedule
  • Links
    • Franklin School Website
    • SMMUSD
    • Education Foundation
    • SMMPTA
    • 33rd District PTA
    • California PTA
    • National PTA
    • CREST
    • Lincoln Middle School
    • Santa Monica High School
  • News
  • Event sign-up and Calendar
    • Join us for Kindergarten Round-up!
  • Fundraising
    • Flower Grams for Valentine’s
    • Franklin Annual Fund
    • Franklin Shop
    • Ed Foundation
    • Portrait Plates
    • Franklin Follies 2021
    • Amazon Smile
    • eScrip
  • Resources
    • Franklin Handbook
    • Attendance
      • Absence Letter
      • Notes About Attendance
      • Attendance Info Chart
      • Independent Study
    • Online Learning
    • Getting Started
    • Meals at School
    • Bell Schedule
    • Idaho Curbside Drop-off
    • Emergency Procedures
  • Get Involved
    • PTA Membership
    • Volunteer Opportunities
    • PTA Programs
      • Science Club
      • Special Education
      • Legislation & Advocacy
      • Parent Education
      • Reflections 2020-21
      • Beautification
      • Gardening
      • Multicultural Events
      • Candy For The Troops

Legislation & Advocacy

L E G I S L A T I O N

LOCAL LEGISLATION

http://www.smmusd.org/21stcenturyschools/

WHERE WE STAND: POSITION STATEMENTS

Accountability Systems: Statewide, Federal, and Local
Arts in Education

Assessment and Testing (Statewide)
Assistance to Families in Need

Basic Education
Before- and After-School Options for Children and Youth
Behavioral Health and Social Emotional Development

Character Education
Charter Schools
Child Abuse
Child Care
Child Victims/Witnesses Rights
Chronic Illness Care in California Schools
Commercialism in Schools
Comprehensive Community Schools with Integrated Services (Community Schools)
Credentialed School Personnel

Education of English Language Learners
Education: Higher Education
Education: Opposing Vouchers, Tuition Tax Credits and Deductions as Systems of Education Aid
Education: Parental Choice In Public Schools
Education: Support of Public Education
Education: The Early Years, Ages 3 to 6
Education: The Elementary Years, Ages 6 to 10
Education: The Middle Years, Ages 10 to 14
Education: The High School Years Ages 14 to 18
Energy Conservation
Energy Drink and Coffee Beverage Awareness
Environmental Health and Environmental Education
Equal Rights
Evaluation of Teachers

Fair Housing
Family Engagement in Credentialing Programs
Family Planning
Family Responsibility and Accountability
Family Services
Firearms and Assault Weapons
Freedom to Learn
Funding of Mandated Programs: Effect on Public Education

Gang Awareness

Health Care Access for Children, Youth, Pregnant Women, and Their Families
Health Education
Homeless Children and Families

Inclusiveness and Diversity
Instructional Materials
Interpersonal Relations

Juvenile Offenders in the Justice System

Lead Poisoning
Library Services
Lottery Revenue and Public School Funding

Mass Media and the Family
Minor Consent for Health Care
Missing and Exploited Children

Nutrition Education

Parent Involvement: Building Bridges and Eliminating Barriers
Parenting Education and Skills Development
Physical Education (K-12)
Positive Youth Development
Prevention and Intervention Programs
Prevention of Teen Pregnancy
Public Involvement in School Governance
Public School Employer-Employee Negotiations

Reduced Class Size in Grades TK-3
Regulation of Medical Marijuana Providers Near Schools
Rights and Services for Undocumented Children and Children of Undocumented Immigrants
Rights of Foster Children and Foster Families

Safe Drinking Water in Schools
Safe School Environments
School Attendance
School Based Decision Making
School-Based/Linked Health Centers
School Bus Safety
School Closure
School Desegregation/Integration
School-To-Career Technical Education
Social Emotional Learning: Essential to a Well-rounded Education
Special Education
State Tax Reform
Status Offenders
Student Participation in Public Demonstrations
Student Records
Sugary-Sweetened Beverages

Teen Dating Violence Prevention
Television Programming
Toy Look-Alike Guns

Vaccinations

Year-Round Education
Youth Involvement
Zero to Three Years: A critical Period in Child’s Development

STATE BALLOT MEASURES

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).

LEARN MORE

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:

  • Read the full bill language
  • Family Engagement Fact Sheet and Talking Points
  • Bill Background.

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.

____________________________________________________________

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.

DOWNLOAD HANDOUT

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!

DOWNLOAD

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!

  • Contact PTA
  • Absentees
  • Jane Schmitz, Franklin PTA President

310-828-2814 - 2400 Montana Avenue, Santa Monica, CA 90403