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JC/DC Action Alert: Family Engagement Center Funding

Family Engagement Centers – The newly enacted Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) includes the Statewide Family Engagement Centers (SFEC) program, which provides competitive federal grants to statewide organizations to promote and implement evidenced-based family engagement strategies. If the SFEC program is funded, applications for these competitive grants can be submitted to the U.S. Department of Education by statewide organizations such as non-profits or by groups of statewide organizations that have demonstrated involvement in engaging families in their child’s education and experience working with state-level agencies, communities, organizations and schools on family engagement policies and practices. Contact your Senators and Representative today and ask them to support Statewide Family Engagement Centers the FY 2018 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies (L-HHS-ED) appropriations bill. Please take a few moments to send a letter to your members of Congress. You can quickly send your letter by clicking here.

 

Thank you,

Carla Wiese

VP and Director of Legislation and Advocacy


JC/DC ACTION ALERT: Charter Schools

****VOTE SOON*** Please contact your Representative NOW!!

HB 634 is in committee and will come for a committee vote soon.

HB 634 would allow charter schools to operate in any school district in the state.

National and Missouri PTA does recognize and support charter schools when they are public and have to meet all the same evaluation standards that a non- charter public schools must meet. However, Missouri PTA opposes this bill based on the fact that it is allowing the charter schools to be affiliated with non-public organizations and that currently the evaluation for charter schools still does not meet or exceed the expectations of non-charter public schools.

Dear Representative,

As a community we prioritize the education standards of our kids. We have evaluation standards that must be met for public schools to remain accredited.  HB 634 allows for the formation of charter schools in any district in the state. Under this bill these schools could be controlled by non-public organizations. These schools would not have to be held to the same evaluation standards non-charter public schools are held. This would allow for the potential for children to not have the quality of education they receive in Missouri public schools. Missouri PTA is not against charter schools when they are under the control nonprofit organizations not affiliated with non-public sectarian, religious, or home-based school organizations of the local school district with the same standards as public schools. HB 634 fails to meet this requirement.

Please vote no on HB 634.

 

Sincerely,

You name and PTA

Not sure how to contact your state legislators? Click here and insert your street address or 9-digit zip code.

 

Carla Wiese

Vice President & Director of Legislation and Advocacy

[email protected]

 


JC/DC ACTION ALERT: HB274 – Children in Adult Prisons

HB 274 has been placed on the calendar for the House Judiciary Committee public hearings.

Currently Missouri law incarnates children who have been charged as adults in adult prisons.  While they have been charged with serious offences, these children have not yet been convicted of a crime.  HB 274 would require children to be prosecuted in juvenile courts unless the child is certified as an adult or is being prosecuted for a traffic or curfew violation. Additionally, the bill specifies that no person under the age of 18 may be detained in an adult jail unless the person has been certified as an adult. Please contact the House Judicial Committee and urge them to SUPPORT HB 274.

Dear Representative,

Children who commit serious crimes should be held accountable for their actions.  However, incarcerating children charged, but not convicted, in adult facilities is a sentence in itself.  Children are not the same as adults and until they are found guilty should be afforded extra protections.  When children are incarcerated in adult prisons they face a dramatically increased danger of sexual assault and have higher risks of suicide.  These facilities do not afford children the opportunities of education and rehabilitation services available in the juvenile detention system.  Instead of working to rehabilitate these children when their mental development is at its’ capacity to learn we are teaching them to be hardened criminals.

 

The Missouri Model has long been the national model with regard to state juvenile justice systems. This allowance to house charged but not convicted children with adults is a flaw we need to recognize and correct.  Please vote yes on HB 274 to keep kids 17 and younger out of adult prisons.

Sincerely,

You name and PTA

 

Not sure how to contact the House Judiciary Committee? Click here

 

Carla Wiese

VP Legislation and Advocacy

Missouri PTA

[email protected]


JC/DC ACTION ALERT:  Charter Schools ****VOTE SOON*** Please contact the House Committee on Elementary and Secondary Education!

 

HB 634 is in committee and will come for a committee vote soon.  

HB 634 would allow charter schools to operate in any school district in the state.

National and Missouri PTA does recognize and support charter schools when they are public and have to meet all the same evaluation standards that a non- charter public schools must meet. However, Missouri PTA opposes this bill based on the fact that it is allowing the charter schools to be affiliated with non-public organizations and that currently the evaluation for charter schools still does not meet or exceed the expectations of non-charter public schools.

Dear Representative,

As a community we prioritize the education standards of our kids. We have evaluation standards that must be met for public schools to remain accredited.  HB 634 allows for the formation of charter schools in any district in the state. Under this bill these schools could be controlled by non-public organizations. These schools would not have to be held to the same evaluation standards non-charter public schools are held. This would allow for the potential for children to not have the quality of education they receive in Missouri public schools. Missouri PTA is not against charter schools when they are under the control nonprofit organizations not affiliated with non-public sectarian, religious, or home-based school organizations of the local school district with the same standards as public schools. HB 634 fails to meet this requirement.

Please vote no on HB 634.

 

Sincerely,

You name and PTA

Not sure how to contact the House Committee on Elementary and Secondary Education? Click here.


Carla Wiese

Vice President & Director of Legislation and Advocacy

[email protected]


DeVos HELP Confirmation Vote Tomorrow 1/31

PTA Leaders,

 

As you may know, tomorrow January 31, 2017 the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee is scheduled to vote on the nomination of U.S Secretary of Education-designee Betsy DeVos.  The Committee is holding an executive session beginning at 10:00am ET and Ms. DeVos’ nomination is on the agenda for consideration.  You can watch the committee meeting via livestream.

 

Additionally, I would like to share with you the statements and letters National PTA has either issued or signed onto:

 

 

Thank you!

 

 

Jacki Ball | Director, Government Affairs

National PTA®

1250 N. Pitt Street
Alexandria, VA 22314

P: (703) 518-1243 | C: (703) 405-5206

[email protected] | www.pta.org | @balljacki