Advocacy and Legislation

The National PTA began over 100 years ago with the intent of affecting positive policy change on children’s issues. Historically the PTA has been instrumental in securing polio vaccinations, hot lunches in schools and access to public education for all children. Most recently in Washington State, the PTA played a major role in the passage of Simple Majority. Today, the PTA advocates for the safety, health and welfare of all children.

CKHS PTSA members are part of the Washington State PTA and National PTA and can access these websites for a wealth of information on current educational issues, how to become more involved and to sign up for legislative bulletins and updates online. In addition, CKHS PTSA strives to keep parents informed of local issues affecting our schools and youth.

WSPTSA Top 5 Priority Issues

What are the Top 5 Priority Issues?

Every year WSPTA’s legislative platform is determined by its the membership, not the Board of Directors. At the beginning of the school year Each fall, CKHS PTSA members have the opportunity to complete a survey to identify their top legislative issues. The Legislative Chair and/or delegate(s) take the results to the Legislative Assembly in October where the top 5 issues are identified and become the lobbying focus for the upcoming year.

Basic Education Funding

The Washington State PTA shall initiate and/or support legislation and/or policies that strive to redefine and appropriately fund a new basic education system in accordance with the demands of education reform and our global economy. 2. that support a new definition of Basic Education focused on improving student outcomes, instead of inputs such as seat time. 3. which focus on meeting the needs of all children according to their individual potential and in alignment with their personal goals 4. that increase the transparency, flexibility, equity and accountability of the entire system.

Math and Science Curriculum and Education

The Washington State PTA shall initiate and/or support legislation and/or policies that strengthen math and science education by 1) providing students access to curricula that has clear examples and explanations, aligns with the new WA math and science standards and national math panel recommendations which include a focused, coherent progression that emphasizes key topics to prepare students for success in authentic algebra and geometry and simultaneously develops conceptual understanding; computational fluency in basic number facts, standard algorithms, and fractions; and problem-solving skills. Parent involvement in all phases of math/science curriculum adoption is critical. 2) implementing initiatives to attract, train, and retain qualified math/science teachers 3) providing students who are able to excel in math/science opportunities to advance quickly.

Washington State Assessment System

The Washington State PTA shall initiate and/or support legislation and/or policies that improve the Washington State Assessment System to make it more efficient and focused on student learning, while preserving high standards. This shall be accomplished by requiring the assessment system to 1) provide nationally comparable individual student progress data, 2) provide diagnostic assessments to determine student needs, 3) measure individual student growth in a manner that is reliable and valid, 4) provide results quickly so that they can be used to guide instruction during the current school year. The assessment system must also be cost and time efficient, while continuing to meet education testing requirements from the federal government.

CORE 24 Framework

The Washington State PTA shall initiate and/or support legislation and/or policies that endorse the Core 24 framework proposed by the State Board of Education. This proposal is contingent upon the provision of adequate, sustainable, supplemental funding from the State.

Teacher Compensation

The Washington State PTA shall initiate and/or support legislation and/or policies that 1. eliminate outdated inequities based on the grandfathering that occurred when the current salary schedule was adopted. 2. promote teacher compensation agreements that have sufficient resources and flexibility to recruit and retain highly qualified professionals 3. base realistic pay on comparables considering state labor market factors, plus characteristics that have been demonstrated to contribute to improved student outcomes.