Owasso parents form PLAC to track and explain education legislation to community

Superintendent Margaret Coates hosted Melissa Welborn on 'Minutes with Margaret' to introduce the Owasso Parent Legislative Advocacy Coalition, known as PLAC, and explain how parents and community members can follow and influence state and local school policy.

"It's the Owasso Parent Legislative Advocacy Coalition," Welborn said, describing a volunteer group made up primarily of parents of Owasso Public Schools students along with teachers, grandparents and business members who have an interest in supporting the district. She said PLAC's work is to identify state and local legislation that could affect students, teachers and schools and to share that information with the community.

Welborn described PLAC's primary outreach channels as Facebook and Instagram pages and a Substack newsletter the group is launching for people who use social media less. She encouraged interested residents to follow those pages or subscribe to the newsletter to learn about bills that could affect the district.

On how members can get involved, Welborn recommended three steps: follow PLAC on social media, subscribe to the Substack newsletter and attend PLAC events. She said PLAC holds a fall, "come-and-go" community event that invites state representatives and senators for informal conversations so parents can speak directly with legislators.

Welborn provided a contact address for the group: owasoplac@gmail.com. She also noted that the Owasso Public Schools website now includes an advocacy page listing legislators' email addresses and other contact information.

Coates and Welborn stressed that PLAC is nonpartisan. "We're just the parents of Owasso in our community doing the best we can," Welborn said, describing PLAC as focused on schools rather than promoting any political party.

Coates closed the segment by thanking PLAC volunteers for the time they spend tracking bills and producing the group's online resources, calling the organization "a valuable resource for our community." The interview concluded with an invitation to the community to participate in PLAC's outreach and events.