Hispanics

Organized for Political Education

TX HOPE OFFICERS TX HOPE CHAIR Joe Cardenas III TX HOPE CO-CHAIR Hector Flores TREASURER Mary Ramos PARLIAMENTARIAN Ray Mancera SECRETARY Herlinda Garcia EDUCATION CHAIR Velma Ybarra TX HOPE MEMBERS OF THE BOARD

Statement on Conference Committee Report on House Bill 5 May 26, 2013 Hispanics Organized for Political Education (HOPE) acknowledges the hard work of those who brought House Bill 5 out of the clutches of the Conference Committee with reduced obstacles for reaching academic and life success. The debate on HB 5 has made it clear that we continue to face the stigma that not all students should be viewed as college material. This is exemplified by the continued push, and victory, to take students off of a Top 10% eligible, default curriculum plan. This unfortunate change is a battle that we will continue to fight, both as it pertains to the default high school curriculum, and college access requirements. We do however acknowledge that efforts to fully dismantle the current, 4x4 curriculum have come up short. As outlined in the Conference Committee Report on HB 5, the Foundation plus Endorsement default plan will still require four courses each in English, math, and science. We will not allow the Endorsement titles to distract our parents and communities from gaining college knowledge and accessibility to higher education. We intend to educate our communities on the shameful acts of self-interest that continue to derail the hard work of minority legislators, advocates, and experts who seek to make our education system one that is rigorous, inclusive, and easy to navigate, and not an obstacle course full of traps and hurdles. We readily acknowledge the leadership of Sen. Van de Putte and Rep. Martinez-Fischer for their continued commitment to championing all students rights to a quality education in an effective Texas public school system. We applaud the numerous safeguards that have been added to law that make it harder for schools and districts to funnel students off of a path towards college eligibility. We also applaud the reduction in the number of tests required for graduation; but we remain mindful that this does not equate to the removal of the high-stakes testing for which we remain vigilant because they continue to obstruct students access to high school completion. We will continue the fight to put an end to the uses of high-stakes testing beyond the advancements that HB 5 has provided. As statewide leaders, HOPE and its sister organizations will remain engaged during the unfolding of the changes to statute to ensure that the rights of all Texas children are upheld.

Austin

- Linda Chavez -Cynthia Valadez- Mata Jr.

Dallas
- Hector Flores - Bea Martinez -Rene Martinez -Domingo Garcia

El Paso
- Ray Mancera - Virginia Tena

Fort Worth
- Hector Carrillo

Garland

-Koni Kaiwi

Houston
- Mary Almendarez - Rick Dovalina - Herlinda Garcia - Al Maldonado - Mary Ramos

Odessa
- Carol Uranga

San Antonio
- Angie Garcia - Velma Ybarra

San Angelo
- Elma Jacques

Seguin
- Paul Castillo - Gloria Sasser

Victoria
-Mary Lou Canales

P.O. Box 29 Louise Texas 77455 (979) 332-0324 E-mail: joey_cardenas@hotmail.com