The Parent Advocate

Newsletter of the Maryland Federation of Catholic-School Families January, 2004

More Than 5,000 Supporters attend

Legislative Forums Across the State

T

hanks to the organizing efforts of 17 host schools throughout the state of Maryland, this year’s annual Legislative Forums attracted standing-room-only crowds at nearly every location, and inspired thousands of parents, students, teachers, administrators, and other Catholic-school supporters to become active advocates in support of Maryland’s nonpublic school community. Each Forum provided a presentation on the contributions of Maryland’s Catholic and other nonpublic schools, assistance available to nonpublic schools in nearby states, and the legislative issues that the Maryland Federation of Catholic-School Families will pursue during the 2004 session of the Maryland General Assembly.

Our 2004 legislative goals include:

• Maintaining funding levels for the Nonpublic Textbook Program
• Extending the use of program funds for the purchase of educational technology
• Extending the Maryland Teacher Scholarship program and the Quality Teacher Incentive Tax Credit to teachers in Catholic and other nonpublic schools

The Teacher Scholarship legislation (Senate Bill 17) will be heard before the

Senate Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs Committee on

Wednesday, January 28, 2004 at 1:00 p.m.

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Celebrate Catholic Schools Week by

Joining our Advocacy Efforts!!

• Sign up for the Maryland Catholic Conference’s Legislative Action Center at www.mdcathcon.org. The Center allows users to respond immediately to online legislative alerts, and to automatically forward their responses to their own legislators. (See attached flyer for more information.)
• By WEDNESDAY OF CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK, be sure that every teacher, parent and student responds to the current alert about the Maryland Teacher Scholarship posted on the Legislative Action Center. To view the alert, which includes a prewritten message to send to legislators, go to www.mdcathcon.org, and click on “View Current Alerts.”
• Show the PowerPoint presentation used at the Legislative Forums at home and school association meetings, board meetings, faculty meetings and, if possible, during Catholic Schools Week. A copy of the PowerPoint presentation will be forwarded to each school’s principal in the near future.
• Consider inviting the legislators who represent your school’s district to tour your school, and to discuss our 2004 legislative goals with a group of parents, students, and teachers. For assistance in setting up a meeting with legislators, contact Mary Ellen Russell by phone at 410-269-1155 or 301-261-1979, or by email at mrussell@mdcathcon.org.