It's that time of year again when legislators are hitting it hard sponsoring bills that impact our practice and the students we serve. For many state associations, and for individual school psychologists in particular, the task of reviewing and responding to legislation in a timely and meaningful way can seem daunting, especially as we enter the height of "March Madness." It can be tempting to give up the whole enterprise as an impossible endeavor. Even in my capacity as a Government Relations cochair for my state's very small state association (trying to operate and advocate on a shoestring budget), I can definitely empathize with this impulse.

Until I attended my first state Advocacy Day at our state's capitol as President-Elect in 2021, like many other school psychologists, I couldn't perceive how this whole government relations and advocacy approach fit into my day-to-day work. At the capitol, we shared position statements on critical bills with legislators, decked out a table with our logo and infographics on the profession (with plenty of enticing snacks!), and testified as experts in support of or opposition to bills introduced in committee meetings. It was an enlightening experience to see the breadth of well-intentioned bills being introduced that could hinder or even harm students' potential for growth, especially knowing that there normally are not knowledgeable practitioners there to speak up. So, despite the stress I felt about public speaking (eek), I decided to stick with advocacy through my presidency and into my current roles in my state and on NASP's GPR committee.

In 2023, we discovered the power of collaboration with like-minded associations. Through active partnership with our state's licensed psychological association, we were able to amend a dyslexia bill which otherwise would have required mandatory cognitive testing on any student found to be at risk on an unspecified screener (again I say, eek). While navigating that fight, we began to explore the prospect of combining forces with groups that shared our interests when it comes to matters of education and with more political clout. Just in time, it would seem, as the past fiscal year has left our tiny organization in the unfortunate predicament of having lots to advocate for this legislative season but limited funds to send our folks in person.

So, what's a volunteer organization of high-quality professionals to do under such circumstances? Leverage our current relationships and further expand our network of student advocates!

We've organized top-priority legislation into three categories: educational practice, student mental health, and bills that discriminate against minoritized groups. When these bills come across our radar, we reach out to our network with offers to draft language or partner on any pre-existing endeavors. For bills in the first category, we reach out to our partner educational associations/unions (e.g., superintendents, principals, teachers), and for bills in the second and third categories, we connect not only with our licensed psychological association but also with our social worker and school counselor associations. In this way, we hope to cultivate meaningful and long-lasting relationships across disciplines that highlight the unity that exists among educational practitioners when it comes to advancing student and staff well-being.

More importantly, building and using a coalition allows us to expand our reach and impact by advancing beyond just a handful of school psychologists trying to do it on our own. We hope to surpass simple retroactive dialogue with legislators and instead develop a sufficient force of presence and credibility through these partnerships so that our expertise is sought out on the front end. So, we now charge head-on into the fray with new collaborative tactics, intent on combining the unified voices of educators and advocates to engage in meaningful dialogue and enact positive change this legislative season.