CATESOL ADVOCACY
TESOL Affiliates Make Themselves Heard at Advocacy, Policy Summit
By Bette Empol and Judith O’Loughlin
B
ette Empol, CATESOL Socio-Political co-chair for Adult
Schools, Community Colleges, and Universities, and Judith
O’Loughlin, director-at-large, CATESOL Education Foundation,
joined more than 50 other members of the TESOL International
Association June 16-18 in Washington, DC, for the 2013 TESOL
Advocacy and Policy Summit, formerly TESOL Advocacy Day.
Now in its eighth year, the program featured a full day of issue
briefings and activities around education legislation and advocacy,
followed by a day of visits to Congressional offices on Capitol Hill.
With representatives from more than 20 US affiliates in attendance,
the goals of the summit were not only to lobby on key issues for
TESOL, but also to provide an interactive learning experience for
participants on elements of advocacy. By the end of the event, TESOL members had visited the offices of approximately 100 representatives and senators.
As contrasted with TESOL Advocacy Day in the past, which
typically focused on a single piece of legislation, the TESOL Advocacy and Policy Summit had a broader policy agenda. The program of the summit was essentially divided into two parts: policy
and advocacy. The goal was not only to learn more about federal
policy issues affecting ESL and ELLs, but to provide a hands-on
learning experience on elements of advocacy.
To fully prepare for the summit, participants were required to
do several things in advance. For example, participants had to set
up their own individual meetings with their Congressional representatives. To assist with this, TESOL International Association
provided directions and guidance as well as the list of specific representatives and senators to contact.
Communicating and setting up meetings with staffers for both
California senators and representatives took persistence. Legislators and legislative staffers balance tight schedules and do try hard
to fit in the requests from constituents. Staffers take notes on each
of the meetings they oversee and present weekly reports to their
senator or representative.
The first part of the summit focused on policy issues. After
a welcome reception and overview of policy issues the evening
before, the program started the morning of June 17 with briefings
from experts on key issues and legislation. Adam Fernandez, legislative associate with the Mexican American Legal Defense and
Education Fund (MALDEF) and co-chair of the Hispanic Education Coalition (HEC), started the morning with a discussion of
some of the issues in immigration reform and reauthorization of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) affecting ELL ̸)Q