Last month, DLC team members joined EdTrust Tennessee at the Tennessee State Capitol for Day on the Hill, an opportunity to advocate directly for the policies that make inclusive education possible and sustainable. This experience was made especially meaningful as two former DLC fellows and current classroom teachers, Anthony Benvenuto of Valor Collegiate Academy and Isormari Pozo of LaVergne High School, joined the DLC team. Their voices were essential in understanding the relevant context in education today and reminding the team of something important: advocacy spaces belong to all of us.
Why Advocacy Is Central to this Work
The DLC believes deeply that building inclusive instructional systems requires effort at the school-level and policy-level.
When teachers lack the professional learning they need to support diverse learners, students fall through the cracks. When financial incentives do not exist to attract and retain exceptional educators, schools lose their best people. When teacher preparation programs do not adequately train candidates to work with students with disabilities and multilingual learners, the pipeline weakens before it even begins.
Policy shapes all of it, and that’s why the DLC showed up to advocate for diverse learner students and the teachers who serve them.
What the Day Felt Like
For DLC team members, Day on the Hill was a reclamation of hope, and a reminder that advocacy is far more accessible than most people think.
One team member shared that the experience was nothing like what she expected:
The accessibility our team member references matters, because for many educators, the Capitol feels like someone else’s space. Day on the Hill proved otherwise.
Another powerful moment came during an education subcommittee hearing, when a college student stood up to offer testimony in support of a bill creating an academic holiday on election days for first-time voters. His bill was unrelated to the disability policies DLC came to support, but it was impactful on our team so see how members of our community can show up in this space with confidence:
The most memorable moment, for us, came during a conversation with a legislator, where the room felt tense due to differing perspectives. A team member asked about the artifacts around the room, and the feeling of the room shifted. The legislator opened up about his mother, about the legislation he had supported in her honor, and the human story behind his votes. The team left that meeting thinking about Harry T. Burns, the Tennessee legislator who, in 1920, switched his vote at the last minute in favor of women’s suffrage after receiving a letter from his mother. His one vote made Tennessee the deciding state on the 19th Amendment. One team member reflected:
What You Can Do
Advocacy does not require a trip to the Capitol, though it helps! Here are three practical ways to support inclusive education policy right now:
- Stay informed. Follow the progress of educational bills through the Tennessee General Assembly.
- Share your story. Legislators respond to real experiences. If you are an educator, coach, or leader working with diverse learners, your voice matters.
- Partner with DLC. Whether you are a school, district, preparation program, or funder, there is a role for you in building inclusive instructional systems that last.
Inclusive education is built through relationships, through practice; and yes, through policy. DLC is proud to be in those rooms advocating for the educators and students who deserve nothing less.
Ready to partner with DLC? Visit our website to learn more.