Bill not drafted by TLC or Senate E&E.

      Line and page numbers may not match official copy.

      By Wilson                                         H.R. No. 28

                                 R E S O L U T I O N

 1-1           WHEREAS, Mastery of the English language is absolutely vital

 1-2     to students in the public school system; and

 1-3           WHEREAS, Each and every child in Texas should be given the

 1-4     opportunity and support necessary to become proficient with English

 1-5     as their primary language; and

 1-6           WHEREAS, Many students in Texas do not utilize standard

 1-7     English to communicate, some of these students are

 1-8     African-Americans and use a derivative of Pan African dialects

 1-9     sometimes referred to as Ebonics as a means of communication; and

1-10           WHEREAS, It is often difficult for teachers to understand

1-11     this dialect and therefore difficult to teach these students in an

1-12     academic setting; and

1-13           WHEREAS, In order to be more effective and more successful

1-14     with teaching these students both mastery of standard English and

1-15     other subjects it is necessary to identify those students who

1-16     utilized a Pan African dialect derivative as a method of

1-17     communication; and

1-18           WHEREAS, Focus on assisting teachers charged with educating

1-19     these students must be an integral part of teaching them standard

1-20     English.  Teachers must be given the tools necessary to assist them

1-21     in communication with these students; therefore, be it

1-22           RESOLVED, That the Texas Education Agency is hereby requested

1-23     to communicate with local school districts in the state regarding

1-24     their identification of students that utilize a Pan African dialect

 2-1     as a means of communication.  Each district should be asked to

 2-2     report back to TEA the number of students in their district that

 2-3     utilize this dialect; and, therefore be it further

 2-4           RESOLVED, That the Texas Education Agency work with local

 2-5     school districts so affected to develop a plan to assist teachers

 2-6     in these districts with communicating with students utilizing Pan

 2-7     African dialect derivative as a method of communication.   It is

 2-8     the intent of the Legislature that this be accomplished by using

 2-9     existing resources.