Texans Margo Hernandez and Sylvia Mendez from TexTESOL III joined me to form “Team Texas” to lobby for English language learners in Washington, DC, during TESOL’s Advocacy Day 2012. Now in its seventh year, the program featured a day of ESOL-related policy briefings and advocacy activities, followed by a day of visits to Congressional offices on Capitol Hill. About 40 representatives from over 20 U.S. affiliates participated. The goals of Advocacy Day were not only to lobby on key issues for TESOL, but also to provide an interactive learning experience for participants on elements of advocacy. By the end of the event, TESOL members had visited the offices of approximately 100 representatives and senators.

The agenda focused on ESOL issues in both K-12 and adult education―specifically the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and the Workforce Investment Act (WIA). To maximize the impact of TESOL Advocacy Day, key members of Congress serving on the education and appropriations committees in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives were identified for meetings. This year I met with staff from the offices of Senators Kay Bailey Hutchinson (R) and John Cornyn (R) and Representatives Lloyd Doggett (D) and John Carter (R). Margo Hernandez and Sylvia Mendez from TexTESOL II met with representatives Hinojosa (D), Cuellar (D), Smith(R) and Canseco (R). Team Texas was joined by Michelle Bagwell, who recently moved to DC from El Paso, Texas.

In preparation for the event, TESOL affiliate representatives researched key issues and set up meetings with Congressional representatives. To assist with this, TESOL International Association provided directions and guidance, as well as the list of specific representatives and senators to contact. Each year the process of making appointments becomes easier as we gain confidence and familiarity with the process.

Participants were also sent talking points and background information on key issues so that we could begin to familiarize ourselves with the issues in advance. To help make Congressional meetings more effective, participants were also encouraged to bring demographic information from our states and find examples from our own programs to illustrate the issues.

The morning of June 18, when we met at the DoubleTree Hotel in Crystal City, John Segota, TESOL’s associate executive director for public policy and professional relations, welcomed us. Rosa Aronson, the executive director of TESOL, reminded us our voices are important because government officials are accountable to us, their constituents.

The program started with three briefings from experts on key issues and legislation. The first briefing featured Sergio Gonzales, staff for Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO), and Alyssa Adams, staff for Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ ), discussing what legislators know about ESL and English language learners and what they need to hear from teachers. They stressed that the diversity of students in K-12 is increasing and that the number of English language learners in K-12 is growing. Currently English language learners are about 10 percent of the student population. By 2025 that number is expected to increase to 25 percent. Unfortunately, federal decisions and policies do not reflect the demographics. A startlingly high percentage of children do not have reading and math skills corresponding to their grade level. If this continues, the future American workforce will be underskilled, which will have wide-ranging effects on our economy and society. English language learners who are well educated will stimulate the economy and put less stress on social services.

To discuss the status of the WIA, Livia Liam, a staffer from the House Education and Workforce Committee, was featured on the next panel. She explained the shortcomings of the version of the WIA (H.R. 4297) that passed out of committee and is likely to go to the floor. Like another version of the WIA, H.R. 4227, it reflects a priority of greater alignment among adult education, workforce development, and postsecondary education and increases the focus on preparing adult students not just for earning a secondary school diploma but for college and careers. However, H.R. 4297 is not as strong as H.R. 4227 in holding states and local providers accountable for improving student access and success in postsecondary education and the commitment to expanding the capacity and resources of the adult education system nationally.

Dr. Rosalinda Barrera, director of the Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) at the U.S. Department of Education, closed out the morning with an update on the activities of her office. She mentioned that over 5 million English language learners in our public schools are being served by title III dollars. The money is decreasing while the number of students is rising. She voiced frustration in the inability of Congress to come to consensus to reauthorize the ESEA. She stressed the need for flexibility to improve achievement and instruction. Dr. Barrera also mentioned that because no agreement was made on the federal budget, sequestering would take place in January 2013. Billions of dollars will be cut across the board including in education.

