Advocacy Action Network | February

001Okay. Um, happy Thursday, February 12th. Welcome to this month's Advocacy Action Network meeting. Um, we are Logan and Cynthia. Um, as you know, we don't have an intro slide anymore. I think you know who we are by this point in time. And, um, for this month's network meeting, um, we are specifically going to be focused on testimony training. Um, this is a topic that came up for this group last month. um at the beginning of January, a real desire to have um a little bit more of a specific and detailed training as to how you all as school directors can prepare for um and then also deliver um testimony to the legislature. So, that's basically what we're going to be focused on today. Um we're going to start with some initial just sort of general

002conversation, move into some training where we're going to be thinking through um and understanding what the process is for testimony. um as well as then the development and delivery. We'll have some time for reflections at the end as well before we wrap up. So before we dive into um some of the specifics, I wanted to open with just a question um for you all knowing that the process of delivering testimony can be quite intimidating um and honestly is still for Cynthia and I um pretty regularly as we give testimony all the time. Um, so I just wanted to ask um this general question in your perspective, what do you think makes public speaking feel challenging in highstakes settings such as, I don't know, a committee of the legislature? >> Marica, you got your hand up.

003What do you think? >> I do. Um, I think I saw this last night. uh we had over a dozen uh people making public comment and sometimes when you're speaking about a pretty high stake issue um it's common uh for people to kind of become so impassioned that they lose control of their emotions and and that can really hurt them when the testimony itself is so limited in time uh that they're trying to make, you know, they're they're trying to make their statement and they're overcome with emotion which you know can can strengthen it to some regard but can also make it really tough for the person uh you know providing testimony. >> Thanks Marissa. That's good perspective. >> Rich, I see you're off mute. Were you going to add something? >> Well uh for

004me it's not having enough of the facts in the background. It's more emotional speaking versus factual. Um because I always assume the other people know more about it than I do. >> That's interesting. I would say when you're when you're giving testimony in this space, at least to the legislature, um one of the things that you hear Cynthia and I say probably too much sometimes, but you all are the experts. And when we think about who like our legislature is and the many many issues that are coming at them every single day, um rest assured you probably know much more um about the topic at hand than they do and you also have the specific sort of context from your own district to say like look here's how we think this issue is going to

005impact us and then you can even cite some specifics from your district. Um so you know I I would say that's a really good point and um you all are the experts and that is the whole purpose of you all coming to them is to say look like you know you're proposing this idea but here's how this is going to impact us good or bad. Anyone else want to add to this question? What makes public speaking feel challenging in high stakes environments? I think I'll also Oh, go ahead, Marissa. >> No, go ahead. I I was just thinking about the audience that you're presenting to. Uh sometimes if you've got a favorable audience, it can feel a lot less tense than if you're speaking in front of a crowd that you feel is only listening

006to respond rather than listening to understand. >> Good ad. Cynthia. >> Yeah, I was just going to add like sometimes it's even intimidating before the public speaking, like if you're um testifying remotely, right? Like making sure you're in the proper room or if you're testifying in person, like finding um the correct space. And so anyways, I just I just add to that cuz I know that those are some comments that I heard of even before the public speaking, it can be intimidating to come into those spaces. Mhm. >> Yeah. >> I'll throw in something. I think sometimes, well, maybe more than sometimes, um, especially type A personality, you're you're worst enemy. Um, before, during, after, of self-critique, I think, um, is that always good enough? >> I'm with you, Jane. I am with you on

007that. Um I I definitely think that about myself often. Um and I think the other thing I would add to this too is I just think about the the complex sort of nature that goes into assembling any piece of legislation. Um for example um if you are speaking on a bill um the legislative sponsor is likely in the room maybe even on the committee in front of you and you know there's got to be some reason why they brought the bill forward. um meaning they probably or likely heard about it from their constituents or from a community or an advocacy group. And you know, while every single bill has the opportunity to benefit one group, it also has the potential to harm another. And so I just sort of also think about the complexity of

008the issues that our legislators are having to navigate in hearing, you know, multiple sides um of a conversation. And I don't know, that's just always something that stands out for me is, you know, how h how big is this issue? Who does it stand to impact? Um, and making sure that even in the midst of sort of that challenge in your head, making sure that you're getting up there and adequately and amply representing your district, um, in our case, the state, um, when we're representing WASDA, making sure that we're really representing the impacts of of schools and of education. and as all these bills are being moved through. >> Okay. >> One more thing that I'll throw out there for me and I don't know this is for others but I think about when we

