Have you ever spoken to a teacher or principal about a problem you wanted to help solve or issue you wanted to help address? That is advocacy.
PTA helps you gain the skills and get the resources you need to advocate to improve the lives of children in your school and in your community. Whether you’re a new parent or experienced leader, California State PTA can help you make a difference in the lives of children.
Everything in one place – resources to help PTA leaders with advocacy work at the local, regional, state and federal levels.
ADVOCACY GOALS
Represent, inform and mobilize members and the public to advocate for the education, health, safety and wellbeing of all children
PTA ADVOCACY – STATE AND NATIONAL
California State PTA
- Legislative Program
- Organizational Goals and Advocacy Team
- Job Description for Legislative Advocacy Chair
- Focus Areas — Learn more about the issues that matter most to you, your members and school community.
- Toolkit — Our handy online Toolkit outlines advocacy duties and issues.
- Advocacy Insider and Legislative Alerts — Sign up to get advocacy news from our state and national capitals.
- Advocacy Resource Notebook Web Page — A new resource to help your local advocacy work at any level.
- Advocacy Leadership Guide — Designed with council and district advocacy leaders in mind.
- Resolutions and Position Statements — These materials act as touchstones for our advocacy work.
- Legislation Conference — Whether you’re a newcomer or seasoned advocate, this event helps you raise your voice with more confidence. Get up to speed on the latest issues, meet with experts and legislators, and learn new skills to connect families and schools — all while becoming a more powerful advocate for children.
- Annual Convention — The convention’s the place to get the latest information on key issues, build the skills to strengthen your school and community, connect with PTA leaders and have fun!
National PTA
STATE LEGISLATIVE INFORMATION
CALIFORNIA SCHOOL FINANCE
- Spending: Does California Skimp on Schools?
- What do Education Dollars Buy?
- Prop 13 and Prop 98
- Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF)
- What’s a Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP)?
- LCAP Resources and Handouts
- LAO: Implementation of LCFF
- The Evolution of California’s State School Finance System
- How Facilities are Financed
CALIFORNIA: EDUCATION INFO AND NEWS
OVERVIEW OF EDUCATION SYSTEMS
OTHER MAJOR CHILDREN’S ISSUES
FEDERAL LEGISLATIVE INFORMATION
PTA & ELECTIONS
National PTA Resources:
- Permissible Activities Checklist / En Espanol.
- Candidate Appearances
- Hosting a Candidate Forum
- Nonprofits and Ballot Measures / En Espanol
- State Ballot Measures
- Parcel Taxes
- Legal Guidelines for Campaign Activity ( California State PTA Toolkit)
- IRS Charities and Lobbying
- School Bonds and Latest Legal Guidelines
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Ed100, free online instruction about our education system.
Lawmakers
Informational Sites
Policy Implementation
Voting information
- California Secretary of State
- Voter’s Edge
- Your County Registrar of Voters (see SOS website for listing)
Media Information
- Sacramento Bee
- Rough and Tumble
- Maddy Daily
- Check online for links to your local newspaper