Wednesday, December 5, 2007

PTA: an Advocacy Organization and Legislation Conference

Most people view PTA as a fundraising organization. Even many local PTAs themselves, feel this is their main purpose - it sure takes up most of the time, sometimes. But, actually PTA is an advocacy organization. The very first purpose listed on the California PTA website is "To promote the welfare of children and youth in home, school, community, and place of worship."

So, today I'd like to get on my soapbox about advocacy. I started in PTA as the district Legislative Chair 4 years ago and learned a lot about what the PTA does for children, on the State level. It's a LOT! Many meetings are held to review policies, write resolutions and decide what propositions to support. Trust me, the state board puts in a lot of work for our children to guide our state government in the right direction.

And, it works. With the many members we have, we have a loud voice in Sacramento so when the PTA puts its weight behind something, it usually happens.

So, what does this mean to you on the local level? The district would like to encourage you to look at your focus and decide how you can do more in terms of advocating for our children. Some suggestions are:

1. Elect an Advocacy Chair. This would be someone to research and spearhead projects or activities around advocacy. They could also attend the Legislation Conference (info below) to learn what is happening on the state level. Having someone on your board dedicated to advocacy will take the weight off of you as the President.
2. Learn about CAPTA advocacy programs. Check out the Local PTA Advocacy page on CAPTA.org for lots of ideas of things your PTA can do.
3. Get involved on a local level. Find out local issues that you can be involved in. Do not endorse any candidates, but otherwise you can be for or against any local issues that your board approves in a general meeting. Then your Advocacy Chair can help take action!
4. Send someone (maybe your Advocacy Chair) to the Legislation Conference. Here's the latest info from CAPTA on the conference in January. I have been to these and they are fascinating!

The California State PTA Annual Legislation Conference, scheduled for January 27-29, 2008, will be held at the Embassy Suites Hotel-Riverfront Promenade, 100 Capitol Mall, Sacramento, CA. The conference will begin at 12:00 p.m. on Sunday, January 27, and will end at 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, January 29. A proposed agenda, housing and registration materials are available online at www.capta.org.

Due to the popularity of the conference, the housing and registration forms must be received no later than 5:00 p.m. on January 3, 2008.

Questions? Call the California State PTA office at 916-440-1985 ext. 104.

The California State PTA Legislation Team looks forward to seeing YOU in Sacramento!
I hope these ideas get you started toward increasing your focus on advocacy for our children. We can do the most good for them by doing this.

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