Legislative Update

On May 21, 2009, your hard work paid off. The Senate Education Committee passed House Bill 130 and it now heads to the Senate Floor with time short for its passage. Your efforts are needed as much now as before.

Today, please urge your Senator to vote for HB 130 so that Texas can join all other states offering pre-K in establishing a maximum class size and a meaningful teacher-student ratio!

Time is short. Act today!

HB 130 will create a grant program for selected school districts that would strengthen quality measures for pre-K programs by:

• Offering full-day rather than half-day programs
• Setting maximum class size at 22
• Establishing a teacher-to-child ratio of 1:11
• Requiring school districts to partner with child care providers using a minimum of 20 percent of the grant funding

Passage of 130 means:

• Texas would join all the other states offering pre-K programs in establishing a maximum class size and a meaningful teacher-to-child ratio
• Texas would implement quality measures that research has demonstrated effective in improving reading and math literacy in later years
• Texas would save millions of dollars each year in grade retention costs for first and second graders and other expensive remedial efforts
• School districts and child care providers support the bill

To locate your Senator:

Go to Texas Legislature Online. In the lower right hand corner of the site, go to Who Represents Me? By filling in your address and zip code you will get the names and contact information for all your representatives.

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