Advocacy

Byron Shutz
RJH-PTSA Advocacy Chair
legislative.advocacy@rjhptsa.org

Working to ensure the safety, health, education and welfare of all students.

01/26/2012

WA State PTA Call to Action - The State needs to keep its promise to us.

Click here to take action with a quick Action Alert email to elected officials.

The House Education Committee is considering a bill, HB 2411, that would abandon the 24-credit college and career diploma promised in the Program of Basic Education. The state instead would provide for 18 credits in high school.

Washington State PTA strongly opposes this!

The expanded graduation requirements laid out in 2009’s HB 2261 would allow high school students to take the core curriculum they need while also exploring their interests through electives. We believe students should be able to take arts, music and physical education. They should be able to take four years of math and science as well as a few career and technical education classes. We don’t believe children should be tracked.

This bill closes off opportunities and is a step back in a system that is already underfunded, inequitable and unstable.

Click here to do a quick Action Alert email to elected officials.

Or cut & paste into browser http://www.capwiz.com/wastatepta/issues/alert/?alertid=60797336&type=ML

NOTE: Join WSPTA for Focus Day: Feb. 20, 2011 march and rally on the Olympia Capital steps. Register today

Our RJH community can speak up to keep legislators thinking about the right priorities! Thanks for your action.

Byron Shutz

RJH-PTSA Advocacy Chair 2011-12

byron@byronshutzjr.org

12/08/2011

Parents Must Tell Legislators:

Worried about your child's education?

You should be. You need to be worried – others aren’t.

We must support our legislators who don't want to gamble with our children's future and don’t want to CUT school days. Our legislature is debating whether to CUT 4 SCHOOL DAYS – it’s bad for kids, and Washington State PTA strongly opposes it:

Cut days further delay college- and career-aligned graduation requirements (WA students barely do so now)

Cut days create a legal mess with long-term consequences
(more at http://www.wastatepta.org/advocacy/headlines/1202_Cutting_school_a_legal_mess.pdf).

Cut days hurt our most vulnerable, denying access to essential services & federal food programs, and adding to child-care costs

Cut days put even more pressure on our levy dollars to used inappropriately for Basic Ed

All school funding is driven by the number of days in the school year: WSPTA advocates for children's well-being and education and is reviewing all revenue options. Programs that support children and families are on the line, but the State can't raid Basic Education to fund them. The way forward is to stabilize basic education, not undermine it.

If the state cuts days, it cuts all allocations: If legislators start arbitrarily changing the school year, it wrecks school allocations from year to year. A 4-day loss means more cuts to busing, maintenance, supplies - and another 2.2 percent cut in salary allocations that must be negotiated with staff (after pay cuts already absorbed this year by LWSD).

To cuts days the State must redefine "Basic Education" and argue that kids don't need that time in school - this when all the statistical evidence and real-world competition tells us otherwise.

CALL THE HOTLINE: 1-800-562-6000, talk to the friendly operator who guides you through leaving a message.

And/or send an easy WSPTA Action Alert email

http://capwiz.com/wastatepta/issues/alert/?alertid=56696501&PROCESS=Take+Action.

Or contact your legislator directly – all are listed below (if you are unsure who is your Leg - http://apps.leg.wa.gov/DistrictFinder/Default.aspx )