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.