Dear Parents—
On Wednesday, March 31, at 1pm, the Joint Committee on Ways and Means Education Subcommittee will hold a hearing on HB5514, the state school funds budget. The virtual public school parent voice needs to be heard in the debate surrounding education in our state. Please do your part and register to testify at this hearing to tell legislators about the importance of virtual public education to your family.
If you’ve never testified before, it's no problem, email us and we can walk you through how it’s done. Below are some points you can include in your testimony.
How to deliver testimony in support of full-time virtual public charter schools:
Thank the subcommittee co-chairs and the members of the subcommittee for the opportunity to testify on HB5514 – the State School Fund
State your full name and the city where you live
Say that you are the parent of a student who is enrolled in a full-time virtual public charter school or who is seeking to enroll
Briefly share your virtual school story and what this option means to your child(ren) and your family
Tell subcommittee members that full-time virtual public charter schools are proven, established programs that have state-certified teachers and curriculum – not programs that were quickly put in place to respond to mandated distance learning
Tell subcommittee members that thousands of students are being denied enrollment in the school of their choice due to the 3% enrollment cap on full-time virtual public charter schools
Remind subcommittee members that during this legislative session they agreed to focus on the principles of fairness, equity and inclusion – due to the enrollment cap school districts are denying parents the opportunity to enroll their children in the school of their choice – which is not fair, equitable, or inclusive
Urge legislators to raise or eliminate the enrollment cap so that more students can take advantage of this important education option
Finally, ask legislators to fully fund full-time virtual public charter schools during the 2021-2023 biennium
Keep it short – you will likely only have 2 minutes to deliver your testimony
To register to testify, click on the Joint Committee on Ways and Means Education Subcommittee link and fill out the requested information. Once you’re registered, the subcommittee will send you the Zoom link or phone number you will use to testify.
If you can’t testify or would prefer to submit written testimony, you can click this link to submit written testimony to the subcommittee.
Please do your part. Share your story. Register to testify at the Joint Committee on Ways and Means Education Subcommittee hearing today!