The Plano Independent School District and Prosper ISD in North Texas are among eight Texas public school districts announced by Raise Your Hand Texas as participants in the newest cohort of the Trustee Advocates Program.

The Raise Your Hand Texas initiative trains Texas school districts and their locally elected trustees to educate, engage, and activate their school districts and local communities to raise their voices in state public education policy and advocacy.

“Public school board trustees and school superintendents bring a unique and important voice to the table in public education policy debates at the Texas Capitol,” Dr. Libby Cohen, senior director of advocacy for Raise Your Hand Texas, said in a statement. “These local leaders can offer invaluable firsthand experience and on-the-ground insight, helping shape meaningful, sustainable policy that benefits the students, teachers, and the public school community.”

With the success of the program’s inaugural cohort, Raise Your Hand Texas said it is eager to equip more Texas school boards and district superintendents to participate in state education policymaking.

The organization said that districts from all regions of the state applied, and Raise Your Hand Texas leadership selected the eight school districts through the application and interview process.

Competitive grants funding the program for the second cohort are awarded to:

• Corsicana ISD
• Pearland ISD
• Pecos-Barstow-Toyah ISD
• Plano ISD
• Port Aransas ISD
• Prosper ISD
• Temple ISD
• Tomball ISD

Learning to advocate for education in the Texas Capitol

The organization said that over the 18-month fellowship, Trustee Advocates will learn to build a local public education advocacy network that encourages community connectedness and influences state legislative outcomes.

It said that trustees and superintendents will have the opportunity to learn and build relationships with others across Texas.

“The Trustee Advocates Program helps connect local leaders with the tools and know-how they need to advocate for public school students and teachers. The program aims to lift up the voices and expertise of local leaders at the Texas Capitol,” Missy Bender, trustee-in-residence and regional advocacy director for Raise Your Hand Texas, said in a statement.

In 2022-23, Amarillo ISD, DeKalb ISD, Ector County ISD, Gregory-Portland ISD, Katy ISD, Lake Worth ISD, San Elizario ISD, and Tornillo ISD were part of the inaugural program, the organization said.

Those districts participated in in-district and capitol training sessions and workshops. The districts developed their own legislative agendas and met with their legislative delegation at the capitol, actively participating in the Texas legislative session and raising their voices for public school students, teachers, and their communities, the organization said.

The Trustee Advocates Program is issue based and nonpartisan and the organization said it will be held in accordance with the state’s Open Meetings Act.

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