The Ohio PTA Voice: March 2023

Thursday, March 23, 2023

Parents Bill of Rights! Take Action!

This week, the U.S. House of Representatives will debate and vote on H.R. 5, the Parents Bill of Rights. H.R. 5 has the potential to cause significant harm to children & families by:

Preventing mental health support for students in need;
Limiting access to learning-enhancing technology & educational materials;
Leading to inappropriate and harmful book bans & curriculum censorship;
Creating confusion for school staff & burdensome opt-in requirements for families;
Impairing relationships between educators & parents; and
Undermining efforts to create safe, welcoming, supportive, and inclusive learning environments for all students and families.

Representative Suzanne Bonamici, National PTA’s 2023 Congressional Voice for Children Awardee, will be offering a Substitute Amendment that PTA supported the development of and would serve to replace the existing legislation, if adopted, but we need your help!

Contact your Representatives today to support adoption of the Bonamici Substitute Amendment to replace the current Parents Bill of Rights Act (H.R. 5) and ensure effective family-school partnerships are supported in all school communities.

Representative Bonamici's Substitute Amendment provides for meaningful and inclusive family engagement in K-12 education and would make critically needed improvements to H.R. 5, including creating a parent coordinator position in public schools, reinforcing existing parents’ rights under federal law, prohibiting the federal government from curriculum censorship and banning books, and investing in full-service community schools and Statewide Family Engagement Centers.

CLICK HERE TO TAKE ACTION

ADVOCACY ALERT! Takes less than 3 minutes!

For the first time in many, many years, perhaps ever, Ohio is considering a 10% rate increase for community behavioral health services. This is huge! This investment would help to continue to provide needed services to children and families, and it could also help to stabilize the behavioral health workforce as the industry continues to face workforce challenges. Let the Ohio House of Representatives know you want them o support this rate increase and ensure our Ohio House of Representatives understand the difference a rate increase would make.

TAKE ACTION!

Reach out to your members of the Ohio House of Representatives.
You can find your House Representative HERE by using the “Who represents me?” function.

When you put in your address, your House Representative will appear. Just click on the representative.
This will take you to the Ohio House page.
Select Contact (upper right-hand corner)
Complete the contact form.
Subject Line: Support 10% Rate Increase for Community Behavioral Health Services
Use this message:

Today, more Ohioans of all ages need mental health and substance use services – yet most have difficulty accessing care due to the lack of available providers. Waiting times have become weeks

and months rather than days and weeks. HB 33 includes historic investments in community behavioral health and this is an encouraging step in the right direction – however, more in investment

is needed for community behavioral health providers to remain competitive and keep pace with the demand for care.

I am asking for your support of amendment HC0294 to increase funding for Medicaid payment rates for community behavioral health services by an additional 10% ($220 million) to stabilize and

strengthen the behavioral health workforce.

Thank you for your support!

Sunday, March 19, 2023

KUDOS and Congratulations to all Membership Award Winners!

KUDOS and Congratulations to all Membership Award Winners!

And the Emmy Goes to:

Birch Primary PTA – R1

Falls-Lenox/ECC Primary Schools PTA – R1

Olmsted ECPTA - R1

Olmsted Falls HS PTA – R1

Olmsted Falls Int School PTA – R1

Olmsted Falls MS PTA – R1

Delshire El PTA – R2

Bellflower El PTA – R4

Dentzler El PTA – R4

First Step ECPTA – R4

John Muir El PTA – R4

North Royalton El PTA – R4

Riverside Campus PTA – R4

Barberton MS PTSA – R5

Copley-Fairlawn MS PTA – R5

Fort Island Primary PTA – R5

Indian Trail Elementary PTA – R5

Riverview El PTA – R5

Samuel Bissel El PTA – R5

Golden Apple Awards:

Dentzler El PTA – R4 John Muir El PTA – R4 Orchard Hollow El PTA – R4

Riverview El PTA - R4

Outstanding Outreach:

Olmsted EC PTA – R1

Membership Madness Award:

Olmsted Falls High School PTA

Lasting Legacy Awards:

Reg 1: Kinsner El PTA, Brook Park El PTSA, Keystone District PTA, Lakewood ECPTA,

North Ridgeville ECPTA, Olmsted Falls HS PTA, Parkview Early Ed PTA, Wadsworth ECPTA,

and Western Reserve El PTA.

Reg 2: Greenville MS PTA, Loveland El PTA, Rapid Run MS PTA, and Triad PTA.

Reg 3: Cherrington El PTA, Finland MS PTA, Hillview El PTA, Ohio Partnership PTA, and

Stiles El PTA.

Reg 4: First Step ECPTA, Glendale Primary PTA, Hopkins El PTA, Kingsville PTA, Lake El

PTA, Memorial Jr HS PTA, and Thoreau Park El PTA.

Reg 5: LaCroft El PTA, Ledgeview El PTA, North El PTA – East Liverpool, Otis Hatton El

PTA, RBC & Twinsburg HS PTA, and Revere MS PTA.

