The Indiana PTA Legislative Program has three components:

· Priority Issues are broad statements on issues relating to children and education. These statements may be of current or future legislative interest or need. Priority issues are broad in scope to provide the basis for position statements. Local units, councils, committees of the board of managers and the state legislation committee may submit suggested additions, deletions or changes.

· Continuing Concerns are former priority issues that have been addressed or resolved by state or federal action. These statements remain as continuing concerns in the event additional action needs to be taken at a later date. Priority issues are moved to continuing concerns by recommendation of the state legislation committee to the State Board of Managers.

· Position Statements focus on a specific issue that comes to the attention of the State Board of Managers between conventions. The state legislation committee formulates a statement that is presented to the State Board of Managers after being well researched and documented. If approved by the Board of Managers, it will be presented to the next convention for delegate vote.

 Local units and councils may submit suggested additions, deletions, or changes to Priority Issues to the State Board of Managers by following the procedures outlined in the November mailing to presidents. Any proposed changes must pertain to the education, health, and welfare of children and youth, be statewide in scope, and be in accordance with National PTA Objects and basic policies. Proposals must be accompanied by background information and rationale, and must be postmarked or hand delivered to the State Office by January 25 of each year. Download more information, and cover sheet here.

Click here to read the
2010-2011 Priority Issues
2010-2011 Continuting Concerns
2010-2011 Position Statement

From the outset, PTA has championed the importance of equal opportunity for all children, regardless of socioeconomic background, and addressed associated problems of child labor, childhood diseases, and a judicial system more concerned with punishment than with rehabilitation of juveniles. In the 1920s, PTA supported the establishment of a new association, the National Congress of Colored Parents
and Teachers, to provide PTA services in states that maintained separate schools by ethnicity. PTA provided training and literature to the newly established association so that all parents could be advocates for their children. The organizations continued to work collaboratively until the groups formally merged in 1970.

PTA continues to advocate for all children to have the opportunity to grow and achieve through education. To that end, PTA will advocate for adequate funding for schools and for family-focused, strength-based interventions to combat chronic absenteeism, truancy, and juvenile delinquency. Bolstered by research to back up the recommendations, the 2010 Public Policy Agenda focuses on three key priorities:

1. Family Engagement in Education
   PTA looks forward to the opportunity to strengthen parent involvement and family engagement in the upcoming reauthorizations of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA-NCLB) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
2. Opportunity and Equity for All Children
   PTA will advance its opportunity and equity platform with the implementation of state advocacy efforts for the Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSSI), the reauthorization of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA), and federal appropriations to support student achievement and family engagement.
3. Child Nutrition Act
   In 2010, PTA will advocate to improve child health and wellness through the reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act.

Read the 2010 PTA Public Policy Agenda

Read the 2009 PTA Public Policy Agenda

Together, state PTAs and PIRCs form powerful partnerships that advocate for and advance effective family engagement policies and best practices in their states to raise student achievement. A model partnerships between state PTAs and PIRCs that provide statewide leadership on the implementation of the parental involvement provisions within ESEA-NCLB and execute innovative strategies for engaging all families in the education of children is important to student success. These strategies have increased opportunities for parental involvement in many states.

Read the Model Partnerships Brief

This higlight features Indiana's Model Partnership between PIRC and PTA

INDIANA – PIRC and PTA
Partner on Statewide Parent Leadership Academies
The Indiana PIRC and PTA have a long-standing partnership and are currently in their eighth year of hosting Parent Leadership Academies for ten schools from the northern, central, and southern regions of the state. The leadership academies train school teams of two school staff and three parent leaders in strategies that maximize parent and family engagement and communication in schools. The initiative is supported by six regional coordinators, with two placed in each of the three regions. Regional coordinators work with principals, teachers, school improvement teams, and local PTA units to support implementation efforts. The Parent Leadership Academy runs over the course of the school year, with the first semester focused on analyzing school data, reviewing and developing school improvement plans, and developing an initiative based on PTA’s National Standards for Family-School Partnerships. During the second semester, school teams convene to present their plans to the community and receive feedback and recommendations on the plans.

