Legislative advocacy continues year round to ensure adequate state and federal support for public education, and the enactment of legislation consistent with the positions taken by locally-elected school board members. WSSDA's governmental relations staff is actively involved in every legislative session and constantly works behind the scenes with the SPI, the State Board of Education, governor's office, all educational organizations and associations, in addition to the various ad hoc committees that address public education issues.

The Association's specific legislative activities include:

Legislative Assembly: Delegates from each school board from throughout the state meet each September to adopt WSSDA's legislative agenda for the coming session. Delegates vote upon 50-80 different proposals submitted by school boards and by WSSDA's elected Legislative Committee. Proposals are then prioritized by the delegates, the Legislative Committee and finally by WSSDA's Board of Directors. (See Calendar of Events)

Legislative Conference: Held each February, this conference helps school board legislative representatives hone their advocacy skills and meet one-to-one with legislators to support proposals passed by the Legislative Assembly. This conference is held jointly in Olympia with WASA. (See Calendar of Events)

Impact: WSSDA's legislative newsletter is published weekly during legislative sessions. This publication identifies and explains the legislative issues that affect the operation of Washington's schools, especially those issues of greatest interest to school directors. Impact content is also available through this web site during Legislative session.

Federal Issues: School board representatives from every congressional district serve on the Federal Relations Network to assist National School Boards Association (NSBA) in its advocacy efforts with our congressional delegation in Washington, D.C., and 20-30 members annually attend the NSBA's FRN conference in our nation's capital in February.