Monthly Incentive Awards:

Manuary January:

Reg 1: Birch Primary PTA, Chapman El PTA, Eagles Unite PTA, Falls-Lenox/ECC Primary

Sch PTA, Grindstone El PTA, Lincoln PTA, North Olmsted ECPTA, Olmsted ECPTA, Olmsted

Falls HS PTA, Olmsted Falls Inter PTA, Olmsted Falls MS PTA, Parkview Early Ed PTA,

Rocky R Goldwood Primary PTA, Strongsville EL PTA, and Westview El PTA.

Reg 2: Colerain MS PTA, Delshire El PTA, Greenville HS PTSA, Jane Chance El PTA,

Loveland El PTA, Miamisburg MS PTA, Oak Hills HS PTA, Triad PTA, and Williamsburg El/

Sr PTA.

Reg 3: Beulah Park MS PTSA, Bright El PTA, Finland MS PTA, Highpoint El PTA, Minerva

France El PTA, Pleasant View MS PTA, and Somerset El PTA.

Reg 4: Bedford Heskett PTSA, Bellflower El PTA, Dentzler El PTA, East Cleveland Mayfield

El Sch PTA, First Step ECPTA, Green Valley El PTA, Hillside MS PTA, Hopkins El PTA, John

Muir El PTA, Kingsville PTA, Memorial MS PTA, Mentor HS PTSA, North Royalton ECPTA,

North Royalton El PTA, Orange HS PTA, Orchard Hollow El PTA, Parkside El PTA, Parma EC

PTA, Parma Sr HS PTSA, Pleasant Valley El PTA, Riverside Campus PTA, Roxboro MS PTA,

Roxbury El PTA, Royalview El PTA, Shiloh MS PTA, Smart ECPTA, and Thoreau Pk El PTA.

Reg 5: Akron Early College HS PTA, Anne T Case El PTA, Arrowhead Primary Sch PTA, AF

Falcons PTSA, Barberton MS PTSA, Boardman Ctr Int PTA, Copley-Fairlawn MS PTA, Fort

Island Primary PTA, Harvey Firestone HS PTSA, Indian Trail El PTA, Jackson-Milton El PTA,

John R Buchtel CLC PTA, Lincoln El PTA,

NIHF Stem MS PTA, Rbc & Twinsburg HS PTA, Richfield El PTA, Riverview El PTA, Samuel

Bissell El Sch PTA, and Stow-Munroe Falls HS PTSA.

February Is For Founders:

Reg 1: Berea Midpark HS PTSA, Big Creek El PTA, Birch Primary PTA, Brook Park El PTSA,

Chestnut Int PTA, Falls-Lenox ECC/Primary Sch PTA, Gilles-Sweet El PTA, Lorain County

JVS PTA, North Ridgeville ECPTA, Olmsted ECPTA, Olmsted Falls HS PTA, Olmsted Falls Int

Sch PTA, Olmsted Falls MS PTA, Roosevelt El PTA, Strongsville HS PTA, and Titans ECPTA.

Reg 2: Delshire El PTA, Milford Jr HS PTSA, and Rapid Run MS PTA.

Reg 3: Buckeye Woods El PTA, Hawthorne El PTA, and Heritage MS PTSA.

Reg 4: Arbor El PTA, Bellflower El PTA, Boulevard El PTA, Dentzler El PTA, First Step

ECPTA, John Muir El PTA, Kingsville PTA, North Royalton El PTA, Oxford El PTA, Parma Sr

HS PTSA, Riverside Campus PTA, Roxboro El PTA, Solon HS PTA, Streetsboro Comm PTA

, and Valley Forge PTSA.

Reg 5: Barberton Int PTA, Barberton MS PTSA, Barnesville Shamrock PTA, Copley- Fairlawn

MS PTA, Fort Island Primary PTA, Indian Trail El PTA, King CLC PTA, Manchester MS PTA,

NIHF Stem HS PTSA, Riverview El PTA, Samuel Bissell El Sch PTA, Tallmadge El PTA,

Voris CLC El PTA, and Wilcox Primary PTA.

#MembershipMattersEarnMoreAwards

#OhioPTAsRock

QPR Event: FREE Suicide Prevention Training at Convention!

QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer)

Suicide Prevention Training

Register for the 116th Ohio PTA Convention now!

QPR Event: FREE Suicide Prevention Training. Open to 2023 OHPTA Convention Registrants only.

When: Sunday, April 16th, 2023

Time: 11:45 am – 1:15 pm

Location: Nationwide Hotel and Convention Center - (room TBA)

Prior Registration is required. (After registering for the Convention, click the link to register for the QPR training.)

What is QPR?

QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer)

QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer) Suicide Prevention Training. QPR is a Suicide Prevention training for participants to recognize the warning signs of Suicidal Thinking, Behavior, and Attempts and question, persuade, and refer people at risk. In this 90-minute workshop, a QPR trainer will teach the layperson how to recognize the warning signs of a suicide crisis and to follow the 3 simple steps of QPR - Question, Persuade, and Refer. QPR helps save lives, and you can be part of this critical movement to reduce stigma and offer hope to those in crisis. Workshop attendees will receive certification for this training.

KEY COMPONENTS COVERED IN TRAINING: