The deadline for school boards to submit proposals for consideration is Friday, July 18. All proposals will be reviewed by the PSBA Platform Committee on Saturday, Aug. 23, and receive final consideration by the Legislative Policy Council on Thursday, Oct. 16, during the School Leadership Conference in Hershey. Boards may create new proposals, amend existing platform items or suggest the deletion of a current statement.

Here are some helpful guidelines for preparing items for submission:

1. The format of the platform is structured so that there is just one resolution statement under each subject category followed by various specific legislative items. Your proposal should follow this general format; that is, it either may be a resolution or a legislative item. As you draft your item, write it in a manner that will distinguish the proposal as one or the other.

•  Remember the difference between resolutions and legislative items. Resolutions are the broad policy statements that begin each subject category. They provide an established legislative direction for the association. Legislative items are the numbered statements following each resolution. They build on the broad policy statements by outlining concrete positions on specific issues. Your proposal should be written in the same style as in the following examples from the 2007 platform.

•  Sample Resolution : It is resolved that PSBA support efforts to increase the involvement of school directors in the establishment of state policy and the governance of public schools. To that end, PSBA supports efforts to enhance continuity in school governance and supports and actively encourages inservice education for school directors.

•  Sample Legislative Item: The association opposes legislation restricting the authority of school boards to adopt and enforce a school calendar.

3. Review the current platform to see if the topic of your proposal already is included. If it is, your board may submit a letter of support for continuation of the existing item in the 2008 platform. Your board also may suggest amendments to or deletion of items from the current platform. This is important because all items in the current platform do not automatically become a part of next year's document; they must be reconsidered and approved before they can be included in the 2009 platform.

4. Submit proposals that are significant not only for your board, but for many or all school boards across the state. You will have a greater chance of obtaining support for your items if many others can understand and relate to the issue.

5. Please include a brief statement of rationale (about 50 words) that explains why your board believes the item should be included in the platform, any specific problems your district has encountered, and how your board believes this problem could be resolved. In addition, your board is encouraged to submit any data related to the issue as it affects your district, or any draft language that could be crafted into proposed legislation. The rationale will be presented to the Platform Committee as it considers your board's proposal, and will be helpful to PSBA's governmental and member relations staff in their advocacy efforts.

6. All proposals must be approved by the board and verified by the board secretary. (In other words, a board member may not submit an item on his or her own behalf. The item should be discussed and agreed upon by the board.) If your proposal is a revision to an existing platform item, please indicate the category and number of the statement that is being amended.

7. Proposals and accompanying rationale can be submitted to PSBA in three ways: 1) Use the enclosed form. Please complete a separate form for each proposal you submit. You may copy this form; 2) Sending the item on school district stationery; or 3) Use the online submission form on PSBA's Web site at www.psba.org.

8. Any board that submits an item has the right to attend the Platform Committee meeting to speak in support of its proposal. This year the Platform Committee will meet on Saturday, August 23, at 9 a.m. at PSBA headquarters. If you wish to exercise this option, please contact PSBA prior to the meeting. The public comment period is held near the beginning of the meeting.

•  The governmental and member relations staff is available to help you with any questions you may have. The staff also retains the right to make editorial revisions to any item received so that the proposals are consistent with the format of the platform. Should any such changes be necessary, we will inform you and request approval before formal consideration of the item takes place.

10. You will be notified in writing concerning the action of the Platform Committee and whether your proposal was accepted, rejected or amended by the panel. Any board whose item is rejected by the committee has the right to have the proposal offered for reconsideration by the Legislative Policy Council.

11. The deadline to submit new or revised items as well as letters of support for the continuation of current platform items is Friday, July 18, 2008. Questions concerning procedures for submitting proposals for the PSBA Platform should be directed to Cindy Eckerd, PSBA legislative information director, at (800) 932-0588, ext. 3319, or e-mail at cindy.eckerd@psba.org.