You can visit with your decision makers as an individual but visiting as a group can be more impactful. Whenever possible, you should those most impacted by your work such as students, parents and industry leaders. Most elected officials are most interested in meeting with their own constituents and not members of communities outside their district. You can meet your state or federally elected officials in their local/district offices or at the state or national capital.
To find a representative's contact information, please visit the Elected Officials search engine at USA.gov Elected Officials Search.
At the state level, you can meet with your legislators in-district or in their office at the state capitol. To schedule a visit, you should consult your state legislature’s website to find contact information for your members’ offices.
At the local level, you can ask for a meeting with a superintendent, principal or member of the school board or invite them to attend a BPA meeting. You may need to call the school, school district or school board offices and/or check their websites to find contact information to request an appointment.
When you call to schedule a meeting with a decisionmaker there are a few things to know.
At the federal level, you can call your member of Congress’ Washington, DC office or their district office. If you are calling the district office, you should ask the scheduler to set up the meeting with the member of Congress while they are in the district. If you are calling the Washington, DC office to set up a meeting on Capitol Hill, you can either ask for the scheduler (if you are requesting a meeting with the member of Congress), or you can ask to be transferred to the Legislative Aide handling the issue you wish to discuss if you would like to meet with them instead. Try to request a meeting between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.
The process at the state level is like the federal level in that state representatives will likely have an office and some staff at the state capital and a local office. Check out your state legislature’s website for the contact information of your state representatives. If your legislature is in session, you should ask to meet with the member or their staff member. If your state legislative body(ies) are not in session, you may be able to meet directly with the member at their local office or in the district.
At the local level, decision makers may not have an office or staff to arrange a meeting. If they do have an office, try calling there to schedule a meeting. If you can’t find contact information for an office, a phone call or an email directly to the decision maker you are trying to meet with may be the quickest way to schedule a meeting.
Whenever you call to schedule a meeting with a decisionmaker, make sure to identify who you are, who you represent and who will attend the meeting. Indicate what you want to discuss with the decision maker or their staff. It is also extremely helpful to provide background materials in advance of your meeting. Note that some offices will respond more quickly than others. The day before the appointment, make sure to call to confirm your meeting.
Note: If you are a State Association BPA President or other elected officer, as a representative of a state organization, you may have a better chance scheduling a meeting even if you do not live in the district the decision maker represents. However, your visit will have more of an impact if you include other BPA leadership representatives as well as other CTSO student representatives located in the elected officials’ district in the meeting. Additionally, at the federal level, the online meeting request forms located on many members’ websites may automatically flag you as “out of district.” Therefore, it is important that you initiate these meeting requests over the phone or through a direct email with the scheduler.
You are the expert - Do Your Research - Before your meeting, make sure to learn about the decision maker you are meeting with, including any positions they’ve taken. If your decisionmaker is an elected official, find out what committees they serve on and how they voted on issues of importance to you. A simple internet search can provide you with information on your elected official’s position, priorities and voting record. Bring local statistics and facts about your state or local BPA chapter’s influence– and the influence of CTSOs in general – on the issue that you will be discussing during your meeting.
If you are meeting with a decision maker at the federal level, you should have a sound understanding of BPA’s Mission and Vision, Culture, History and Footprint. Additionally, we encourage you to contact the National BPA Staff to assist in providing you with any pertinent information about Career Technical Education and/or the CTSO landscape prior to your meeting.
If you are meeting with a decision maker at the state level, check with your BPA State Association to see if they have any relevant position statements or if they support any state legislation relevant to your issue. Reaching out to your BPA State Association for guidance can also be helpful at the local level, as well as researching any information on local issues of importance to your school or community.
