It is essential, however, for you to send communications to legislators from your PERSONAL email account or stationery or using your own telephone. It is against the law for AEA employees to lobby legislators using agency email or stationery. Please do not send any such messages during agency work hours, as that would also be a violation of the law.
Suggested Activities
1. Send a message: Send an email or hand written note to the legislators that represent you a couple times per month. Here is a list of state legislators who serve our Heartland AEA area.
a. Week One (Thank them for an action they have taken: this week it could be for their willingness to serve our state).
b. Week Two (Share an example of a need you see related to education/children with your representatives.)
c. Week Three (Share an example of a need you see related to education/children with your senator.)
d. Repeat each month.
2. Attend a legislative forum. Legislators return to their home counties on the weekends to hold legislative forums and hear from constituents from their areas. These forums are the perfect opportunities for you to get to know your elected officials and to talk face-to-face to voice your opinions about issues.
Visit these sites to find dates and locations for weekend forums.
Iowa Senate Democrats Iowa House Democrats
Iowa House Republicans
3. Keep informed: We will begin publishing weekly updates from our AEA lobbyists when the Session begins this week. You are encouraged to read these updates to stay current on what is going on with education issues at the Statehouse.
Key Points
• Equity in education for all children is critical to an educated future workforce. (AEAs are an efficient and effective means of providing equity in Iowa [insert your own story about how your work contributes to efficiency and/or student learning.])
• Many children face barriers to learning such as living in poverty, coming to school hungry, in need of English language support, in need of mental health services, experiencing personal or family crisis, need for specialized instruction, etc. (AEA services support children, families and staff in schools to overcome these barriers [provide examples from your work.])
Staff Handbook Guidance
Section 14:6 of the Staff Handbook “Political Activity” provides guidelines for political activity:
The Agency is actively interested in legislation regarding AEAs and education. Heartland AEA encourages employees to be individually engaged in civic and political activities; however, employees will not expend or permit the expenditure of public monies for the support or opposition of a candidate or ballot issue.
- Employees may attend political caucuses on Heartland AEA property that are open generally to the public.
- Employees may engage in political activities of their choosing on their own time off Heartland AEA premises.
- Expenditure of public money includes, but is not limited to, direct expenditure of funds, use of property or equipment and use of staff time during working hours.
- Limited examples of prohibited uses of public funds include the following:
- Placing political signs on real estate owned or leased by a political subdivision.
- Display of political posters, brochures, flyers or other promotional literature in areas accessible to the public.
- Providing mailing lists, databases or other compilations prepared for a public purpose unless they are made available to all members of the public for the same consideration.
- Use of office equipment such as copy, fax or postage machines, computer hardware/software or calculators.
- Employees engaging in campaign activities of any sort during working hours.
- Use of telephones owned or leased by the political subdivision to make calls in support of or opposition to a ballot issue or a candidate.
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