009talk with our legislators whether it's testifying you know as an in front of a whole committee or you know oneonone is the the the weight of our our actions and its impact on the kids. And to me that always plays. is like um uh what is the word I want to use the significance I think when I think of like having discourse with um whether it's legislators or any person that is of power when it's about adult decisions it doesn't weigh as much or I I don't think it weighs on my shoulder as much but because we're speaking on behalf of those who have the least amount of voice it to me the weight is greater and so which to me well like I said type A that adds on to that whole uh extra

010burden that I I think I carry feeling like every action has a significant impact. >> Thank you Jane. Um all right good thank you all for um engaging and indulging that. just wanted to sort of get our minds turning um before we jump in um to a little bit more training. So, we're going to start um just in helping to learn together about sort of the process um what does testimony look like? What do the different committees look like? And then also um just sort of the formula that we think about when we when we're crafting testimony here at WASDA um and some information that we want to make sure we pass along your way. So, um, we've got a couple different slides on process. Um, in particular, some things to think about before you

011even develop your testimony. You're at a point where, you know, you know that you're going to speak on an issue and maybe you've decided that um with your board superintendent team. Uh maybe you're going to speak on behalf of your district. Uh maybe you're not going to speak on behalf of your district, but you're going to speak on behalf of yourself as an individual. Maybe you're even going to speak on behalf of WASDA, meaning you've partnered with Cynthia and I and um you're willing to be the the active voice um speaking on behalf of WASDA as an organization. Lots of sort of uh lanes that you can take to decide that you're going to give testimony. But before you actually draft and deliver that, there are a couple things that you should be thinking about.

012Um first is like what committee are you walking into? Um, every committee has its own structure, its own leadership, sort of its own protocols around testimony. And, you know, these aren't things that are necessarily written down anywhere. So, um, you can find some of this information on the legislative website, but if you're ever not sure about any of this stuff, don't hesitate to give Cynthia and I a text or a call or an email. We'll be happy to help you think through. Um but some things you should know about uh before you walk into any particular committee is um which committee is it, right? Um that's always an important way to start. And the reason that you're going to want to know that is um a couple. One, because of the different rules and sort

013of processes that I just mentioned, but also because one of the technical things that you'll want to do um in the beginning of every testimony is make sure that you're addressing committee leadership. And so you'll want to know who's the chairperson on that committee and then who is the ranking ranking member of the opposite party on that committee. Um we generally would recommend that you address both of those folks by name in testimony. Um it's just sort of the process. Um it shows respect and shows that you're addressing your comments to both parties of the legislature. Um, the other reason why it's important to really know what committee you're in front of is it's always good research to know if your legislator sits on that committee or not. Um, if they are, you might want

014to give them a shout out. Um, you know, I've heard some uh school districts, for example, in the Senate Education Committee um throw in a shout out to Senator Krishna Dawson um a couple weeks ago. And so you may just want to highlight your own legislator's name in there um just to sort of get their ears perked up um before you dive into your testimony. Um additionally, time limits. Um time limits do exist um in committees and those time limits will sort of be dependent on the agenda that's in front of the committee or the issue that's in front of the committee. And so with that, you're always um it's always going to be better if you have multiple versions of your testimony planned and ready to go just in case. Um you it is

015most likely that you'll know your time limit before you're actually up on the dis um or if you're testifying virtually called into the Zoom presentation room. Um on average, I normally plan for 90 seconds for testimony. Some committees will give you 2 minutes, other committees will give you 60 seconds. Um, again, all of that is dependent on the issue that's in front of them and how many other testifiers are signed in on that particular bill. Um, for example, there was a bill heard not last week but the week before that maybe had 30 or 35 different testifiers included um all wanting to speak and the committee had only allocated 30 minutes for that particular public hearing. So that meant that the you know sort of time limit was set on the low end which is

