The upcoming 85th Texas Legislative Session will be our biggest challenge to date. Parents, teachers and board members are at the forefront of our advocacy efforts. It is critical to engage your lawmakers on an on-going basis. We are faced with difficult times in passing pro-charter legislation due to a variety of obstacles and competing interests. As Dr. Steve Perry said at the 2016 Texas Charter Schools Conference, "Grassroots equals defining the truth." We need your help engaging teachers, parents, and board members in defining the truth about public charter schools.
One of the largest hurdles we must overcome is the public perception of charter schools. “How dare you complain about something you can correct,” Dr. Perry remarked during this week’s opening conference session. Now more than ever, we need all of our advocates; school leaders, parents, teachers, and board members to advocate on behalf of public charter schools as passionate constituents at the forefront of this battle. We must demand equitable funding for all public schools.
Governor Abbott was the conference closing session keynote speaker and stated “Let’s end the waiting list and fund charter schools with the resources needed.” In order to do so, we need your help to get support from your elected officials to vote for and represent us at the Capitol. One hundred and fifty House Representatives and 31 Senators are waiting to hear from you and your families.
It is vital that you connect with lawmakers to share the successes occurring at your public charter schools. You are constituents of your lawmakers and it is imperative that they hear from YOU on why charter schools are necessary and important to your child and the public education system. Our livelihood depends on this!
The Texas Charter Schools Association offers a robust bilingual program to engage you, ranging from an advocacy toolkit for staff, training program materials for your school, online advocacy tools, and our Facebook page @TXCharterRevolution. Join us in this fight and take action today!
