The most successful associations have used a multi-tiered political activism strategy . It could be said that political activism is similar to building a tricycle . Each wheel of the tricycle is important to a safe ride . The same is the case for building a successful advocacy program .
Political engagement through the use of resources to elect candidates to political offices is one wheel . The development of a strong statewide legislative advocacy team is another wheel . And the last , most important , wheel is that of an effective grassroots program driven by local relationship building . Each component is essential to political activism .
Many believe that involvement in advocacy means being involved in politics . The political process is certainly one of the major opportunities to test your skills in advocacy . The true value of being involved in the political process is the strength of your relationship with decision-makers , those who influence decisions , or policymakers .
There is an old saying in political circles , “ Decisions can be made with or without your input .” Policymakers are often dependent on those who have the expertise to implement the laws that are created . School leaders are generally those who have the varied expertise and experience to thoughtfully examine different conditions and provide real world examples of the impact of any potential law or regulation . Given this , maintaining strong working relationships with policymakers becomes the true essence of advocacy .
There is power in building relationships . Relationship building is a form of political activism that can be both subtle and overt .
Subtle methods of relationship building occur during times when there is nothing to gain at the time and before you ever ask for a favor or request support for a policy . You must think beyond your current objective and think in the long term .
Some examples of these subtle methods include meeting for coffee to get to know one another ; inviting a local official or state official to see the work that occurs at your schoolsite or school district ; or inviting a state or local official to a school event , such as a back-to-school picnic or holiday pag-
Governmental relations and you
From its inception , a legislative measure might take a year or more to move through the legislative process . ACSA Governmental Relations staff tracks hundreds of education related bills every year , from introduction through to the governor ’ s signature or veto of the bill .
All legislation starts off as an idea . The process begins when either an individual or group persuades a member of the Legislature to author a bill . The member then sends the idea and the language for the bill to the Legislative Counsel ’ s Office , where it is drafted into the actual bill .
The drafted bill is returned to the legislator for review . Persons or groups that originated the idea for the bill may also review it to ensure the provisions they desire are in the bill in the correct form . If the author is a senator , the bill is introduced at the Senate Desk and if an assemblymember , the Assembly Desk , where it is assigned a number and read for the first time .
On average , more than 2,000 Senate Bills and more than 3,000 Assembly Bills are introduced during the course of a two-year California legislative session . ACSA Governmental Relations staff reviews each bill introduction , looking for its impact on K-12 education .
Staff brings most of these bills to ACSA ’ s Legislative Policy Committee to take positions on behalf of ACSA . Once these positions are set , staff begins advocating for or against the bill .
When necessary and at key points in the legislative process , legislative advocates will take their advocacy efforts back to the ACSA membership by sending “ Action Alerts ,” asking members to either send a letter or make a phone call to legislative representatives and / or policy or fiscal committee members advocating ACSA ’ s position on the legislation .
It is important that members respond to Action Alerts as quickly as possible , as legislation is quickly moving through the process , making most of these alerts time sensitive .
www . acsa . org / advocacy
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