The Indiana PTA leadership participates in the community review panels and also serves as regional coordinators and trainers. The Academy culminates in a celebration, and the teams have an opportunity to hear from national experts, including Dr. Karen Mapp of Harvard’s Graduate School of Education. The success of the Parent Leadership Academies spawned “Voices in Action,” an initiative that targets Latino families for whom English is a new language. Voices in Action assists families in navigating the school system, increases family involvement in supporting students’ study of core subject areas in each grade, and educates families on how federal, state, and local education laws affect their families and children. Families attend two workshops that last two and a half hours each. The initiative provides childcare, transportation, and dinner to maximize participation. Last year, five communities across the state implemented Voices in Action. Families participating in Voices in Action also signed up for “Three for Me,” a PTA program designed to connect all families to their children’s schools and provide resources to strengthen home-school-community partnerships.

The Indiana PIRC also focuses on early childhood programs and college readiness in
middle and high schools. The early childhood initiative partners with “Parents as Teachers,” an early education model built on the foundation of family engagement. The PIRC emphasizes in the ways in which PTA involvement can assist parents with their children’s transition from early childhood into kindergarten and elementary school. The college readiness program trains 15 parent liaisons from Indianapolis Public Schools, a district that has experienced high dropout rates. Parent liaisons participate in five day-long trainings throughout the year, culminating in a graduation attended by the schools’ principals, social workers, counselors, and parents. The parent liaisons are required to facilitate two workshops and conduct ten home visits each month to promote family engagement in middle and high schools.

5 Key Benefits of Partnership:
• PTA’s presence in Indiana’s schools allows the PIRC to reach more families and access resources developed by a premier national association with expertise on family engagement in education.
• PTA members have access to the Parent Leadership
Academies, and some PTA members who have graduated from the academy are now
providing training and regional coordination.
• PIRC’s initiatives targeting Latino families, early childhood programs, high schools, and middle schools provide opportunities for PTA to connect to more families and encourage PTA membership among diverse communities.

PTA is the largest volunteer child advocacy association in the United States. Our nation’s greatest advances for children, from the establishment of universal kindergarten to a juvenile justice system that protects children from being locked up with adults, were a direct result of the persistent advocacy efforts of PTA. Today, we advocate for family engagement in education, nutritional foods in schools, and equal opportunities for all children, regardless of their socioeconomic background.
With the reauthorizations of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA), and the Child Nutrition Act before Congress, the PTA is still taking important action to improve federal policies to benefit children. National PTA and many individual PTA members are reaching out to Congress on PTA’s public policy priorities. But we need to do more. Congress needs to hear from every PTA member.

To increase PTA’s voice on Capitol Hill, we challenge all PTA members to join the PTA Takes Action Network and respond to every action alert by reaching out to their members of Congress. The state with the highest increase in number of PTA Takes Action Network members and response rates to action alerts between now and May 15, 2010, will be named the National PTA Takes Action Challenge Champion and recognized at the National PTA Convention in Memphis, Tennessee, June 10–13, 2010.

When you see an action alert in your e-mail inbox, do not delete it—respond! Tell Congress that you support better policies for family engagement in education; healthier foods in schools; and equal opportunities for all children. State leaders, regions, councils, and local units are all critical to this effort. PTA can’t be as strong and influential without you. We thank you for your advocacy efforts, as well as your many efforts to increase membership.

You will find a Local Leader’s Toolkit to assist you in your efforts HERE. Sign up for the Take Action Network HERE. Watch for frequent updates and suggestions on how you and our 30,000+ members can help Indiana PTA reach the goal for the challenge.
Here’s to your success in this important challenge!

Sincerely,
Charles J. Saylors
National PTA President

Helane Robson
NPTA Legislative Committee Chair

Tina Hartman
Indiana PTA President

Dee Jones
Indiana PTA Federal Legislative Chair

National PTA Advocacy Toolkit (PDF) - To help child advocates speak up for the health and well-being of all children, National PTA has created an online advocacy toolkit.

Grassroots Advocacy Manual (PDF) - These tips from the National PTA can be used at the local, state, or national level.

Advocate for Arts Education in Indiana Schools. Click here to read a letter from US Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan.