Write your legislator as an individual board member, as well as from your board. You are an elected official and your information and opinions are respected by other elected officials.

Letters should be written on personal or business letterhead. If you do not have letterhead printed with your return address, be sure to include your return address on the letter. Envelopes get thrown away. Typed letters are not necessary if writing is legible, but they are desirable.

Letters to your legislators should be addressed as follows:

The Honorable First and Last Name
California State Senate/Assembly
State Capitol Building, Room Number
Sacramento, CA 95814

Dear Senator/Assembly Member Last Name:

Limit your letter to one specific subject. Reference the bill number that you are writing about in a subject line or the first line of the letter. Correspondence received on a bill is filed by bill number. If you have not prominently identified the bill number, or your letter reference more than one subject, your letter could get lost.

Be succinct. In most cases, a one paragraph justification for your position is sufficient and desirable. Anything longer and your points could be lost in the crush of a heavy work load.

Your argument for your position should explain the facts as they exist in your school district and how the particular bill will impact your school district. Legislators’ sources typically only provide information regarding the statewide impact of legislation. They will have no way of knowing how individual school districts will be affected by a particular bill if you do not tell them.

Your last paragraph should restate your position and ask the legislator for a specific action, such as "your support when AB 0000 is heard in Assembly Education on January 0." If no immediate action is required, then simply ask for "your support as AB 0000 moves through the legislative process."

If you have not been able to get your legislator to visit your programs and see firsthand the condition of your facilities, be creative – send pictures or a tape recording.

Be sure to thank your legislators if they have done something you think is right on a particular issue.