Issaquah Valley Elementary PTA

"IT IS THE PARAMOUNT DUTY OF THE STATE TO MAKE AMPLE PROVISION FOR THE EDUCATION OF ALL CHILDREN RESIDING WITHIN ITS BORDERS..."

-Washington State Constitution, Article IX, section1

Legislative advocacy is at the core of PTA purpose. This year we have seen a variety of education bills in the house and Senate since the passage of the McCleary decision. The McCleary decision is a Supreme Court ruling which states that the K-12 funding is so low that it is unconstitutional, and "has failed to adequately fund the 'education' required by Article IX, section 1." The State Supreme court also clarified the meaning of the constitution in their ruling.

paramount duty means "the State must amply provide for the education of all Washington children as the State's first and highest priority before any other State programs or operations.
Ample provision means "considerably more than just adequate"
All children means "each and every child" in Washington - "No child is excluded"
Education means "the basic knowledge and skills needed to compete in today's economy and meaningfully participate in the state's democracy"

Source: www.waschoolexcellence.org

As parents of children who will be growing up in a public school system, it is vital that we advocate for them, and as your Legislative Director I want to help make that as easy as possible. I'm providing for you some links that can help keep you informed about what is happening in the legislature and what you can do to help our schools with minimum time commitment of about 5 minutes.

http://wsptagrassroots.blogspot.com/2013/03/cheat-sheet-on-k-12-finance-and.html

The PTA grassroots connection is a blog maintained by our State PTA, and can provide you with information on upcoming bills in the legislature. You can also opt to click links to write to your legislator easily from the form letter and find your legislator through the website. Grassroots Connection makes advocacy easy by informing us on what education bills the PTA supports for passage.

Legislative Assembly takes place every September, when the State PTA decides on our legislative platform, or what our focus for lobbying will be to our legislature.

Legislative Focus Day takes place early in January. PTA members across Washington gather on the steps of the Capital to rally for public education and meet our legislators. Please feel free to email me at essie.hicks@gmail.com if you are interested in attending either of these annual events.