Did you know that Advocacy Central offers ATPE members rapid access to your elected officials? Our grassroots platform makes it quick and easy for members to contact legislators about issues of concern. Right now, we're featuring advocacy campaigns to help you share input with U.S. Senators on the controversial nomination of Betsy DeVos to become U.S. Secretary of Education, and campaigns to promote ATPE's priorities for the 85th Texas Legislature, like saving payroll deduction and saying no to vouchers.

Advocacy Central automatically links you to your elected officials from right at home in your own zip code all the way up to the Oval Office. We provide background on issues at stake, plus talking points or sample messages you can modify or send "as is" to your legislators with just a couple of mouse clicks. You can search for any bill at the state or federal level, or read about key legislation that tops ATPE's watch list.

Grassroots communication is essential to the success of our advocacy program. Lawmakers want to hear directly from you – educators who live and vote in their own districts. If ATPE members don't speak up, voices on the other side of these issues will fill the void. Don't let those outside the education field determine what happens to your profession, your classrooms, or your students. You are the expert when it comes to public education, and your voice needs to be heard! That's why ATPE has worked hard to create tools that make communicating with your lawmakers as painless as possible.

Please explore Advocacy Central. Here are examples of what you can do today with only a few minutes of your valuable time:

• Call or write to U.S. Senators Cornyn and Cruz about the confirmation of Betsy DeVos. Share your own words, use our preformatted scripts for phone calls or electronic messages, or go with a combination of the two. It's your choice!
• Send a message to your Texas legislators asking them to oppose bills that take away educators' right to use payroll deduction for their ATPE dues. A sample phone script is also provided. These are some of the most offensive bills that have been filed, aimed clearly at silencing the voices of educators and discouraging them from being politically active. Lawmakers need to hear from you on how harmful and meritless these bills are.
• Better yet, find out if your senator or representative is one of the authors of the payroll deduction bills. We've got a message you can send them asking why they would want to pursue such unnecessary legislation to interfere with how educators spend their money.
• During National School Choice Week, lawmakers are being flooded with calls, letters, and personal visits from those who want the government to give away public tax dollars for private school vouchers and home schools instead of funding our public school system. ATPE members have long opposed all forms of vouchers. If you want legislators to consider both sides, then send a message today letting them hear from you, too! We've put the tools for this right at your fingertips.

We'll continue to highlight major issues and education bills on the move, but remember that you can use Advocacy Central to look up any bill and communicate with any of your elected officials at any time on any issue. It's quick and easy! If you need help, reach out to the ATPE Governmental Relations team at government@atpe.org. Thanks for helping our ATPE lobby team fight for your priorities!

Please note: You must be an ATPE member to log in to Advocacy Central. For further instructions on how to create your ATPE web account, please click here.