Advocacy

Advocacy lies at the center of the PTA. Our mission is, “To make every child’s potential a reality by engaging and empowering families and communities to advocate for all children.”

The PTA is a non-profit that is non-commercial, non-sectarian, and non-partisan—but not apolitical. For 120+ years, as part of the longest running parent advocacy organization, PTA members have driven change by researching issues, raising awareness, and speaking with educators and officials on every level of government. Every PTA member who voices a concern becomes an advocate, helping secure resources and opportunities that support all students.

>> Learn more about PTA advocacy in Virginia (all ACPS PTAs are part of the Virginia PTA and must abide by VA PTA bylaws)

Advocacy in Alexandria City Public Schools with PTAC

Alexandria PTAC supports ACPS PTAs through city-wide networking, idea exchange, fact-finding, and more. The council encourages school PTA units to lead their own advocacy efforts, but does move to foster and improve collaboration across our school division.

PTAC works with PTA units to develop priorities based on issues that impact the majority of our schools. The council also works with ACPS Central Office and the larger community to promote best practices that support inclusion and family engagement.

PTAC encourages collaborative advocacy on the state and national levels in addition to the local level. We encourage members of our units to participate in Virginia PTA Capitol Hill Day in Richmond, VA and the National PTA’s LegCon in Washington, DC.

The council believes there is power in numbers. Every voice strengthens advocacy. PTAs have made an impact by raising important issues to their school, city, and state, educating their school communities about key education policies and actions to improve public schools and promoting and strengthening family engagement policies.

While PTA strongly supports advocacy for children and public education, there are boundaries to our work. In accordance with Virginia PTA bylaws and policies, PTA does not engage in advocacy related to individual employment matters, personnel decisions, or personal disputes involving school staff, administrators, students, or families. PTA also does not endorse political candidates, political parties, or take positions on issues unrelated to the welfare of youth. All PTA advocacy is tied to a national or state PTA resolution or position statement.

PTA advocacy focuses on systems, policies, and conditions that impact students broadly, not individual grievances. When concerns involve personnel or personal matters, families are encouraged to use appropriate school or district channels.

Some advocacy actions you can take:

Write or call elected officials to share concerns and PTA positions
Share school policy updates within your community and social networks
Follow your representatives online
Attend town halls, forums, or public hearings
Invite elected officials to PTA meetings or school events to hear directly from families
Share Virginia PTA and National PTA resources, social posts, and advocacy webinars

>>To submit a letter to the Alexandria City School Board, use this link.

>>To provide public comments to the Alexandria City School Board, use this link to register.

>>Find your Virginia House and Senate legislators here

PTAC Advocacy and Action This Year (SY 2025-2026 for FY 2027)

Our students deserve schools fully funded to meet diverse needs—academic, emotional, and developmental. Alexandria has significantly higher rates of students requiring language support, special education services, and food assistance than the state average, making equitable funding essential. In 2023, the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) came out with a report analyzing the K-12 Funding formula in Virginia. The report confirmed what PTA advocates had been saying for years: that the amount of money the commonwealth was putting into public school was insufficient to meet our student’s needs.

>>Learn about Virginia PTA’s Fully Fund Campaign and state legislative priorities

We are asking our elected city officials - school board and city council members - as well as our state legislators to support policies and partner in actions that ensure every child has what they need to learn. Our students can’t wait.

PTAC is monitoring the school budget process closely this year and encourages you to share and take part in any of our budget advocacy posts on our social media.

>>PTAC Facebook

>>PTAC Instagram

PTAC is meeting with school and city officials and well as state legislators about these high priority items on the docket at the state level this year.

1: Fund Universal Free Breakfast & Lunch

Food security is education security! Students who are fed can learn, focus, and thrive. Many ACPS families struggle to afford meals, and stigma prevents some families and their students from accessing support even when eligible. Universal free breakfast and lunch eliminates barriers, supporting academic performance and student well-being. We join the Virginia PTA in urging the General Assembly to fully fund universal meals for all public schools. Write to your legislators to support HB96/SB4, which would fund universal free breakfast in public school in Virginia.

2: Fund At-Risk Add-On

The At-Risk Add-On provides critical support—tutoring, counseling, academic interventions—for students facing known hardships, including English Language Learners and Special Education students. Current funding levels do not meet Alexandria’s need. We urge legislators to increase this funding so ACPS can adequately support its most vulnerable students. Write to your legislators to support HB92/SB90, which would fund the at risk add-on, and move us closer to revising the K-12 funding formula in Virginia.

3: Implement Student-Based Funding

In addition, PTAC supports the JLARC 2023-recommended shift to a student-based funding formula, ensuring dollars follow the needs of learners—ELL, Special Education, and those in poverty. This approach improves equity, closes performance gaps, and strengthens long-term outcomes.

>> Read the JLARC 2023 Study HERE

>> Read a summary of the JLARC Study HERE

4: Reassess the Local Composite Index (LCI) for 2029-2030

The current Local Composite Index (LCI) does not reflect the cost of operating schools in high-cost regions like Alexandria. Currently the local composite index is calculated using property values, and determines the percentage of public school costs that a locality is responsible for paying. Alexandria is one of a handful of divisions with the highest LCI. Eighty percent of our public school costs are covered by the city, with only 20% covered by the state.

PTAC requests a full reassessment for 2029–2030 that accounts for cost of living, high-need populations, and the disproportionate strain of state-mandated salary increases. This change is essential to ensure our schools receive fair resources compared to state averages.

PTA members can drive this effort by:
• Educating others on how LCI affects ACPS funding
• Sharing demographic data that highlights ACPS student needs
• Inviting lawmakers to school visits—with principal approval—to see needs firsthand
• Joining statewide PTA advocacy networks to mobilize together
• Requesting meetings with representatives as engaged constituents

PTAC joined Virginia PTA Capitol Day in Richmond to advocate for these topics as well as Virginia PTA’s 2026 Legislative Priorities.

About Education Funding in Virginia

ACPS gets approximately 80% of its funding from the city. It gets approximately 20% from the state. The city/school division receives very little from federal funding, though depending on the year, it may receive funding in the form of federal grants.

The current school funding formula used in Virginia to determine how much each locality receives is outdated. It underestimates staffing needs, relies on recession-era caps, and does not reflect the real cost of educating students affected by poverty, disabilities, or limited English proficiency. This has led to inequities across communities, teacher shortages, and widening achievement gaps across the state.

“The Standards of Quality (SOQs) establish minimum staffing standards that all Virginia schools must provide, and drives 85% of state funding for local school divisions. The Virginia Board of Education develops and recommends SOQs, and while the Governor may propose funding changes in the biennium budget, final changes and standards are established by vote of the Virginia General Assembly.” – Virginia PTA