ACTION ALERT:
Urge Members of the House of Representatives to Sign the Langevin/Ehlers Letter Requesting Funding for the Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Program (ESSCP) ASCA, along with other organizations, was successful once again in urging Rep. Jim Langevin (D-R.I.) and Rep. Vern Ehlers (R-Mich.) to distribute a "Dear Colleague" letter to all the members of the House of Representatives urging their colleagues to sign a letter requesting the House Appropriations Committee to provide $61.5 million for this essential program in fiscal year (FY) 2010 (see below). By funding the Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Program program at $61.5 million, monies will be made available to both elementary and secondary schools to provide comprehensive school counseling services. This is due to ESSCP's statuary funding trigger; secondary schools (i.e., middle and high) are not eligible to participate in the program until total funding exceeds $40 million. In fiscal year 2009, Congress appropriated $52 million for ESSCP. This program has slowly but steadily been climbing and has surpassed that funding trigger for two years now. It is imperative that we keep this momentum going as more school budgets are being cut and more school counseling positions are becoming eliminated. Therefore, it is critical to show congressional support for ESSCP by having as many representatives as possible sign the Langevin/Ehlers letter. ACTION NEEDED Call, write or e-mail your representative and urge him/her to show support for the ESSCP by signing onto the Langevin/Ehlers Dear Colleague Letter, which requests the House Appropriations Committee provide $61.5 million for this essential program in fiscal year 2010. You can call your representative by calling the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 or finding his/her direct line via the online congressional directory. If you do not know who your representative is you can locate that information on the Web. If you would like to e-mail your representative but are unable to locate the appropriate address please e-mail Amanda Fitzgerald at ASCA and include your name and home address including your ZIP code for assistance. What should you say? Tell your representative your name and where you are from; you may be asked for your name and number. As a constituent, your call is important to your representative's office. Ask to speak with the education legislative assistant because you want the representative to sign on to the Dear Colleague letter being circulated by Representatives Jim Langevin and Vern Ehlers requesting that the House Appropriations Committee provide $61.5 million in funding for the Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Program in FY 2010. Feel free to emphasize the meaningful role school counselors play in our students' lives. If congressional staff have any further questions, they can contact Kirtley Fisher in Rep. Langevin's office at (202) 225-2735 or [email protected] or Rachel Fenton in Rep. Ehler's office at (202) 225-3831 or [email protected]. The following representatives have already signed on to this letter upon introduction: Rep. Conyers (D-Mich.), Rep. Yarmouth (D-Ky.), Rep. Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Rep. Platts, (R-Pa.), Rep. Ehlers (R-Mich.) and Rep. Langevin (D-R.I.). If one of these people happen to be your representative please feel free to send this supporter of school counseling a thank you. If you have additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact Amanda Fitzgerald. PLEASE DO THIS TODAY! DEADLINE FOR SIGNATURES IS WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1. Read the Dear Collegue Letter Sincerely, Jim Bierma President
American School Counselor Association
email:
[email protected]
phone:
703-683-ASCA
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