Following these briefings, a series of activities were held to review aspects of the legislative process as well as how to prepare for meetings with members of Congress. Participants had the opportunity to role play as members of Congress in a mock hearing to discuss a piece of legislation, as well as have a mock debate on the floor of Congress to try to pass legislation. Participants were also provided with key information to prepare for their meetings and given the opportunity to plan for their meetings. The purpose of these briefings and activities was to help the participants practice and prepare for their meeting on Capitol Hill that afternoon

On June 19, with our heads full of facts and figures, we went to Capitol Hill to have meetings with members of Congress and staff. I met with staff members for Senators Kay Bailey Hutchinson (R) and John Cornyn (R) and Representatives Lloyd Doggett (D) and John Carter (R).

Although I was a little nervous when meeting with staff, I was much less nervous than I was last year! When I spoke to staff, I began by introducing myself as an ESOL adult educator from Austin, Texas. I mentioned two of the programs in which I teach adults: Austin Community College and Interfaith Action of Central Texas, which serves only refugees.

I began by telling staff about our K-12 demographics. In Texas, 800,000 of our students are English language learners, which is almost 20 percent of the student population. The English language learner (ELL) population is growing three times faster than non-English language learners. In Austin, about 24,000 students are English language learners out of a population of 80,000. More than 75 percent of them are citizens. Less than 40 percent graduate from high school.

Although No Child Left Behind (the last iteration of the ESEA) brought needed attention to the accountability of ELL achievement, most agree that it is not working. Because of the focus on measurement, our school system emphasizes teaching for the test. Our ELL students are not given enough time to gain proficiency in English before they are tested, so they invariably fail. Schools with high numbers of English language learners are seen as failing schools and are dealt with in a punitive manner. Teacher and principals are fired, and schools are closed. Schools need support, not punishment. Furthermore, there is a misconception about the length of time necessary for students to become academically proficient in English. While they may develop verbal fluency in as little as 2 years, it takes about 7 years for students to become academically proficient. Students are moved too quickly out of ESOL classes and placed in mainstream classes with teachers who have no training in teaching students with limited English ability.

As an adult educator, I am particularly concerned about the reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act. The WIA was scheduled for reauthorization in 2003 and has been annually extended through appropriation acts. I do not support H.B. 4297, but do support H.B. 4227. My main concern with H.B. 4297 is that in the name of streamlining services, it plans to give a blank check of sorts to the state government to distribute to adult education programs as they see fit. We need to make sure that the full range of adult education programs receives funding, from programs that serve low-literacy adults with limited English to those that serve degreed professionals learning new skills. According to the 2005 National Assessment of Adult Literacy, 93 million adults in the United States had limited reading, writing, and math skills. Another fault with H.B. 4297 is that it does not fund EL Civics, which H.B. 4227 does. EL Civics serves a critical need by providing resources to programs that combine English language and civics to support new Americans. It has been funded for the past 11 years, but lacks the authorizing language in statute.

All staff members were polite and listened to what I had to say; however, Andrew, the staff member for Lloyd Doggett, was actually very informed and supportive of my point of view. He thanked me for sharing my information. He said that now he could use my words to back up what the Doggett team had been working for because the words of a constituent were very powerful.

At the end of the day, the participants shared their experiences and what they learned over dinner. It was interesting to hear what other people experienced on their visit and to get comments on my experience. I shared with the group the negative reaction that I got from the Republican staff members when I told them that I was against giving a blank check to the governor to use as he saw fit to support adult education in the WIA. The staff told me that their Congresspeople supported states’ rights, and were sure that the state knew best how to budget their money. A TESOL member suggested that I could have answered that the governor of my state had a pretty poor record in funding the needed adult education programs. I plan to make that comment in my followup letters.

Overall, all of the participants agreed this event was a very positive experience for them and for TESOL International Association. I am thankful that I had the opportunity to go and learn about key ESOL policies, share my opinion with my federal representatives, and learn from my colleagues.

Additional information about TESOL Advocacy Day will be available soon online at http://www.tesol.org. If you are interested in learning more about your Congressional representatives’ current legislative issues, visit the TESOL U.S. Advocacy Action Center at http://capwiz.com/tesol.

Julia Maffei is a board member of TexTESOL III in Austin, Texas. Currently, she teaches ESOL at Austin Community College, Interfaith Action of Central Texas, and the Texas Intensive English Program. She also trains novice ESOL teachers with the Literacy Coalition of Central Texas and leads a teaching practicum with Manos de Cristo.