016generally 60 seconds. I don't think I've ever seen a committee go below 60 seconds as a limit. Um, and that also means that sometimes you might not be called up to testify if there are so many testifiers um, and potentially a time limit on that particular public hearing. So anyway, the the long story short here is plan a 90-second testimony unless um, you know otherwise that it's going to be shorter and um, either be prepared to cut um, if you find out that it's a 60-second um, time limit or have a second version that you can rehearse and get out in 60 seconds. Last thing that's important to think about is just how you plan to testify. Um, will you be testifying orally or verbally? Um, or will you be doing written testimony? And, um,

017I sort of asked on here, is one more important than the other? And I would answer that question by saying that generally all testimony is is good and all testimony helps to get your point across. And I think how we sort of decide whether or not we should testify orally or in writing is, you know, how high of a priority that issue is for us as an organization. You know, WASDA has a very formal process of determining legislative priorities at a district level. That may be a little bit more nuanced um for you all if you're working with your um board colleagues trying to decide how to testify. Um but there are multiple options of coming to testify either in person or on Zoom um or testifying in writing. Um one thing I would note

018if you are going the written route um there is sort of the option on the legislative website where you can submit your written testimony that's great. I would always recommend that you follow up in writing or sorry in email um containing that written testimony to the uh all the members of that particular committee. And one of the things that we can link to you as a follow-up to this presentation um we've linked it in in session a couple times, but in case you don't have it, we have an Excel spreadsheet that has all of the email addresses for all legislators um to include their staff as well. And then we also have tabs along the bottom of the Excel spreadsheet that pull out legislators by committee. We don't have every single committee on there, but

019we do have the education committees, the budget committees, um sort of the primary spaces that we anticipate education related testimony would wind up. So anyway, always good to follow up with your testimony in an email. Um because when you do submit through that written space on the legislative website, it sort of goes into uh a place where all the written testimony goes and legislators will have to actively go in there to look at written testimony versus if you also send it an email, it then comes to their email box. So much easier for your legislators to see. Cynthia, >> yeah, I'll just add to that. Um, let's say you do sign up to testify orally and you don't get a chance to, you're always like welcome to submit your written testimony. Um, so I really

020just want to call that out if if you don't get the chance to go up to the podium. Um, and then secondly, written is really great also if you have if you're going to be speaking about specific research, specific numbers, like if you know that your oral testimony is going to be a lot longer, um, written is really great. So, I just wanted to add those two things. >> Thanks, Cynthia. Before we move on to the next section, um any questions or maybe additions um that anyone would like to either ask or add to the information here. Okay. All right. Um, a couple of tips that we would provide for you while you're drafting testimony, whether that's with us or your board superintendent team or with yourself, um, is first, um, it's important to reach

021out to legislators to let them know your position. Um, you don't necessarily need to do that every time you're providing testimony or reach out to every legislator. But most importantly, one of the things that we really try to do here at WASDA is um, we reach out to the bill sponsor if we are not testifying in support of their bill. Um, it's always good to give someone a heads up if you're opposing their idea. Um, and the bill sponsor is um, the one who outside of the committee that you're speaking to sort of has the ability and the influence as the sort of lead for that bill to really take your comment seriously and work to change change their bill to alleviate bad impacts, etc. So, if you're going to testify in opposition to a

022bill, it's always good to just send an email. It doesn't have to belong to the bill sponsor. Just letting them know, hey, um, you know, I'm so and so representing so and so. I'm going to testify in opposition to your bill for, you know, these three reasons. Blank, blank, blank. Um, let me know if you have any questions. You don't have to give them your whole testimony. Um, but it's always nice to give legislators a heads up. We'd also add that it's important to practice your delivery. Um, obviously this tip is not relevant if you're submitting and writing, um, other than maybe just rereading what you write a couple of times, but if you're going to be delivering testimony orally, um, it's just always good to make sure that your message actually reads and sounds

023the way you'd want it to. Um, and especially if you're writing for a particular time limit, you could just set a timer on the side of you and make sure that you're getting your testimony out within that particular time period. Um there are some committees that might let you go over by a couple of seconds. Um there are other committees and other times where when the time limit hits, your mic gets muted um and you are done. So um really just important to make sure you're verbalizing your testimony out loud before you're actually delivering it in front of the committee. That will also help you to um reach our third tip, which is to try try your best to present with confidence. Um during the hearing, you should be speaking clearly and confidently. Again, you

