Registration

• Voting credentials are issued to delegates who have registered and paid the registration fee for legislative assembly no later than noon on October 6, and have been authorized by their local or council PTA president as a delegate.
• Local PTA delegates must be a member of the local PTA they represent. Council delegates must be a member of a local PTA in the council they represent.
• Delegates may only vote on behalf of one local PTA or council – the local PTA under which they have registered for legislative assembly, or its council.
• Voting credentials are non-transferable.
• The method for selecting delegates and alternates should be specified in a local or council PTA’s standing
• Local PTAs in good standing have delegates determined by the number of paid members at the end of the previous fiscal year. PTAs with up to 200 members are entitled to four delegates; one additional delegate may be added for each additional 100 members.
• Each council in good standing is entitled to have four delegates at legislative assembly.
• New local PTAs and councils chartered after June 30 of the previous year are allowed delegates based on the membership number recorded in the WSPTA office 15 days prior to legislative assembly.

Any PTA member is welcome to attend the WSPTA Legislative Assembly, but delegates have important responsibilities! Delegates are there representing their local or council PTA to speak for their students, families, staff, and communities. So, what do you need to do as a delegate?

• Homework: As a delegate, you will need to vote on the proposals, so start by familiarizing yourself with the proposed issues and resolutions in the Voters’ Guide.
• Gather Community Feedback: The next step is to find out how your community feels about the proposed issues and resolutions. See this week’s “Tip of the Week” article for more information about how to gather community feedback.
• Education: Use your community feedback as a starting point and then take into account what you learn from the education and Q&A sessions. You will also need to consider any amendments made. Your job is to vote in the best interests of your local community.
• Understand the Process: In order to fully participate, you need to understand the process of how speech and debate works, how to make motions, and how to submit an amendment. You can learn more in the How Things Work resource and the General Information webpage.
• Show Up and Vote: It is also critical that you attend the general sessions to represent your local PTA or council. WSPTA has to meet quorum in order to conduct business, so be sure the general sessions are on your calendar and you are able to login to participate. Then…vote!

While WSPTA is committed to providing as many accessibility features as possible for events, providing a remote option to attend events like Legislative Assembly is cost prohibitive. To understand the costs involved, it is important to understand the logistics of this event. Our general sessions are not outward focused presentations but interactive sessions with debate. Per RCW 24.03A.490(5) in order to host remote delegates, we would also need to provide an equitable opportunity for them to participate concurrently in the debate and voting portion of the event. This requires a significant increase in the equipment and expert labor to ensure that everyone is able to see, hear and be heard in the general sessions. After extensive research into options, we have been unable to find a vendor to provide these services for an amount that allows WSPTA to keep registration fees to a reasonable level for PTAs.

We have also experimented with fully virtual Legislative Assemblies. While the costs to attend were much more in line with the association’s budget, we found that we faced a choice between having to significantly restrict debate (2020, 2021) or having a debate process that was extremely confusing and frustrating for attendees (2023).  We also heard from participants that the virtual events failed to provide the interaction and collaboration they looked forward to at Legislative Assembly.

This year, we plan to take even further advantage of our in-person status by focusing on even more opportunities for hands-on workshops, stimulating guest speakers, and the robust collaboration that is a hallmark of Legislative Assembly.

During Legislative Assembly we will have the following accessibility options:

1. Quiet Room
2. Captioning for General Sessions including Debate
3. Interpretation (prior request required)
4. Pumping/Lactation facility

Please email events@wastatepta.org if there is an accessibility feature not on this list that would benefit you

Also, if you would like to be a part of decision making for future advocacy, please consider joining the Advocacy Committee by filling out your volunteer application here Volunteer Application.