5 Reasons to Meet with Your Elected Officials
They represent you and need to hear about your needs as an educator.
They do not know higher education like you do and need your expertise & perspective.
Information from their constituents are very valuable to them.
They can use your personal story to support or oppose legislation.
Thank them for their service and encourage them.
It's always good to build a relationship before you need it. This summer is a great time to meet with your Texas Representative and Senator and share the needs in Texas higher education before the Legislative Session begins next January. Next year, based on the House and Senate Interim Reports, the Legislature will possibly discuss these topics next session: reskilling/upskilling, cost of higher education, retaining faculty, enrollment trends and expanding research funds. What is almost certain to be discussed is tenure and U.S. History requirements. (See article where Lt. Governor Patrick announced his desire to "eliminate tenure at all public universities in Texas" and revoke tenure for any professor who teaches CRT.)
YOUR OPINION MATTERS
Legislators want to hear from their constituents and from experts in their field - that's you! By meeting with your legislators, you'll build a relationship and hopefully help influence their future decisions on higher education issues. Besides, you may also learn something and have fun.
Here are the steps to meet with your elected officials.
Find out who represents you here.
Call to schedule an appointment. You can meet in their local or TX Capitol office.
Set an agenda. Your meeting will be approximately 20 minutes, so have an agenda and, if possible, a personal story, to illustrate your point. You can share TACT's Legislative Agenda if you want some talking points.
Legislative staff are very influential. If you'll be meeting with a staffer, take note of their name and contact information.
Send a thank you email/note. Be sure to thank them for their time, which is another opportunity to offer your expertise in any matter they need information about higher education.
