Legislator & policymaker
NJEA’s Legislative Work
Force
Why does political action
matter?
Elected and appointed officials decide
almost every aspect of a school
employee’s job.
• Freeholders, Congress, the
state Legislature, the governor
– all have the power to make
decisions that influence us.
• Elected officials play a role
in appointing other decision
makers who have an equal
impact on our professional lives,
such as the members of the
State Board of Education, the
commissioner of education, and
justices in the courts.
• Class sizes, wages, school
district funding/resources for
40 – AR Handbook
students, how student test scores
are used, sick/vacation/personal/
medical leave, due process
(tenure) rights, pensions and
benefits, retirement age, many
working conditions – all of these
are decisions that are made by
elected and appointed officials.
To have an impact over the issues
that affect us and our families, our
schools and students, our profession,
and our community, we need to be
involved in the process.
• We are the experts. Elected and
appointed policymakers need
to hear directly from us on
education issues.
• If our voice is not part of the
process, people without any
knowledge of students and
schools could be making
decisions about education that
affect you, your schools, and
your students.
• We need to let policymakers
know the impact of their
proposed policies and make sure
they have the right information
before they make any decisions.
The political process and
the AR’s role
The NJEA Government Relations
Division organizes members to be
active in the political process. Members
from each county on the NJEA
Government Relations and Congressional
Contact committees help
promote NJEA positions on legislation
and regulation with elected
and appointed officials at both the
federal and state levels.