{Insert council or unit here}
AprilReport
{Insert name here}
Suggestions for your AprilLegislative Chair Report
LOCAL INFORMATION:
National Election
With most local elections wrapped up the focus squarely set on the primaries and upcoming presidential election. As advocates, one of the most fundamental ways to have a voice is to vote. We can assist our membership by making sure they are registered and encouraging voting at election time. One great tool units and councils can use to assist in the voter registration process is the platform designed by Rock the Vote. A webinar and the tools needed to incorporate this into a resource for members can be found at NonprofitVote. This product has internal security features and is state specific.
Distracted Driving Awareness Month
Back in 2011 students in the state of Missouri came together to write, promote and pass the Distracted Driving Resolution. This resolution was then submitted and passed at the National Convention. Why was this issue so important to the students? At the time both Missouri and National PTA had resolutions pertaining to teen driving and cellphone use but nothing that spoke to the larger problem of distracted driving. Distracted driving isn’t a teen problem. Every driver who makes the decision to drive distracted poses a potential risk to everyone else on the road, including him or herself. Distracted driving spans all ages, genders and socioeconomic backgrounds. Did you know that at highway speeds, theamount of time a drivers keeps their eyes off the road to type a 3 to 5 second text message they will have traveled the length of a football field. Your personal awareness can make a difference. For more information on statistic, research, campaigns, and pledges check out Distraction.gov.
STATE INFORMATION:
Missouri PTA Legislative Session
With the deadline to file bills passed and spring break concluded, both the House and the Senate will be busy at work. Even though session doesn’t conclude until May 30th our state laws sets specific deadlines for passing the budget and consideration of bills. May 6th is the deadline for the Appropriations bill (budget) to be Truly Agreed and Finally Passed. May 13th is the last day a bill can be considered by the House or Senate. For bills that have only just reached the committee stage in the first chamber there is a lot of work that must be done before they can become a law.
Bills of interest:
HB 2671, Fitzwater (R-049), would establish the “STEM Career Awareness Pilot Program”. This pilot program would target students in grades six through twelve and is intended to promote exposure to a variety of STEM careers. If the bill passes, the Missouri Department of Education would select 25 secondary schools to participate in the pilot program. This program would be administered online and must meet specific criteria. In addition to the requirement to introduce students to a wide variety of STEM careers, criteria includes curriculum flexible enough to be used in a broad range of classrooms such as English and social studies. The focus is to relay to students how both math and language skills are used by those in STEM careers. Other criteria require the ability to retrieve assessment reports, include game-based elements, and be self-paced. It is PTA’s position that it is vital to our children’s education that an increased emphasis is placed on the teaching of math, science and technology. These are important skills for success in a global economy.
HB 1423, Walker (R-003) and HB 1544, Brown (R-094) are both distracted driving bills that have made to the committee and were heard in a hearing. Last session several of the Distracted Driving bills made it committee but none received a hearing. HB 1423 would only remove the 21 years of age restriction currently within the state statute prohibiting the use of hand-held electronic devices to text while driving. HB 1544 expands the current law to include phone calls but allows for the hands-free devises to utilize phone and texting features. This bill also excludes commercial vehicles. Despite increased awareness by a variety of organizations and businesses as to the dangers of distracted driving it is still commonplace to see a driver holding up and using their phone over or next to the steering wheel while driving. Many predicted the insurance industry would crack down on policy owners involved in accidents that involved distracted driving. So far the market has not regulated itself.
A complete list of bills currently being followed by Missouri PTA can be found on mopta.org under Advocacy - Capitol Chatter.
Missouri PTA signs Marijuana Resolution
Missouri PTA recently signed onto a Resolution to Reduce Marijuana Related Problems along with a variety of other Missouri business, organizations, and state agencies. PTA remains committed to protecting the health and welfare of children and this includes our long-time support for substance control abuse education, treatment and prevention efforts. Despite the popular trend to decriminalizeMarijuana by some in our country, this drug remains a dangerous risk to children. The effect of substance abuse on the adolescent’s brain can lead to a variety of social, behavioral and health consequences. As advocates for children, our mission is to focus on ways to make sure every child has the opportunity to reach their full potential. Keeping children safe from the possibility of drugs becoming more easily assessable needs to be a very strong voice in the Marijuana conversation.
NATIONAL INFORMATION:
Every Child Succeeds Act Parent Resource
National PTA had developed a PTA resource for families on Every Student Succeeds Actthat hosts ESSA summaries, an overview of what ESSA means for children and families, and insight into the Statewide Family Engagement provisions within ESSA. This webpage is a valuable tool for not just PTA members but to all parents across the country. Also included is a section that explains how Family Engagement, the portion of which PTA lead the groundwork with the Family Engagement in Education Act, is included and defined in ESSA.
Now that the law has passed it is up to the U.S. Department of Education to implement the law. While the department provides guidance to the states the law is designed to provide states with expanded opportunities to tailor fit education to the needs of the students in their state. It is important that we as members of PTA, advocates for all Children, make sure we are both knowledgeable and active participants in the implementation. PTA has developed the guide ESSA: What Does This New Law Mean for my Child?to assist parents with understanding how this law will affect the students in our schools.
Senate Passes Bill to Combat Heroin, Painkiller Abuse
Last month, the Senate passed a bill to address the growing epidemic of heroin and prescription drug abuse in the United States. This legislation would establish grant programs to help state and local governments improve education and treatment for drug abuse.
In conjunction with other organizations, National pledged to address heroin use and drug abuse. Encourage PTA and community leaders to utilize the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids' Parent Toolkit to help combat this epidemic in their communities.
Sign the Testing Bill of Rights!
National PTA is pleased to join forces with the Center for American Progress (CAP), America Achieves and the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), among others in support of the Testing Bill of Rights to ensure assessments are fair, reliable, relevant and aligned to high-quality standards.
The Testing Bill of Rights outlines the need to accurately measure student learning in a way that is useful for parents and teachers and less burdensome for students. As states continue to transition to higher standards and a new generation of high-quality tests come to fruition, more needs to be done at state and local levels to address over testing and provide greater transparency about the purpose and benefits of each test. No parent wants their child reduced to a test score, and assessment results should be used to inform instruction, provide parents and communities with information about whether students are working at grade level or are struggling, and allow teachers to diagnose and help their students. The launch of the Testing Bill of Rights is part of a campaign led by CAP to educate school leaders, students, teachers, and parents about the need for better, fairer and fewer tests.
National PTA understands the frustration that parents, students and educators have expressed regarding over testing. However, instead of walking away from assessments themselves, National PTA seeks to empower and engage parents in the important conversations around the amount and types of tests students take as well as advocate for parents to be at the table as these discussions occur at state and local levels. Parents are an important part of the solution to improve assessments, and we can’t walk away from this responsibility.
HOW TO BE AN ADVOCATE:
- Plan now for next year’s voter registration drive
- View National PTA’s resources on ESSA
- Inform other members of the Parent Toolkit for Drug-Free Kids
- Join the JC/DC Network - You can also join online under the ‘Sign up for the JC/DC Network’ linkatthe bottom of the homepage on the Missouri PTA website for Missouri alerts and online at take action network’ for National alerts.
- Check out the PTA One Voice Blog
- Do you tweet? Follow Missouri PTA (@MissouriPTA) and National PTA (@NationalPTA).
everychild. onevoice.