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What is Advocacy?

PTA was founded by advocates, and has a strong history of impacting education policy and advocating for children. Advocacy is required to achieve success for all children. There are many ways to achieve social change, and all have their uses. PTA and it’s members utilize different forms of social change in all our advocacy efforts. PTA’s Advocacy Training focuses on grassroots advocacy and our resources include content and materials that will help any local, district, or state PTA build its advocacy capacity by creating a campaign strategy and training leaders and members on key advocacy skills. 

COPTA Legislative Committee

The Legislative Committee coordinates the networking, advising, advocating, and collaborating on state and national legislative issues impacting students. Colorado PTA continues to be an integral part of the education advocacy scene at the State Legislature. PTA takes positions on legislation dealing with children’s education, health, and well-being, and PTA provides testimony in legislative committees. For information on the bills we are  currently following, click the ‘Legislative Session Bill Positions’ link to the right. 

Reach the legislative committee at legislative@copta.org.

Legislative Session Bill Positions
COPTA Legislative Engagement Committee Report
COPTA Legislative Committee FAQs
Where We Stand

Colorado PTA's Century of Advocacy Highlights

  • Established a Better Babies Movement, focused on promoting infant care (1914)
  • Initiated an Act to create and establish a Child Welfare Bureau in the State of Colorado (1919)
  • Supported public education in rural communities in Colorado (1922)
  • Fought for an increase in public school funding (1937)
  • Promoted inclusiveness by establishing the first Spanish-speaking PTA in Colorado (1937)
  • Established a Girls Loan Fund for advanced education (1946)
  • Recruited over 126,000 members (1953)
  • Promoted first Project Head Start Program (1967)
  • Established the Reflections Art program, which was adopted by National PTA (1969)
  • Spread awareness about the link between good nutrition and learning (1970)
  • Advocated for seat belt safety (1982)
  • Served as an ambassador for drug/alcohol awareness initiatives (1988)
  • Opposed school vouchers as a violation of Colorado’s Constitution which resulted in the victorious 2003 lawsuit, Colorado PTA v. Owens (1993)
  • Declared an anti-discrimination clause including LGBT community (1994)
  • Fought for releasing volunteer crossing guards from civil liability (1996)
  • Championed Amendment 23, which requires an annual increase in K-12 funding (including special education and transportation) by inflation +1% through 2010 and inflation thereafter (2000)
  • Promoted Heathy School Meals for All (2022)
  • Advocated for Inclusive Social Studies Standards Revisions (2022)