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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Former state senator Joe J. Bernal has devoted his |
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life to expanding the horizons of opportunity for all Texans; and |
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WHEREAS, The son of Jose and Antonia Bernal, Joe Bernal was |
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born in San Antonio in 1927 and grew up with eight brothers and |
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sisters on the city's west side; after graduating from Lanier High |
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School, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and served as an infantryman in |
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Manila and Tokyo with the Headquarters Squadron, Pacific Air |
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Command; he attained the rank of sergeant before receiving his |
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honorable discharge at the age of 19; and |
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WHEREAS, Senator Bernal attended Trinity University through |
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the G.I. Bill and earned his bachelor's degree in sociology; after |
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teaching in the Kosciusko Independent School District for a year, |
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he went on to serve at Burleson Elementary School in Edgewood ISD |
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and then Crockett Elementary School in San Antonio ISD; along the |
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way, he earned a master's degree in education with a minor in social |
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work from Our Lady of the Lake College, and he was employed as a |
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social worker by the Inman Christian Center for four years; and |
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WHEREAS, In 1964, Joe Bernal was elected to the Texas House of |
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Representatives, and he worked tirelessly in behalf of an amendment |
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to the state constitution that allowed seniors who had lived in the |
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U.S. for more than 25 years to receive benefits regardless of their |
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citizenship status; voters in Bexar County sent him to the state |
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senate in 1966, and over the course of two terms in office, he |
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dedicated himself to increasing educational access and protecting |
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vulnerable members of society; in 1969, he overcame fierce |
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opposition to secure passage of the state's first bilingual |
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education act, and he helped the state obtain federal funding for |
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bilingual education; he was also instrumental in abolishing a law |
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against using languages other than English in the classroom; |
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moreover, he sponsored the bill establishing The University of |
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Texas at San Antonio and battled tenaciously to pass it, and he |
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achieved the same success with his bill founding the UTSA dental and |
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nursing schools; his legislative initiatives further included the |
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state's first minimum wage law, lesson-planning time for teachers, |
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state-supported kindergarten programs, and funding for a criminal |
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justice council; in addition, he chaired the Federal Programs and |
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Relations, Claims, and Poverty in Texas Committees and led the |
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Texas House and Senate Mexican American Caucus; and |
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WHEREAS, While making a tremendous impact as a lawmaker, |
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Senator Bernal was employed as executive director for the Guadalupe |
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Community Center and then for the Commission for Mexican American |
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Affairs; he later became director of the Bilingual Cost Analysis |
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Project of the Intercultural Development Research Association and a |
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regional director of ACTION, a federal agency that coordinated |
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volunteer opportunities; and |
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WHEREAS, Senator Bernal completed his doctoral degree in |
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cultural foundations in education at The University of Texas at |
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Austin, having written his dissertation on bilingual/bicultural |
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education; from the early 1980s into the 1990s, he served as |
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principal of Emma Frey Elementary School in Edgewood ISD and as |
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assistant superintendent for instructional services for Harlandale |
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ISD; in 1996, he was elected to the State Board of Education, and |
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over the next decade, he championed bilingual education and fought |
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to provide classrooms with Spanish-language textbooks and to have |
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the elementary curriculum translated into Spanish; in addition, his |
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efforts were crucial in bringing mariachi band competitions into |
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the University Interscholastic League; twice reelected to the |
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board, he served as its vice chair from 2001 to 2003 and chaired the |
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committee on instruction; and |
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WHEREAS, In 2014, Northside ISD named a new campus the |
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Dr. Joe J. Bernal Middle School; previously, he and his wife, |
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fellow educator Mary Esther Bernal, received the Lifetime |
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Achievement Award from the Mexican American Legal Defense and |
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Educational Fund for their efforts in behalf of the Latino |
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community; the couple have shared more than six decades of |
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marriage, and they are the parents of four children, Richard, |
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Patrick, Bernard, and Rebecca; and |
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WHEREAS, The destiny of a state is inextricably linked to the |
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quality and equality of its public education system, and through |
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his unyielding commitment to providing all Texans with a strong |
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foundation on which to build, Joe Bernal has enriched the lives of |
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innumerable people; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 86th Texas |
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Legislature hereby honor former state senator Joe Bernal for his |
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outstanding contributions to the Lone Star State and extend to him |
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sincere best wishes for the future; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for Senator Bernal as an expression of high regard by the |
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Texas House of Representatives. |
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Martinez Fischer |
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______________________________ |
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Speaker of the House |
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I certify that H.R. No. 1730 was adopted by the House on May |
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24, 2019, by a non-record vote. |
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______________________________ |
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Chief Clerk of the House |
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