024are the expert um on the testimony that you're bringing forward to our legislators. Um as a part of this um just be prepared for questions. Um legislators don't ask questions to every single testifier. Um, but it would just be important to know that whatever it is that you're saying, um, try your best to be prepared for whatever questions and maybe even think ahead and try to anticipate some questions that could come up as a result of your testimony and, you know, think through in a in a bullet point or two how you might answer those. Um, we have some some content later in the presentation um, that actually goes deeper into, you know, engaging in questions with legislators, but um, I'll stop there because I see Cynthia wants to jump in. Yeah, and also I'll

025just say that it's okay if you don't know the question. It's better to not confuse legislators and just say I can get back to you or I will email um or I will follow up versus giving an unclear answer. Um so just wanted to put a pin there. >> Great. Thanks Cynthia. Any questions on this content? Okay. So, when it comes to actually drafting your testimony, um, we essentially like to think of it as sort of a threepoint formula, if you will. Um, you've got your introduction. Um, and the introduction is definitely the most technical part of testimony. Um, and so there's a couple things you'll want to do in the intro. Um, and we talked about the first one earlier, and that's making sure that you're addressing the committee leaders in your testimony. Um,

026you'll want to clearly state your name and affiliation if relevant for the record. And you'll want to very clearly state your position on the bill and clearly reference what bill number you're speaking on. Um, I did add just some examples here in red so that you can see what's meant by that. Again, this part of testimony is pretty technical, so just thought I would throw out on the slide here. Um, for example, when you address committee leaders, um, this would be the Senate Education Committee that I pulled this from. Um, we would start the testimony with Chair Wellman, ranking member Harris, and members of the committee. Um, Chair Wellman is Senator Wellman. She's the chair of the committee. Um, Paul Harris is the ranking Republican member on the education committee in the Senate. And members

027of the committee would be everyone else. um for stating your name and affiliation. I think that's pretty clear. Um but just to make it extra clear, I just added here in red um for the record um I'm Logan here on behalf of the Washington State School Directors Association. And then you'll see in the next point um in support or opposition to bill blank blank blank blank. I don't know what Senate Bill 111 is, but maybe we'd support it, maybe we wouldn't. I just made that number up. Um, so anyway, just make sure that your um introduction section has all three of these pieces in it. It's generally pretty technical. There's not much room for changes, if you will. This would be a space in terms of adding some personality to it. Um, if you did

028want to address, you know, your legislator who might be on the committee, um, or whatever, this would be the space to jump in and do that. So after you've introduced yourself, um let the committee know who you are, what position you're taking on the particular bill, um you essentially have a chunk of space for your core messages. And in this particular section, there's a couple of things that you'll want to take into consideration. And first, that would be just to clearly state the issue that's that's at hand and why it's important to you. um that could involve um some perspective or data from your district, but why is this issue important? Um and then you'll want to follow that with a couple of specific reasons for why you would support or oppose this particular legislation.

029Um again, you'll you'll remember that there's time limits on testimony. And when you generally think about testimony, it's better to maybe throw out one or two really solid points than it is to have a laundry list of points that all might blend together um or be a little a little bit less specific. Um so just think about maybe one, two, or three very specific reasons um as to why you're in front of the committee for this particular testimony. And with those reasons, think about what the real life impacts are to your district. So, it may be that you want to pull out some data um that you can get from your district office or some budget numbers or perspective as to, hey, this bill would, you know, represent a such and such number of millions

030of dollars um of a budget cut to my district. Um or maybe adding a brief story or example that you've been able to gather from, you know, talking with your superintendent or staff in your district or students in your district. um as all of the details of that um will be time dependent, right? Knowing that you've got 90 seconds or two minutes maximum, uh make sure you're still staying within that time frame. But really important as you're bringing these messages forward that you're bringing that lived experience and real life impact with you as that's what's really going to make a difference for legislators. The last thing I'll say on this front is we're really good at it in education, but just to make sure that we're not using acronyms and other jargon, making sure that

031we're using short and clear sentences, plain language as much as possible. Um, these are sometimes some of the questions that get asked from legislators is, "Hey, you said MSOC. Can you remind me what MSOC is?" Um, so anyway, those are some of the things I would say here. Um any I would ask if there's any questions on this, but also I I know there are some of you that have given testimony before. What else would you add that comes to mind for you as you're framing um particular testimony? Um and then also what questions might you have about this? Okay, that's fine if there's none. Just wanted to make sure we're asking. Okay. Um and then as you move to sort of the closing section of your testimony, um you'll want to reiterate your ask.

