How do you feel you got feedback from lawmakers? Do you feel like they listened to what you had to say?
Actually, yes. This was quite a learning process for myself. I learned that many of them are just misinformed. They really don't have the facts. They don't have the evidence. And when you spend time with them or their legislative aides, they would listen. Obviously they listen to votes, and they listen to constituents - especially if they're up for reelection. But there's also an element there that I think we saw when we had eight Republicans cross over and vote "no" on the parent trigger, for instance. We saw that people were beginning to listen.
A weekend interview with parent activists Kathleen Oropeza and Rita Solnet
The 2012 Florida legislative session stood out in one important way: Organized parent groups stood up to fight bills -- particularly the controversial "parent empowerment act" -- in a way that they hadn't in several years. They taught themselves how to lobby and make clear they represented an important interest group, using social media as a key tool in their efforts. Emboldened by their successes, but not taking anything for granted, the leaders are looking forward to the next round of battles they expect to see as the state continues down a path that they see as running counter to what public education should be about. Rita Solnet of Parents Across America and Kathleen Oropeza of Fund Education Now spoke with reporter Jeff Solochek in separate interviews about their work during the past session and their plans for the future.
Kathleen Oropeza
We really didn't have any active parent groups before. I was wondering how you decided to get involved and how you think it went this year.
We've been working very hard on a lot of the issues all along. Funding of course was what got us started. But we've always been interested in the complete experience our kids were getting in school.
When you went to Tallahassee did you expect to be one of the lead groups?
I think that it was a process that occurred. We've actually been working amongst ourselves for four years now. During that time we've met some amazing parents with amazing points of view. What you saw was the culmination of those relationships coming together, because it really was a lot of different people who came together and arrived at consensus.
Did you expect that the lawmakers were going to listen?