Why should you become involved in legislative advocacy work for your school board? How does PSBA represent the interests of public education and school boards across the state? What are the tools that PSBA provides for you to become a strong advocate for public schools?
The association has established an effective grassroots lobbying program that brings you and other school directors together to define the issues most important to you and that provides a basic structure for you to communicate with your legislators. Called the Legislative Advocacy Program, this system allows school boards to work individually and with other school boards to maximize their efforts.
Drafting and adopting
PSBA’s legislative platform
PSBA’s legislative platform, which is drafted and approved by school directors, serves as PSBA’s official record of positions on legislative issues and is the guide for the association’s advocacy efforts. This means that PSBA staff will support or oppose pending legislation that aligns with platform positions and also will draft legislation that
corresponds with platform statements.
The adoption process formally begins during the spring and summer when PSBA invites school boards to submit their proposals to be considered for the association’s legislative platform for the coming year. All proposals must be formally approved by a majority of the school board and verified by the board secretary prior to submission.
Boards may submit new proposals as well as revisions to the current platform and include a brief statement of rationale for each proposal submitted. The rationale includes a summary of the reasons the board believes this issue should be addressed in the platform, any specific problems the district has encountered and how the board believes the problem could be resolved. In addition, boards are encouraged to submit any data related to the issue as it affects the district or any draft language that could be crafted into proposed legislation. This information is shared with the PSBA Platform Committee and is helpful to the association’s Governmental & Member Relations staff in its advocacy efforts.
Proposals and accompanying rationale can be submitted to PSBA in three ways:
1) By completing a form provided by PSBA and published in select issues of the School Leader News and also mailed to school board secretaries; 2) by sending the proposal on school district stationery; or 3) by using the online submission form on PSBA’s Web site.
The next step in the process is for the PSBA Platform Committee to review proposals. The Platform Committee is an appointed group that meets prior to the annual conference to make recommendations on which items should receive further consideration. The recommendations of the Platform Committee are brought before the Legislative Policy Council for a final vote.
During the annual conference in the fall, representatives from every PSBA member entity may serve as voting delegates to the Legislative Policy Council. The council makes the final determination on which recommended proposals will be incorporated into PSBA’s legislative platform for the coming year.
Selecting priority issues
PSBA’s advocacy efforts include the selection of priority issues from items in the platform. Unlike the annual adoption of the platform, the selection of priority issues is done every two years to correspond with the two-year sessions of the General Assembly.
Selection of the priority issues begins in the fall of even-numbered years immediately following the adoption of the new platform and is completed early in the next year. (New legislative sessions always begin in odd-numbered years.)
Under PSBA’s new membership participation plan that was adopted in July 2008 for implementation in 2009, each region’s cabinet members (regional director, assistant regional directors and PSBA liaisons) will develop a Regional Activity Plan that will include designated “areas” of interest and a specific plan for legislative meetings in the areas within the region. These meetings will continue to be organized and conducted by the legislative coordinator, with the help of PSBA staff.
During the fall months, each county or area holds meetings attended by representatives of every school board to select the issues in the platform that are most important to them.
After this round of legislative meetings, legislative coordinators and other PSBA leaders gather to choose the top three priorities from those that have been nominated by the members at the fall meetings. This voting body is called the Legislative Action Council.
Once the priorities are chosen, the counties or areas (as defined in the Regional Activity Plan) meet again, this time with their legislators. This series of meetings takes place in the spring so that school directors may discuss the priority issues while the General Assembly is making key decisions on the new state budget that must be finalized by June 30.
The PSBA legislative cycle
Spring through early summer
School boards submit to PSBA their proposals to be considered for the association’s legislative platform for the coming year.
August
PSBA’s Platform Committee meets and reviews all proposals submitted as well as all items in the current year’s platform. Its recommendations are presented to the Legislative Policy Council for final consideration.
October
The Legislative Policy Council meets during the annual statewide PASA-PSBA School Leadership Conference. This group debates and votes on the legislative positions that will become PSBA’s official platform for the coming year.
Fall in even-numbered years
Meetings are held in each county or area (according to the Regional Activity Plan) to nominate issues from the platform to be selected as the top statewide priority concerns.
