Public Education and Outreach

Teachers, students and parents are encouraged to educate their elected officials about their experience with service-learning and the Learn and Serve Texas grant.  Please remember the following guidelines and suggestions when planning to contact elected officials:

• Anyone is free to contact elected representatives on their own time to request support for Learn and Serve America or engage in advocacy efforts.
• Teachers and students engaged in activities directly related to the Learn and Serve Texas grant are prohibited from lobbying or attempting to persuade elected officials to endorse a particular position, take an action, or propose legislation.  Instead, they may educate elected officials about their activities and the value and impact of the Learn and Serve America program in their schools and communities.
• Parents and community partners are not restricted from making specific requests of elected officials, unless such requests are part of Learn and Serve Texas activities, in which case they would be limited to public education efforts only.
• When communicating with members of Congress, be sure to point out that the Learn and Serve America program is funded through the Corporation for National and Community Service.
• Call or fax your representatives using the contact information for their local or regional offices.  Avoid email and mail.
• Invite your elected representatives to see service-learning in action and to participate in service-learning activities.
• When in doubt about what actions you can take, check it out first!  Be sure to ask your administrators what is permissible for your organization and keep key individuals informed about your actions.  Always remember that your job is to educate and not to advocate or ask for specific actions or outcomes.
• Review the document Restrictions on Political Activities, which describes specific scenarios that are and are not allowable.  If you have any questions, check with Service Learning Texas prior to taking any actions.

To assist you in sharing information about the Learn and Serve America program, we've compiled in the following fact sheets for our U.S. Senators and for selected Congressional representatives:

Learn and Serve Texas Fact Sheets

LST Fact Sheet                -Senator John Cornyn

                                                  -Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson

District 4 Fact Sheet-    Representative Ralph Hall

District 11 Fact Sheet-  Representative Michael Conaway

District 14 Fact Sheet-  Representative Ron Paul

District 19 Fact Sheet-  Representative Randy Neugebauer

District 25 Fact Sheet-  Representative Lloyd Doggett

District 26 Fact Sheet-  Representative Michael Burgess

District 31 Fact Sheet-  Representative John Carter

If you are unsure of who represents you or how to contact their offices (local offices are best), please visit Who Represents Me?, where you can see a list of state and federal representatives based on your address.  We'll be adding more fact sheets in the coming weeks and will be happy to work with you to develop fact sheets for your congressional districts if desired.