How State Associations Can Lead the Way

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How State Associations Can Lead the Way

• Increasing Visibility and Influencing Policy at
  the State and Local Levels

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Professional Membership

• Products
• Tools of the trade
• Resources
• Services
• Professional Development
• Professional meetings
• Workshops
• Where Does Advocacy Fit?

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Advocacy and AAHPERD

• Strategic Goal 1 To Increase Advocacy Efforts
• Promote Active, Creative, and Healthy Lifestyle
• Provide a process and procedure for members and
  collaborating partners to conduct advocacy
• Educate policy makers on the importance of
  contributions of our professions to society
• Provide resources to promote and disseminate
  programs in health, physical education,
  recreation, dance and sport
• Expand recognition for Alliance programs
• AAHPERD AWARDS ADVOCACY GRANTS

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AAHPERD Public and Legislative Affairs Committee

• Provides member input to advocacy initiatives and
  public relations efforts of the national office
• Committee Members
• Monica Lounsbery, Chair, NAGWS
• Marybell Avery, BOG Liaison
• JinJin Yang, NASPE
• David Thomas, AAALF
• Josey Templeton, Southern District
• Pat Van Volkinburg, Midwest District
• Debra Ballinger, Eastern District
• Nicole Smith, Student Member

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Advocacy

• Advocacy is about informing others
• Advocacy is about influencing change
• Knowledge
• Perspective
• Policy
• Effective advocacy is a process not an event

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Potential Impact of Advocacy

• Effective and Consistent Advocacy
• The potential to influence desired policy
  outcomes
• Increased name recognition
• Increased visibility
• Leading Organization
• Higher retention and recruitment of members

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Developing an Advocacy Plan

• AAHPERD Priorities
• Using Federal Legislative Issues to Focus State
  and Local Advocacy Efforts
• Identify Pertinent State and Local
• Issues

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AAHPERD Advocacy Priorities

• Addressing the major public health issue of
  obesity and physical inactivity in the U.S.
• Promoting improved school health and physical
  education programs
• Guaranteeing equitable access to health care,
  sport opportunities, and recreation programs for
  all citizens in the U.S. regardless of ethnicity,
  gender, or disability

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Using Federal Legislation

• No Child Left Behind Act
• Unintended consequences of NCLB
• Advocate for state interpretation of the
  legislation
• Language that would not allow requirements in
  physical education to be sacrificed to afford
  more time in the curriculum to meet NCLB
  requirements
• Inform state legislators of S-1276 which amends
  NCLB to include physical education

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Using Federal Legislation

• Re-authorization of the Child Nutrition Act
• requires that each local educational agency
  participating in a program authorized by the
  Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act or
  the Child Nutrition Act of 1966, establish a
  local school wellness policy by June 30, 2006.
• Serve on school wellness boards
• Serve as experts in residence ready to provide
  assistance

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Tracking Legislative Action in Your State

• Legislative web sites
• Search for bills related to physical activity and
  healthy lifestyle
• Track related bills and look for opportunities to
  advocate
• Keep an organized tabbed binder of related
  legislative issues
• Track progress
• Examine, prioritize, develop and implement
  advocacy strategies
• If youre starting from ground zero Get to know
  your legislators!
• Essential tip Identify and meet with
  legislative champions of physical activity and
  healthy lifestyle
• Introduce yourself, your association, and ask how
  you and your state association might assist
  him/her in their efforts

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Taken from http//www.leginfo.ca.gov/bil2lawd.html
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Considerations

• Develop a structure to support sustained advocacy
  
• Develop and communicate accurate and meaningful
  messages
• Tools of the Trade
• Appropriately target advocacy
• Provide a process and procedure to collaborate
  with other organizations

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Developing a Structure for Advocacy

• Committee formation
• Continuity of efforts is key
• Setting Priorities
• Developing an advocacy plan
• Identify strategies
• Evaluate efforts
• Refine advocacy efforts

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Developing Meaningful Accurate Messages

• Remember messages should be designed to
• Inform
• Persuade
• Messages should be
• Clear
• Succinct
• Accurate
• Data-based information is often most compelling
• Professional literature, state and local
  agencies,
• Meaningful to the audience

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Communicating Your Message

• Face to face meetings
• Talking points information bulletin
• Pamphlets other leave behind materials
• Presentations
• Web site information
• Emails
• Form Letters

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Tools of the Trade

• Advocacy Legislative CenterAAHPERD
• SPEAK
• CDC-YRBSS
• CDC-BRFSS
• Professional Literature
• State and Local Data
• Create bulletins
• Talking points
• Advocacy kits

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Who Should Advocacy Efforts Target?

• Policy makers
• Legislators, state superintendents of school,
  state school boards, teachers unions, local
  leaders, etc
• Those who can influence policy makers
• Parents
• Students
• Teachers school administrators
• Medical professionals
• Rotary clubs, PTAs, chambers of commerce

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Developing a Process and Procedure for
Collaboration

• Advocacy opportunities through collaboration
• Action for Healthy Kids
• Governors Councils
• National Coalition for Promoting Physical
  Activity
• State and local health divisions
• Make sure your association is represented on
  other boards
• Consider adoption of bylaws which address this
  need

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Final Thoughts

• Now is the time!
• Our field needs advocacy efforts which
  incorporate CPR
• Credibility
• Persistence
• Resolve

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CPR Advocacy and Fruits of Labor

• Spotlight on
• South Carolina

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CPR Advocacy Efforts Round Table Discussion

• Current status of advocacy
• Goals of advocacy
• Identification of barriers
• Strategies for overcoming barriers