March 3, 2015
2015 Legislative Conference is Next Week!
PTA advocates from across the country will gather in Washington, D.C., March 10-12 for National PTA’s annual Legislative Conference. During the conference, attendees will hear from experts in various policy fields, attend advocacy trainings and participate in Capitol Hill visits. The event will also feature a keynote address from Roberto J. Rodriguez, Deputy Assistant to President Obama for education policy. Learn more about the conference.
Family Engagement in Education Act
Yesterday, the Family Engagement in Education Act of 2015 (H.R. 1194 and S. 622) was reintroduced to empower parents, improve capacity for states, and provide much-needed resources for schools to build effective family-school partnerships and increase student achievement. The legislation would also increase investment in family engagement for qualifying local education agencies.
Urge Congress to co-sponsor the Family Engagement in Education Act of 2015
Common Core Podcast with Ray Leone
Maryland PTA President Ray Leone shares his perspective on building parent understanding and support of the Common Core by engaging families and communities at the local level through public forums and open lines of communication. Listen to the podcast.ESEA Re-Authorization: Next Steps
PTA has been closely following movement of the “Student Success Act” or H.R. 5, in the House of Representatives. H.R. 5 is the latest attempt to rewrite the No Child Left Behind law. The bill passed out of committee earlier last month on a party line vote.
The House was expected to vote on the bill last week, but that vote has been postponed, after Republican leadership failed to lockdown support for the bill.
In the Senate, Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) of the HELP committee is working with ranking member Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), on a bipartisan approach to reauthorization. They have set a timetable of mid-March to get a bill to committee.
In the Senate, Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) of the HELP committee is working with ranking member Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), on a bipartisan approach to reauthorization. They have set a timetable of mid-March to get a bill to committee.
Contact your member of congress and ask them to protect family engagement provisions. National PTA encourages you to continue to urge your Member of Congress to protect family engagement provisions in any reauthorization attempt by visiting the Takes Action website.
PTA Testifies Before Congressional Subcommittee On Student Data Privacy
On Feb. 12, National PTA Vice President of Advocacy, Shannon Sevier, testified before the House Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education on behalf of National PTA.
The hearing, “How Emerging Technology Affects Student Privacy,” focused on student data privacy, exploring the use of new technology in the classroom and examined the need to modernize the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
National PTA has been actively involved in the ongoing debate on student data privacy. This hearing gave National PTA the opportunity to highlight the importance of this issue before Congress and showcase the steps PTA is taking to ensure all children’s data is secure.
For additional info about the hearing and to view her testimony, visit the congressional committee website.
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