By:  Gallegos                                        S.C.R. No. 172
                             SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
    1-1        WHEREAS, The Legislature of the State of Texas is concerned
    1-2  that over 48 percent of Texas Hispanic students drop out of school
    1-3  by the ninth grade; and
    1-4        WHEREAS, The illiteracy rate in Texas is at an unacceptably
    1-5  high level compared with per capita expense for public education;
    1-6  and
    1-7        WHEREAS, In Texas, more than 26 percent of public school
    1-8  students are in special education classes, with a similar percent
    1-9  labeled as educationally disabled; and
   1-10        WHEREAS, The consequences of illiteracy are tragic for the
   1-11  individual who cannot read, costly for the state because of lost
   1-12  tax revenues and welfare costs, and expensive for businesses who
   1-13  must provide remedial education; and
   1-14        WHEREAS, More than 50 years of medical and behavioral science
   1-15  research have confirmed that learning to read is a skill which must
   1-16  be taught in a direct, systematic way; and
   1-17        WHEREAS, By teaching phonics in both English and Spanish,
   1-18  bilingual students experience a strong synergy between both
   1-19  languages; and
   1-20        WHEREAS, Experts have recommended that:
   1-21        (1)  Texas colleges and universities be required to offer one
   1-22  year of instruction in direct, systematic, and intensive phonics;
   1-23        (2)  credit hours earned from completion of these courses be
    2-1  a requirement for all Texas students who major in reading and
    2-2  language instruction; and
    2-3        (3)  documentation of completion of college or university
    2-4  courses in the teaching of phonics in the described way be required
    2-5  for all Texas teachers who are assigned to teach reading or
    2-6  language arts, regardless of their major field of study; now,
    2-7  therefore, be it
    2-8        RESOLVED, That the Texas Senate Committee on Education and
    2-9  the Texas House of Representatives Committee on Public Education
   2-10  study these suggestions and report back to the 75th Legislature
   2-11  when it convenes in January, 1997, on the results of their study.