1. Be polite, courteous
and introduce every member of the family
a. Children - be ready to shake hands and say hello
b. Parents - remember your legislator may not have many
opportunities to interact with homeschool families so you are not
just there to talk about one bill... you
are representing all homeschool families
2. Be prepared to discuss
key aspects on the Bill in two to three concise sound bites
a. Your time with the legislator will go quickly
b. Leave them with a few key points that they will
remember and consider
3. Be ready to explain how
the Bill will help families
a. Personal stories and examples are an excellent way to
compel action
b. Legislators need to understand the way... we want them
to remember your family
and your story when they are ready to cast a vote
4. Recognize potential
objections to the Bill and be ready to alleviate concerns without being defensive or argumentative
a. Know the potential objections:
i. Does the current legislation really need
to be fixed?
ii. Will this legislation hurt struggling
schools?
iii. In a time of tight budgets and deficits
will this Bill raise costs?
b. Consider positive ways to address potential objections
i. This Bill is a simple but important
adjustment to the current law not a fundamental change
ii. This legislation does not impact
statewide education in anyway, instead
it makes things easier and less burdensome for struggling school systems
iii. This legislation will not raise
education costs... (remember homeschooling saves taxpayers money
because it is not subsidized by public
funds)
5. Be prepared to present
some key facts about homeschooling
a. There are over 2.4 million homeschool students in America
b. It is a growing trend across all income levels and
ethnicities with an estimated growth rate as high as 8%
c. On average homeschool students score 15-30% higher on
standardized tests than
public school students
d. Homeschool families are not dependent on tax money for
education -
homeschooling results in
estimated cost savings to taxpayers of over
$16 Billion
6. Do not be discouraged
or disappointed if you end up meeting with a Staff Member
a. It is very common for schedule and meeting changes to
result in Legislators having to designate a trusted Staffer to meet with you
b. Remember the Staffer is the eyes and ears of their
Legislator - treat them with the
same respect and they convey the message
No comments:
Post a Comment