H.R. No. 509

	R E S O L U T I O N
	WHEREAS, Community colleges play a vital role in the Lone
	Star State, and on this day, representatives of the Texas
	Association of Community Colleges, Texas Community College
	Teachers Association, and Texas Junior College Student Government
	Association, as well as students from Texas community college
	honors programs and Phi Theta Kappa members, are visiting the State
	Capitol to show their support of these essential institutions; and
	WHEREAS, Higher education affords significant benefits to
	both individuals and to society at large; those who complete
	postsecondary degrees generally enjoy more employment
	opportunities, higher salaries, and greater job satisfaction than
	those who do not, while states with a well-educated citizenry see
	such positive gains as increased tax revenue, improved health, and
	reduced poverty, crime, and unemployment; and
	WHEREAS, Students attending Texas community, junior, and
	technical colleges receive instruction from highly dedicated and
	knowledgeable faculties; teachers of academic transfer courses are
	required to possess the same minimum credentials as university
	faculty in order for their colleges to be certified by the Southern
	Association of Colleges and Schools, while instructors in workforce
	disciplines must also meet the rigorous standards of accrediting
	agencies; and
	WHEREAS, Texas community colleges constitute a critical
	component of the state's system of higher education; currently,
	these schools are educating 74 percent of all freshmen and
	sophomores and 76 percent of all minority freshmen and sophomores
	attending Texas public postsecondary institutions; moreover, most
	of the growth in the state's higher education enrollment is taking
	place in the community colleges, whose enrollment in the fall of
	2005 accounted for 67 percent of that increase; and
	WHEREAS, The ethnic composition of the community college
	student bodies almost exactly mirrors the ethnic profile of the
	state, signifying the importance of these schools to communities
	that have traditionally had less access to higher education; and
	WHEREAS, Increasingly, states need well-educated workforces
	to attract and retain high-paying businesses and industries; for
	Texas to prosper in the years ahead, it will be necessary for still
	greater percentages of all ethnic groups, and especially of
	traditionally disadvantaged populations, to acquire higher
	education than are presently enrolled in postsecondary
	institutions; and
	WHEREAS, If Texas and its citizens are to meet the challenges
	of the new global economy, it is crucial that quality higher
	education be accessible to all who need and want it, and a strong
	system of community colleges will be instrumental to achieving that
	goal; now, therefore, be it
	RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 80th Texas
	Legislature hereby recognize February 22, 2007, as Texas Community
	Colleges Day in tribute to the immeasurable contribution those
	schools are making to the well-being of this state and its citizens.
	Herrero
	Bonnen
	Pickett
	Patrick
	Escobar
	Craddick Gattis Miles
	Allen Geren Miller
	Alonzo Giddings Moreno
	Anchia Gonzales Morrison
	Anderson Gonzalez Toureilles Mowery
	Aycock Goolsby Murphy
	Bailey Guillen Naishtat
	Berman Haggerty Noriega
	Bohac Hamilton O'Day
	Bolton Hancock Oliveira
	Bonnen Hardcastle Olivo
	Branch Harless Orr
	Brown of Kaufman Harper-Brown Ortiz, Jr.
	Brown of Brazos Hartnett Otto
	Burnam Heflin Parker
	Callegari Hernandez Patrick
	Castro Herrero Paxton
	Chavez Hilderbran Pena
	Chisum Hill Phillips
	Christian Hochberg Pickett
	Cohen Hodge Pierson
	Coleman Homer Pitts
	Cook of Navarro Hopson Puente
	Cook of Colorado Howard of Fort Bend Quintanilla
	Corte Howard of Travis Raymond
	Crabb Hughes Riddle
	Creighton Isett Ritter
	Crownover Jackson Rodriguez
	Darby Jones Rose
	Davis of Harris Keffer Smith of Tarrant
	Davis of Dallas King of Parker Smith of Harris
	Delisi King of Taylor Smithee
	Deshotel King of Zavala Solomons
	Driver Kolkhorst Strama
	Dukes Krusee Straus
	Dunnam Kuempel Swinford
	Dutton Latham Talton
	Eiland Laubenberg Taylor
	Eissler Leibowitz Thompson
	Elkins Lucio III Truitt
	England Macias Turner
	Escobar Madden Van Arsdale
	Farabee Mallory Caraway Vaught
	Farias Martinez Veasey
	Farrar Martinez Fischer Villarreal
	Flores McCall Vo
	Flynn McClendon West
	Frost McReynolds Woolley
	Gallego Menendez Zedler
	Garcia Merritt Zerwas
	______________________________
	Speaker of the House
	I certify that H.R. No. 509 was adopted by the House on
	February 22, 2007, by a non-record vote.
	______________________________
	Chief Clerk of the House