Did you know that our NYS Legislators prefer to meet with constituents in their “home offices” rather than in Albany?

NOW is the time to introduce yourself to your NYS Senator and Assembly Member in the comfort of their district offices!

The NYASP Legislative Team has organized a “Home for the Holidays” Advocacy Campaign for school psychologists to visit their legislators throughout the months of December and January. These visits are designed to introduce our legislators to school psychology and the vital work that we do with children and families. “Proactive advocacy” meetings are designed to build relationships without needing to ask anything from the legislator. By building the relationship now, you will be at an advantage when we need to ask for their support in the future!

And you come bearing gifts! That’s right, NYASP will ship you a free mug that you can fill with candy, hot chocolate, or your favorite snacks to present to your legislators.

The process is easy! Just follow these steps ...

• Determine who your NYS Senator and Assembly Members are. Find out something about the legislator that you can reference during your meeting (e.g. special interest or project that they are involved with in your area) or a common area of interest (e.g. mental health services for children, education issues). Read the biography and other items on your legislators’ website. You can identify your Assembly Member at http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/ and Senator at http://www.nysenate.gov/senators
• Your legislator's contact information is posted on their website.
• Call the "District Office" phone number to request an appointment. Introduce yourself as a constituent and school psychologist. Inform them that you would like to schedule an appointment to meet the legislator and share information about school psychology and the work that you do with children and families. (**IMPORTANT** ONCE YOU REGISTER YOUR APPOINTMENT, IT WILL TAKE AT LEAST 7 DAYS TO RECIEVE YOUR FREE MUG. SCHEDULE YOUR APPOINTMENTS GIVING YOURSELF ENOUGH TIME TO RECEIVE THE MUG)
• Once you have scheduled your appointment, please register them using the NYASP Home for the Holidays registration google form. Once you submit the form, your gift mug for the legislator will be mailed to you (**IMPORTANT** PLEASE ALLOW AT LEAST 7 DAYS FOR THE MUG(S) TO ARRIVE. REGISTER YOUR APPOINMENTS IMMEDIATELY)
• When you go to the appointment, you can use the following basic script. "Good afternoon. My name is .... and I live in (identify town or address). I appreciate all of the work that you are doing for our area and for meeting with me today (Mention a specific action that the legislator did for your area. You can often identify this information from their website). Do you know anything about school psychologists and the work that we do with children and families? (Listen to their response and allow them to share their perspective.) Let me tell you a little about the work that I do (share some information about your work. Here is the place to share a nice story about the work that you did with a particular student or family **note stories are very impactful rather than just sharing facts**). I also wanted to give you this handout from the National Association of School Psychologists that describes 'Who Are School Psychologists.' (see resource list below). I believe that it is important that we know each other because the work that you do in Albany can have a real impact on the work that I do with our children. I don't have anything specific to ask from you today but I know that there will be opportunities in the future for us to work together to make sure that we can meet the needs of children and families in our area. Here is my contact information (present them with a business card or just a paper with your contact information). Please let me know if I can ever help you with anything. I will definitely be in touch with you if I have something that I need you to support. Thank you again." 
• Present them with the NYASP mug as a token of your gratitude.
• Request a photo with you and the legislator holding the NYASP mug. Consider posting the photo on social media and tag NYASP. Please also send the photo to Katie Sebo (katie.sebo@nyasp.org)
• Provide feedback or information that you would like NYASP to follow-up on by submitting the NYASP Feedback google form.