Spring in odd-numbered years
The Legislative Action Council meets to vote on the top priorities from those recommended by the counties or areas.
Spring
PSBA’s Legislative Advocacy Conference is held. This event includes in-depth sessions on key issues and opportunities for school officials to network with their legislators. At the local level, spring legislative meetings are held with legislators to seek support and action on platform and priority issues.
How you can be
involved in PSBA’s
Legislative Advocacy Program
PSBA liaison – Each school board appoints one of its members to be the PSBA liaison. The PSBA liaison serves several important roles:
• A link to the state organization, receiving special updates on PSBA programs and initiatives with other members of the school board and leadership team.
• A key contact for the PSBA regional director who is elected to represent school districts in his or her area on the association’s Board of Directors.
• A legislative representative with primary responsibility to keep the board informed of developments in the Pennsylvania General Assembly and to provide legislators with the board’s position on key issues. The PSBA liaison has access to the association’s Legislative Action Center at www.psba.org and receives via e-mail weekly updates and alerts as major bills move through the state Senate and House of Representatives. In addition, the PSBA liaison typically may serve as one of the district’s official voting delegates to the Legislative Policy Council and represents the board at county or area legislative meetings.
Legislative coordinator – The role of the legislative coordinator is important to the success of PSBA’s Legislative Advocacy Program. Formerly known as the “county coordinator,” this position has been expanded according to PSBA’s new membership participation plan. The legislative coordinator represents the school entities in the county, area or other grouping as determined individually under the Regional Activity Plan for each of the 15 PSBA regions. The legislative coordinator communicates frequently with legislators and provides them with PSBA’s positions on various proposals. The coordinator organizes local meetings with the school boards in that area to discuss legislative issues and select priority items from the PSBA platform. In addition, the legislative coordinator is a member of PSBA’s Legislative Action Council, which selects the association’s legislative priorities for the session.
Platform Committee – This standing committee meets once a year, typically in August, prior to the School Leadership Conference. The members deliberate and vote on all items submitted to PSBA for consideration in the platform. Proposals that receive committee approval are then presented to the Legislative Policy Council for further discussion and a final vote.
The Platform Committee is comprised of PSBA officers and representatives of the association’s 15 state regions and five organizational departments. Two members are appointed by each of the regional directors. Anyone interested in serving a one-year term on the Platform Committee should submit his or her name to the regional director or to PSBA, which will provide it to the regional director for consideration.
In addition, the Platform Committee includes one member appointed by each of the association department presidents. The departments are: Department of School Board Secretaries and Affiliates, School Board Solicitors Association, Association of Educational Office Professionals, Pupil Transportation Association and Association of Career & Technical Administrators.
Legislative Policy Council – The only body with the final authority to act on proposed items for the PSBA platform is the Legislative Policy Council. It meets once a year during the School Leadership Conference held each fall.
Every PSBA member entity is entitled to have at least one voting delegate at the meeting. Under the association’s bylaws:
• First-class school districts may have four voting delegates on the council.
• Second-class districts may have three voting delegates.
• Third-class districts may have two voting delegates.
• Fourth-class 1districts, intermediate units, career-technical schools and other PSBA member entities may have one voting delegate.
• No representative may be appointed by or represent more than one member entity.
Only board members and board secretaries are eligible to serve as voting delegates. The bylaws also require that all voting delegates be registered for the conference and that the school entities have paid their current year dues to the association.
Legislative Action Council – The Action Council differs greatly from the Policy Council in both membership and duties. The Action Council is comprised of PSBA’s president-elect, legislative coordinators, vice presidents, regional directors and assistant regional directors. It is the responsibility of the Action Council to select the PSBA statewide priority legislative issues from the platform items nominated by the areas or counties as designated in the Regional Activity Plan. The council meets in odd-numbered years to select the association’s priority issues for the two-year session of the General Assembly.
Legislative Advocacy Conference – This annual conference, held in the spring, includes presentations from legislators, key staff and others on important legislative and regulatory issues that are on the education agenda. PSBA also invites all members of the General Assembly to attend the conference opening night dinner or closing lunch as an additional opportunity for school officials to network with their legislators. |
