The legislature is in session; make sure legislators hear YOUR voice

The Arizona legislature is in session, and as legislators begin voting on important issues that impact our schools, you need to make sure your voice as a citizen and as an educator is heard.

One way to make your voice heard on important bill impacting public education is to access the legislature's Request to Speak system. Expect More Arizona, a non-partisan non-profit education advocacy organization, can help you create an account. The Request to Speak (RTS) system in an online tool that lets you give legislators feedback on active bills. You do not have to speak as the name implies. Instead, you can use the system to show that you support or oppose a bill and provide your reason why. It is one of the easiest ways to share your feedback directly with legislators, all from the comfort of your home. The names of those who log in either for or against a bill, along with their comments, are all part of the official record that follows the bill as it moves through the process. Simply click this link to provide Expect More Arizona with your name and home email address and they will create an account for you that you'll be able to access online. Expect More Arizona will track important bills and let you know when to take action.

Register today and Expect More Arizona will be in touch throughout the legislative session to let you know when to weigh in on education bills. Because Arizona law prevents the use of school resources to advocate for or against legislation, you must use your home email address, and only weigh-in on issues during non-work hours. Want to say something at lunch? Have at it. During your prep? Not so much.

Your comments are important . . . and critical. When education measures are proposed, legislators need to hear from those on the front lines, and they need to know how those bills will affect teaching and learning. When a legislative committee meets, members see a list of name of people who have registered an opinion, if they wish to speak, who they represent, and any comments. This information is also available when searching past committee agendas, which gives legislators an understanding of who supported or opposed a bill when determining how to vote.

Your voice matters and is important to the future of education in Arizona. Make sure it's heard.