California State PTA believes that all children deserve a quality education regardless of the community in which they live, the color of their skin, their language, their gender identity, or their immigration status.

But too many California students from underserved communities are deprived of an equal opportunity to learn.

Advocacy Agenda for Equity

Poverty, Income, and Racial Inequality: The effects of discrimination, past and present, perpetuate today’s
economic inequalities, destabilizing family security at its most basic level. PTA seeks legislation to address poverty, and the income and racial inequities that affect millions
of California families.
Early Learning: PTA supports quality childcare, pre-school and early learning for all children.
Health and Welfare: Physical, social, emotional, and mental health needs must be met before students can thrive. PTA supports school and community programs that protect the health and welfare of all children and families, including community schools, school-based health services, counseling, nutrition, and other support services.
Education Funding: California’s school finance system must provide stable, sustainable,
equitable, and adequate funding to meet the diverse needs of all our students, including before and after-school programs, summer school, and distance learning.
Teaching: PTA supports the recruitment and development of an educator workforce that is
reflective of the student population, and that all students have qualified and effective teachers
delivering a full curriculum.
Curriculum: PTA believes that all students deserve an education that prepares them for successful entry into society, college, and the work force. All students should be taught a full curriculum including the arts, P.E., and civics that provides them with the knowledge, skills, and support they need to thrive and become engaged members of society. Instruction should be personalized, culturally relevant, and responsive. Coursework must address racism and bias to counteract the institutional and structural biases and related traumas that often drive inequitable outcomes for students.

How our PTA Can Advocate On Public Issues

PTA is a tax exempt IRC 501(c)(3), non-partisan, non-sectarian, and non-commercial organization. The PTA may take positions and advocate on public issues but not on candidates. Taking positions on candidates would jeopardize our tax-exempt status.

The National PTA takes positions and advocates on federal issues, the California State PTA takes positions and advocates on California issues, the Second District PTA takes positions on issues affecting San Francisco city and county, and Unit PTAs may take positions on issues that affect their immediate neighborhood. Specific procedures must be followed at each level (National, California, City, and neighborhood) to get approval to for the PTA to take a position and advocate on Public Issues.

If your PTA unit would like to take a position on a local ballot measure, there are a few rules to follow.

PRIOR TO THE MEETING:

Facility Use Permit: Your unit must pay a full facility use permit to host the meeting.
Announce the meeting 14 days in advance.
A small team of PTA members will review the legislation and research CAPTA resolutions and positions to determine whether the CAPTA body has supporting authorities. Then a report documenting the legislative support is written and distributed for presentation during the noticed meeting.

PRESENTING THE LEGISLATION DURING THE MEETING:

The unit President or Legislative Chair will read the Legislation and the legislation report aloud to the membership.
Proponents representing arguments for and against the legislation must be given equal time to speak.
Question and Answer: Both sides must be given the same amount of time to answer questions. Then the unit membership votes.

For more information refer to https://capta.org/focus-areas/advocacy/

These mandatory procedures are covered in detail in the PTA ToolKit.
If your PTA would like to make a recommendation on positions of the larger organization, follow the guidance in the ToolKit.