032What do you want them to do? What do you want legislators to do with this information? Um for example, if this is a bill that you're supporting and it's you're in a public hearing, um you will want your legislators to vote yes on Senate Bill 1111. um or you know maybe you are speaking to um legislators in a budget committee um and you want them to vote no. Just be really clear. What do you want them to do as a result of your testimony? Maybe it's vote yes or no. Maybe it's amend the bill to add such and such language or remove such and such language. Be really clear. What do you want them to do? Um additionally, thank them for hearing your testimony. um and let them know that you're available for any questions.

033Um some questions you might get on the spot. Um other questions you might get as a follow-up in an email um later in the week or later in the day. So um just let them know that you're available. Again, you are the experts um and and we'll dive in a little bit more to questions. Okay. Um a couple of tips and tricks that that we would offer. Um, you've heard me say it a couple times, but really just want to emphasize, make sure you're staying within your time. Um, delivering testimony goes way faster than you might think it would. Um, and so as you're practicing and rehearsing, make sure you have that timer next to you um, to make sure that you're staying within that limit. Um, also think quality over quantity. Um, a couple

034strong specific real life storybacked points will be better than long testimony that's repeating the same things over and over again or maybe isn't clear or effective. Um, you should also speak slower than you think you should. Um, when I sort of read testimony, I read my testimony like this. Um, because when you're up there, it is a nerve-wracking space. Um, it definitely can be, especially if it's your first time. You're probably really passionate about the issue that's got you in front of legislators. You know, it's complicated. You know, it's technical and you want to make sure that you're representing your district and its needs correctly. Um, so, you know, just as you think about nerves, etc., make sure you're speaking a little bit slower than you might want to. Um, again, just to make sure

035that you are sounding clear and effective. And lastly, respect matters. Um, we're gonna dive into that right now. Um, but before we do, Cynthia, do you have anything you want to add to this particular slide? >> Yeah, I'll add to the speed slower than you think you should. Also, like if you have um like if you want pauses um in between like sentences, um I would just note that in your testimony. Um, also since you I'm assuming it's always better to practice beforehand like Logan mentioned and it also gets you to kind of memorize your testimony. That way you are also making eye contact um to legislators in front of you. So as you're looking down you can also look up and speak to them. Um so I just wanted to throw that in there.

036>> Great. Thank you. Um, jumping in on respect matters. Um, just thinking about, so there's a couple things that we'd want to highlight here. Um, and that is that when you're talking to legislators, we know that we're in a political environment and we're talking to legislators. Um, as either Jane or Mara said earlier, we might be talking to an audience that we know agrees with us on this issue. We might be talking to an audience that does not um, agree with us um, on a particular issue. And so just sort of having that relationship building context in mind is is important especially as we think about respect both respect we give to legislators and respect that we um expect them to give to us as well. Um just knowing that you know a couple of

037of of points on here is that relationship building is the key to successful advocacy. um even when we may strongly oppose a particular bill, um we want to make sure we are communicating that opposition in testimony, but we don't want to make it personal and we don't want to ruin any kind of a relationship because at the end of the day, we need that relationship to um be in a good spot because we're going to want that bill sponsor to hear us and to work with us or that committee and what have you to work with us, hear us, and amend the bill to address our concerns. Um, additionally, we know that um, labeling is a roadblock to that authentic relationship building. And so, you know, walking into a committee and saying, "Oh, yeah, like

038the bill sponsors up there. Um, we know they're supporting this issue that is bad for education." Um, we we just don't want to go in with that kind of a mindset um because we're stronger when we work together. All right. Um, we've got another section for you here and this is just navigating legislator questions. Um, some of this might happen while you're sitting up at the dis or on the Zoom dis. Um, this also might happen later. More often, questions come as you're providing the testimony. Um, so you get called up to the testimony panel with a couple of other people. It's probably you and two others. And what typically happens is you get to sort of finish that group of testifiers and then the committee chair will say, "Are there any questions for this

