You’re Invited! Join us for the 2021 Virtual Legislative Conference

Happy New Year! It seems like just yesterday that we were all gathered at the Westin in Old Towne Alexandria for the 2020 Legislative Conference. PTA Advocates were on Capitol Hill the last day it was opened to the public before the pandemic. So much has happened since then.

PTA has been busy advocating for COVID relief and a safe reopening of schools, as well as for funding and support for remote learning, child nutrition, social and emotional learning and broadband access for all. We have been affected deeply by the escalated racism and echoed the calls for social justice. Our political climate has been tumultuous and uncertain. PTA has been at the forefront of these issues.

2021 is a new year with new beginnings. In March, we will build on our advocacy efforts over the last year by hosting National PTA’s first-ever Virtual Legislative Conference, March 9-11. Our annual Legislative Conference (known fondly as LegCon) has always been my favorite event because it is PTA’s opportunity to use our voices to improve the lives of children and families. Advocacy is at the core of our association’s mission and vision. Our legacy in advocacy started almost 125 years ago, when our founders organized over 2,000 parents to speak on behalf of children and continued to lead the way in improving their lives. Through our members’ resilience and persistent commitment to advocacy, National PTA has played an integral role in landmark federal education legislation and policies.

At this year’s Virtual Legislative Conference, we will continue to empower the voices of our members towards making every child’s potential a reality. This year our theme is “PTA Takes Action Together for Every Child” and we will do just that when our members all across the nation meet virtually with their Federal Representatives and Senators to do more to support, advance and protect our nation’s youth.

We are thrilled to be able to offer a Virtual Hill Day to our LegCon attendees Wednesday, March 10. Meetings with Members of Congress may look and feel different this year, but Hill meetings remain an enormously important advocacy tool. In fact, during COVID we have seen a 45% increase in offices that are willing to participate in video-webinars, and a 35% increase in Members of Congress who are participating in virtual meetings themselves. National PTA has partnered with Soapbox Consulting to help ensure that your experience meeting with members and staff is seamless. To that end, if you register for LegCon 2021 by Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021, you will be automatically signed up to participate in Hill day.

As a constituent in your home states, your grassroots perspective is extremely valuable to elected officials and their staff. During our Virtual Hill Day, you will be able to inform lawmakers about which federal programs are serving our children well and which ones are failing them. Federal policymakers work to improve the lives of children and families and they want to hear directly from the people they represent.  Never underestimate the power of your voice!

We all want to improve education! LegCon will be the time to call upon the newly elected 117th Congress to take action and let them know how they can make a difference in the lives of all children. Several resources will be provided to our PTA Advocates to guide them through their meetings with Members of Congress. The Legislative Committee is particularly excited about the National PTA Public Priorities for the 117th Congress, which you can preview on the PTA website.

In addition to the Virtual Hill Day, the 2021 National PTA Virtual Legislative Conference will also include world-class virtual advocacy training, including wonderful workshops and PTA Advocacy Spotlights, which highlight PTA advocacy success stories from across the nation. Attendees will also enjoy prominent keynote speakers, a mental health panel, and our annual PTA Advocacy Award Ceremony. There will also be an opportunity for all Federal Legislative Chairs (FLC) to collaborate and share with fellow FLCs in a live networking session.

Attending #PTALegCon is also about improving and sharpening your advocacy skills! Regardless of your level of advocacy knowledge, we will have something for everyone.  Not only will you have the opportunity to hear from policy experts during our Workshops, you will hear from your peers that are experts in diverse areas of advocacy. This will include relevant topics such as safe and supportive schools, public school funding, diversity and inclusion, coalition building, school data reporting, child nutrition, and climate control. These experts will guide you through the policy landscape and equip you with the knowledge and tools necessary to effectively advocate on these issues.

You will leave LegCon better prepared to engage in policy discussions with lawmakers, advocates and members of your community. We are confident you will use this valuable information in your states to feel fully self-reliant and ready to speak for every child with one voice!

My fellow PTA advocates, don’t delay! Come “meet” with policymakers and learn how to shape public policy on Capitol Hill and in your own state. Don’t miss this chance to expand your knowledge and have your voices heard. Join us! Register today at PTA.org/LegCon to attend.


Yvonne Johnson (Delaware) is the National PTA Vice President of Advocacy.

My Parent, My Advocate, My Hero

The 2018-2019 National PTA Reflections theme is “Heroes Around Me”. As time goes on, with all the drama and strife in the news, there is an ever-increasing need for our children to have a hero in their life. Someone who they know and believe will be there to root for them, even when all odds are stacked against them. As an association, we advocate to make every child’s potential become a reality. Our members are children’s heroes—our parents, our teachers, our administrators and our community leaders.

Those that advocate for children are heroes. Advocates of our children and students are passionate and will fight with everything they have, till their last breath if they must. My hero, at least, did this for me. She advocated for me because of that belief in my potential, even when countless others did not. My hero is my mom, Rebecca Thomas, who is a former Advocacy Partner for the New York State PTA, past-president of the Monroe Woodbury SEPTA in Orange County, New York and the proud mother of a son with autism.

My mom’s advocacy efforts for families with students with special needs began over a decade ago when I was not receiving the adequate services that I needed as listed in my Individualized Education Plan (IEP). She directly advocated for improved services for me by calling and writing letters to members of the school board, the district superintendent and the state’s department of education.

Indirectly, after seeing how her advocacy benefited her child, my mom joined the local PTA because she wanted to help other parents learn how to become advocates for their own children. She served as an officer in the local PTA, as well as on the district’s council and the regional board. In 2008, she became an active member and leader with another organization, Parents United Learning the Special Education System (PULSES), to help parents navigate the special education system and advocate for services for their children.

I am now attending college online at Southern New Hampshire University and pursing a degree in Human Services because of the advocacy efforts of my mom. In addition, I am serving on the Illinois and National PTA Board of Directors where I continue her work to advocate for all children, especially those with special needs. I do this knowing the level of impact advocacy has had on my own life.

By advocating for my education, my mom has also become an advocate for every child to receive a high-quality education. She believes, as all PTA members believe, that with a high-quality education, all children can lead a meaningful life, regardless of what challenges they face. I feel that the work she accomplished through the PTA has helped give me the foundation and support critical to succeeding in not just school but in life. Now, who is your hero?