Advocacy
Good News at the End of the General Assembly
Greetings, FLAVA Members!
Both chambers of the General Assembly adjourned their regular sessions today a bit after 5 p.m. It was a long day, but SB 1052, a good bill on teacher licensure, passed with only a very minor correction of its wording late in the afternoon. In other words, Delegate Davis’s proposed amendment to alter the diploma system in Virginia was killed in the conference committee. Thanks to all of you who wrote and called both in opposition to HB 2341 and to the amendment to SB 1052. Because of your advocacy, the Advanced Studies Diploma has survived intact for another year. Congratulations on your hard work.
We all owe thanks to our colleague JoAna Smith, who alerted us Friday afternoon about the proposed change to SB 1052. We cannot know what happened in the conference committee, but we do know that Senator Hashmi argued against the amendment. FLAVA will thank her and the other delegates and senators who have supported world languages. Please thank the people you contacted as well.
Congratulations,
Sharon Scinicariello
FLAVA Advocacy Chair
FLAVA advocates for world language education on behalf of members at the local, state, and federal levels. FLAVA is a member organization of JNCL-NCLIS, NECTFL, SCOLT, and ACTFL and advocates through these organizations as well. For information or help with advocacy, please contact the FLAVA Advocacy Chair, Sharon Scinicariello, at advocacy@flavaweb.org.
Everything you need to know about advocacy including ideas and resources can be found on this site and also on ACTFL’s advocacy page or JNCL-NCLIS’s website. Additionally, FLAVA has an Advocacy folder with resources at bit.ly/FLAVAadvocacy.
Advocacy and Social Networking: Many online opportunities educate the public about the benefits and issues surrounding language learning. To stay informed, you can easily “follow,” “like,” or “friend” FLAVA, Discover Languages, ACTFL, Lead with Languages, and other organizations on social media like Facebook or Twitter. Follow FLAVA Advocacy on Twitter at @SGS_RVA. Then you can also share this information with your friends, students, and parents. Please do so, as languages are a vital part of our existence.