039panel?" Um, and someone will say, "Oh, I have a question for for Rich." And then you'll get your question. Um, but a couple of things that you want to make sure you're doing in those moments um is make sure that you're listening. um really listening to what the legislator is saying and asking of you and making sure as you're responding that you are staying calm. Take a breath before you respond. Um and stay factual um in the information that it is that you're giving. Um don't get into sort of a a political banter, if you will, um between legislators or other testifiers. Really just state the facts. Um, Cynthia hinted at this earlier, but if you don't know the answer to a question, don't answer it. Um, do not answer a question unless you are

040100% sure um of what the answer is. And it's more than okay to say something like, "I'm not sure how to answer that question right now, but I'll get back to you." Um, if you tell legislators you're going to get back to them, also make sure you do get back to them. um because they really do want or need to know the answer to the question that they're asking um as sort of an inform as to how they might vote on a particular bill as it's coming up in their committee. Um when you get questions, answer briefly and directly. Um as we know, testimony time is precious. Um the time during any particular public hearing is precious and don't provide a long response unless you're specifically asked for long details. Um if any of you

041watched the public hearing a couple weeks ago um that we linked in in session, there was a public hearing on the minimum maximum fund balance bill from OSBI and that would be a perfect example of when to ignore this tip. Um there was a panel up there that included Ronda Litenberger on behalf of WASDA and um that particular panel got many questions um some of which um warranted longer answers and so you know sort of judge the moment as it's in front of you um and you'll know when you get a question um that would require sort of more of a a longer response but you know be direct in what you're saying back to legislators during this time. And finally, um, as possible, um, bridge your answers back to the core messages that you

042delivered in your testimony. Um, you know, you can use the opportunity of being asked a question, um, to underscore your primary points in testimony. That's not always possible. Sometimes the question is very, very spec specific or a yes or no question. Um, but when possible, um, do your best to bridge bridge those answers back to the core the core reasons that brought you up there in the first place. Okay. Um, I'm gonna stop my screen share for just a second and um just sort of ask the group um outside of either in addition to what we said or um separate from what we said for those of you that have given testimony before um and we do have a smaller crowd today so this may not be a long discussion but are there any additional

043considerations, tips, tricks um that you would offer to the group both the group that's here in person today or on Zoom today um or watching the recording. Um what else comes to mind for you when you think about developing and delivering testimony? >> Cynthia, you might have had a few other things. Is now an okay time to jump in with those? Yeah, I think one thing that um hasn't been mentioned yet is um and this is just an example because we've seen this come up a couple of times. Um but if we have a big number of people testifying and let's say um the chair cuts it to 90 and then has to cut cut it to 60 seconds. Um, I think something to think about is, um, as you're listening to the testimonies before

044you, if those folks already said something that is in your testimony, that it is okay to cut that part out. Um, because I think at times, and I I just heard from from chairs in the past that they're like, "We we've heard this section before. Like, talk to me about um what else you have in your testimony." Um, so just something to note that if if you're hearing um the same testimony and you were thinking about speaking on that same issue, um it's okay to make a few notes, cross that out, and talk about maybe the other section um that you have in your testimony. >> Great. Thanks, Cynthia. Um, for everyone else on the call, um, who may you may have never given testimony before or maybe you've done it once or maybe it's

045been a while. Um, I would love to just hear some general reflections from you all about, um, you know, what you might feel more empowered or equipped to do as a result of this training. Was it helpful? Was this the right information? Um, is there other information or questions that you have that we didn't get to today that we can either answer for you now or in a future meeting? Is is it okay to say you agree with the previous person testifying? >> It's absolutely okay to say you agree with that. Yep. Amanda, Jane, John, what did you what did you think about this content? Was it helpful? >> I'll speak. I'll say yes. It was very helpful. Um, one thing I think I have yet to give testimony um for our district or anything

046like that because I'm very new to this legislative rep position. Um, you mentioned the like compiling the information that you want to present and you talked about like a superintendent committee. Like where exactly do you go to get the information that you want to present and be representing? >> Sure, that's a good question. Um, I think I think that answer is nuanced just depending on sort of what your process is in your district. Um, but I can share some examples of how I've heard school directors go about this. And I would ask anyone else who has done this before or, you know, any anyone who wants to add anything, please jump in. But what I've heard generally is when thinking about how to respond to a bill, um, if it's in alignment with your districts

