H.R. No. 77

R E S O L U T I O N

WHEREAS, The Irma Lerma Rangel Young Women's Leadership School in Dallas is commemorating in 2017-2018 its 14th year of providing an outstanding education to area youth, and this occasion offers a welcome opportunity to recognize the school as well as its namesake, the Honorable Irma Rangel; and

WHEREAS, Opened in the Oak Lawn neighborhood in the fall of 2004, the Irma Lerma Rangel Young Women's Leadership School is a magnet program of the Dallas Independent School District; the first all-girls public school in Dallas, it was established so that teachers could tailor their instruction to the particular ways in which girls learn; and

WHEREAS, Through leadership seminars, weekly advisory meetings, and partnerships with educational and cultural organizations, the school provides students with a rigorous college-preparatory course of study; the project-oriented curriculum emphasizes math, science, and technology but also offers ample learning opportunities in foreign languages and humanities; in addition to equipping students with an excellent academic foundation, the school encourages its youth to develop a strong sense of ethics and civic responsibility and to become leaders in their community; and

WHEREAS, It is fitting that such an admirable and progressive institution be named for Irma Rangel, a trailblazer who worked tirelessly as a member of the Texas Legislature to improve the state's public school and higher education systems; an educator herself early in her career, Ms. Rangel taught for 14 years in Texas, California, and Venezuela before earning a degree from St. Mary's University School of Law in 1969; after clerking for a federal district judge and serving as an assistant district attorney, she returned to her hometown of Kingsville in 1973 to practice law; and

WHEREAS, When Ms. Rangel won a seat in the Texas House of Representatives in 1976, she became the first Hispanic woman elected to the state legislature; elected to 14 consecutive terms, she was the fifth most-senior member of this body at the time of her death in 2003; during her tenure, she sponsored legislation establishing a pharmacy school for Texas A&M University--Kingsville, now known as the Irma Lerma Rangel College of Pharmacy; and

WHEREAS, The first Mexican American woman to be appointed chair of a house committee, Representative Rangel was named chair of the House Committee on Higher Education in 1995, and she served in that role for four consecutive legislative sessions; she was also the first woman elected chair of the Mexican American Legislative Caucus and the first Mexican American to receive the G. J. Sutton Award from the Legislative Black Caucus; and

WHEREAS, A passionate advocate for the poor, the marginalized, and the underserved, Irma Rangel was a true Texas pioneer who worked tirelessly to make a college education accessible to all citizens, and her life serves as a shining example for the outstanding young women who are attending the school that bears her name; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 85th Texas Legislature hereby pay tribute to the accomplished and inspiring life of the Honorable Irma Rangel and commend the students of the Irma Lerma Rangel Young Women's Leadership School on the 14th anniversary of the opening of that academy; and, be it further

RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be prepared for the school as an expression of high regard by the Texas House of Representatives.

Alonzo

______________________________ Speaker of the House

I certify that H.R. No. 77 was adopted by the House on February 23, 2017, by a non-record vote.

______________________________ Chief Clerk of the House