Know Your Audience
- Find out what issues the legislators care about and how they represent them
Plan What You'll Say
- Develop 2-3 main talking points along with the policies and practices that support them. Consult NCTE policies:
Practice
- Practice by responding to the toughest and best questions you guess the legislator will ask.
During Your Meeting with a Legislator
After a Meeting with a Legislator
- Don't forget to send a thank you note and include any information you may have offered to provide during your visit -- email is the best way.
- Ask to be consulted when issues arise and, even if you haven't heard, follow up a few months later just to keep in touch by offering your assistance.
A Few Words about the Legislators and Visiting Legislative Office
- Legislators and their staff appreciate what you have to say because they know you are an expert and they want to benefit from your expertise.
- They are not your enemies and you can’t hope to make change if you treat them as such.
- Often legislators are in committee meetings or on the floor of Congress and they personally won’t be able to meet with you.
- Legislative staffers, however, are excellent people to talk to when visiting legislative offices. They are responsible for relaying information on particular topic areas to the member of Congress.
- An important part of a staffer’s job is to meet with constituents and stay informed, and to pass that information directly on to the member of Congress.
- Both legislators and their staff are looking for simple explanation of an issue they’re working in—a story from home complete with some memorable quotes.
- It’s their job to ask tough questions especially when what you present is something they haven’t heard of before.
- Their knowledge of education and what happens in classrooms or should happen in classrooms is limited.
- They sometimes come to an issue with false assumptions which they will give up when you give them proper evidence to the contrary.
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Please contact Millie Davis or Lori Bianchini, NCTE Communications Division, for assistance with your questions about speaking with the media or with legislators: public_info@ncte.org; 217-278-3634 (Millie) or 217-278-3644 (Lori).