047or your board's legislative priorities, you probably already have a sense of do we support or do we oppose this particular legislation. Um, if there's one that comes to your attention that maybe you're not sure about how your district would navigate, um, talking with some board colleagues or talking with your superintendent to help sort of understand, hey, how does this bill impact our district or how would it? Um, in a lot of cases, um, you can also talk to members of WADA's legislative committee as well. Um, Cynthia and I are talking with that group every week during the legislative session. Um, actually we'll be doing it this afternoon. We do that on Thursdays. Um, to be able to sort of get perspective. Um, but going to your district teams, um, more than likely I would say

048your superintendent to gather that information would be helpful. Um, the other thing I would add is sometimes um, on a particular bill, you're going to want some budget information or, you know, hey, how is this bill stand to fiscally impact our district? Um, maybe that means you going directly to your CFO or your business manager. Maybe in your district that means you still sort of work that through the superintendent and they'll get that information. Um, but really leaning on your board colleagues on one side and then your district staff on the other side um to gather perspective is what I would recommend. So I would chime in and say yes, it's uh useful information. I like the nuances that you went into. I think that those are really helpful. I I'm assuming you're going to

049share the slides with us. Um, thank you. Uh, for for me, I have yet to to really testify. I have gone in and done my pros. Um, but our district has a lobbyist and our superintendent has been very sorry uh uh has been very uh involved since he's become the superintendent and testified on on our behalf. So strategically he's stepped up and I haven't need to um but looking forward to when and I get to. >> Sorry. >> You're totally fine, Jane. Thank you. Um John or Rich, anything you'd add? >> Yeah, Logan and Cynthia, I thought it was a very good presentation. It was thorough. It covered uh all the all the things I think that are required. I have not uh given testimony in a legislative session but have done a lot of

050presenting in uh business environments and I would absolutely say that it is good advice to memorize what you're going to say. Um you'll be more comfortable, you'll be more confident and it puts you in a position to be able to answer questions that are outside the box as opposed to trying to remember what you're supposed to say by by reading it. So I think that's very good. And I also would recommend um some some key data points and to make sure that you're accurate with your data. >> Great. Thanks, John. Appreciate that. >> I' I've never testified before and hadn't considered it, but this really helps give an idea of what to do. So, thank you. >> Good. Glad it was helpful. Um we have a small group which means we're going to get about

05115 minutes back um to your afternoon today. Um what we leave you with is um one that we'll be making sure we send out the PowerPoint slide deck um as well as the recording of this meeting to the full advocacy action network list. Um so be watching for that. It typically takes four or five hours for the recording to process. So you'll either get that later today or first thing tomorrow. um to the next meeting of this group is scheduled for Tuesday, March 17th. Um that is the Tuesday immediately following the end of the legislative session. Um in between now and then, um the legislative session will still be happening um for many of those days. Um the session is currently scheduled to end on March 12th. Um but what that means as it relates

052to this particular training is there will be more opportunities to give testimony this session. Um whether you are interested in trying your trying your hand at that um with your district or with WASDA um please don't hesitate to reach out to us if there's any um advice or guidance um or review that could be helpful um in having Cynthia and I do that. We're happy to support you in any way you can. if you want to testify this session. Um, also the other thing I would say as it relates to session generally is that um, we do have a couple more weeks left and in terms of specific legislative updates, the best way to follow those if you haven't already um, is to subscribe to um, WADDA in session. Um, that's our weekly legislative update

053that comes out on Fridays. Um, we also have WASDA in session live. um our legislative update webinar that happens on Fridays at noon. Um so that's typically your best place for updates on what's happening um as it relates to bills. We did just have a cutoff um last this week. Wow. On Monday. Um and we'll have another one coming up next Tuesday. So the number of bills that we're tracking um continues to be reduced. Um and then the last thing I'll leave you with is um again March 17th, that's a Tuesday. um is our next meeting. Um we will spend our time during that meeting really focused on um helping to think together about what does an effective interim look like. Um interim again is sort of the time period between legislative sessions. Um we'll

054only be a couple days um into the 2026 interim, so we'll be fresh. Um but that's good. It means we can have some intentional and strategic conversations right away to sort of reflect on what happened during the session and then help to empower you all as legislatively interested school directors um how you might want to navigate um the months between March and next January. So, we'll see you back um back here on March 17th. Don't hesitate to reach out to us if you have questions between now and then. Thank you. Thanks Logan and Cynthia. >> Thank you. >> Bye. >> Thank you.