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GOVERNMENT RELATIONS |
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MASCA Government Relations Advocating for our students, our schools, and our profession Action Alert! Support the "Put Counselors Where They're Needed Act" - - - - State Links - - - - Federal Links ASCA and MASCA's joint legislative initiatives Four observations about political advocacy Contact the Government Relations Chairperson ASCA's Legislative Affairs website Featured Action Alert ! Support School Counselors! Support the "Put Counselors Where They're Needed Act" Write to your Congressperson in the House of Representatives in Washington, DC today! It's easy using NACAC's online Legislative Action Center - Click here to link to the site.
NACAC's Legislative Action Center - This is an easy and effective way to take action and advocate for important legislation. Contact Elected Officials - Find contact information for elected officials, including the President, Members of Congress, Governors, State Legislators, and local officials. Communicating with Elected Officials: Tips on calling, writing and emailing elected officials STATE GOVERNMENT Contact Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick A list of Massachusetts State Senators and contact information A list of the members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives and contact information Contact Massachusetts State Senate President Therese Murray Contact Massachusetts Speaker of the House Salvatore F. DiMasi FEDERAL GOVERNMENT Your Senators - Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D - MA)
John F.Kerry (D - MA) Your Representative in the House of Representatives - ASCA and MASCA together are advocating for the following legislative initiatives at the federal level: - The Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Program (ESSCP) is the only federal program exclusively devoted to helping schools hire and train more professional school counselors. - ESSCP has been targeted for elimination by the Bush administration since 2003 and is targeted for elimination again this year. - Because of a funding trigger in the law, high schools are unable to receive funding unless more than $40 million is appropriated for the program. - Due in part to the actions of MASCA, ASCA, NEACAC and NACAC members last year, Congress provided 48.6 million for Fiscal Year 2008!!! - The number for the U.S. Capitol switchboard is 202-224-3121. 2. HOUSE of REPRESENTATIVES --- Ask your Congressperson in the House of Representatives to cosponsor the the “Reducing Barriers to Learning” Act (HR 3419), and the “Mental Health in Schools” Act ((HR 3430). - The number for the U.S. Capitol switchboard is 202-224-3121. 3. HOUSE of REPRESENTATIVES and SENATE --- Include Counselors in No Child Left Behind School Improvement and Professional Development Programs. - The number for the U.S. Capitol switchboard is 202-224-3121. Four observations about political advocacy - 1.) Elected officials and members of their staff need input from well-informed constituents and actually depend on them for information. And for education and counseling issues, who better to guide and education them than MASCA members? 2.) Legislators want to help their constituents and they will listen real stories about real people in their districts about how the laws they make and the budgets they pass affect them. We are the ones who can tell these stories. 3.) Politicians actually keep track of how many contacts they get from the people in their districts. Some reply regularly to calls, emails, and letters and others less often, but they all keep close track of them. A phone call can take less than 5 minutes. Imagine if a state legislator's office received phone calls on a specific issue from all of the counselors (and some of their friends and family) in their district. 4.) Politicians would rather meet with constituents in their local, district offices than on Capitol Hill or Beacon Hill. What is most convenient for us in more convenient for them and can be more effective. With your help, we will continue to advocate for the initiatives mentioned above as well as for other legislation at the federal and state levels that support our students, our schools, and our profession. There are many ways to get involved and there are many levels of involvement. We also don't have to be involved in every issue to make a difference. The important thing is to take some actions on key issues and to take those actions together. For more information about MASCA's legislative advocacy initiatives, please contact Brad MacGowan at bmacgowan@comcast.net. |
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