By:  Zaffirini                                       S.C.R. No. 128
                             SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
    1-1        WHEREAS, The State of Texas' universities and their libraries
    1-2  are invaluable sources of information that should be available to
    1-3  all Texans; and
    1-4        WHEREAS, Public education has long been a priority in Texas;
    1-5  the sizable  portion of the state's budget directed to this
    1-6  endeavor is now threatened by other pressing demands; and
    1-7        WHEREAS, Forty percent of all Texas residents live in rural
    1-8  areas or communities with less than 20,000 people, and the rural
    1-9  and small schools in Texas are thus without convenient access to
   1-10  the state's major scientific and  research laboratories and
   1-11  libraries; and
   1-12        WHEREAS, Approximately 30 percent of those teaching science
   1-13  in Texas schools did not take any college-level science courses; in
   1-14  rural Texas, often the science teacher is teaching science in
   1-15  addition to other responsibilities; and
   1-16        WHEREAS, The Texas Math and Science Hotline, through the use
   1-17  of a toll-free number, encourages interaction between kindergarten
   1-18  through 12th-grade teachers and their students with the resources
   1-19  available in the state's scientific, research, and higher education
   1-20  institutions; and
   1-21        WHEREAS, The hotline makes the resources of the state's
   1-22  higher education institutions easily accessible to all Texans,
   1-23  regardless of geographic location; and
    2-1        WHEREAS, More than 650 scientists in all disciplines
    2-2  representing the state's major research and teaching facilities are
    2-3  participating already; and
    2-4        WHEREAS, This service can be easily expanded by incorporating
    2-5  the latest technology to provide computer and audio-conferencing to
    2-6  remote classrooms; and
    2-7        WHEREAS, This service makes the state's intellectual
    2-8  resources more widely available to improve science literacy as well
    2-9  as science education; and
   2-10        WHEREAS, The Texas Math and Science Hotline service easily
   2-11  can be duplicated or expanded to provide access to higher education
   2-12  faculty in all disciplines; now, therefore, be it
   2-13        RESOLVED, That the 74th Legislature of the State of Texas
   2-14  hereby commend the Texas Math and Science Hotline for providing an
   2-15  efficient, cost-effective vehicle for facilitating
   2-16  university-school collaborations.