The Senate Hispanic Caucus - Houston Latino Regional Summit Agenda.pdf
Transcript of The Senate Hispanic Caucus - Houston Latino Regional Summit Agenda.pdf
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8/10/2019 The Senate Hispanic Caucus - Houston Latino Regional Summit Agenda.pdf
1/30
9:00 a.m.
9:10-9:20 a.m.
9:20-9:30
a.m.
9:30-10:45 a.m.
10:50-12:05
p.m.
l2:15-12:45
p.m.
l2:50-l:25 p.m.
l:30-l:45 p.m.
1:50-2:00 p.m.
*All
meetings
will
take
place
in
the Multipurpose
Room,
unless
otherwise
noted.
Houston Latino Regional
Summit
Agenda
Saturday,
November
15th
,2014
9
a.m.
to
2
p.m.
Houston
Community College
-
Southeast Campus
Leaming Hub
6815
Rustic
St.,
Houston, Texas
Breakfast
(Learning
Hub Multipurpose Room
108)
Introduction: Senator Sylvia R. Garcia,
Vice Chair
of
Senate Hispanic Caucus
Welcome Remarks:
Dr.
Cesar
Maldonado, Chancellor
of
Houston
Community
College
Breakout
Session
I
o
Education: Celina Moreno, MALDEF
(Room
217)
o
Healthcare: Dr. Laura
Guerra-Cardus, Children's
Defense
Fund
-
Texas
(Multipurpose
Room 108)
o
Immigration: Alberto P.
Cardenas,
Jr.
(Room
218)
Breakout
Session
2
o
Economic
Opportunities:
Rene Lara,
AFL-CIO
(Room
217)
o
Civic
Engagement:
Carlos
Duarte,
Mi Familia
Vota
(Room
218)
Lunch
Keynote
Speaker: Sinsi
Hernandez-Cancio,
Families
USA
Report
Back
from Breakout
Sessions
what's
at Stake
in the
84th
Legislative
Session:
Senator
Sylvia
R.
Garcia
Next
Steps
and
closing:
Senator Jos6
Rodri
guez,
chair
of
Senate
Hispanic
Caucus
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Goals
and Objectives
Familiarize
local advocates
with
taskforce
proposals
Develop sense
of
priorities
within
each
issue
area
Bring stories
to
light that may serve
as
strong
testimony
or talking
points
for
legislation
Gauge
support
for taskforce
proposals
2OL4
TASKFORCE
RECOMMENDATIONS
TO
I
MALC AND
SHC
\
t
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EDUCATION
State
of
Latinalo
Education
/"
.
52% of all
public
school
students
in
Texas
.
Latina/os
comprise
90% of
all
ELL
students in
Texas
.
Nearly 1
out
of every 10 Latina/o
students
qualify
for
special
education
services
.
78yo
of
all Latina/o
public
education
students
are
low-income
.
Of
those
Latina/os
who
took
the SAT
in 2012,
only
59%
passed
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Task Force
Positions
a
o
a
a
a
a
o
a
a
a
a
School
Finance
Teacher
Quality
Access to
Curriculum
Parent
& Community
Engagement
School
&
District
Accountability
High-stakes
Testing
&
Student
Assessment
Preserving
Public Education
Access to
Higher
Education
Funding, Capacity
&
Expansion
of
Higher Education
College
&
University
Campus
Climate
Student
Retention
& Completion
in Higher Education
School
Finance
All children should
have an
equal
right
to
resources
like
quality
academic
instruction, extracurricular
activities,
and
technology
so
they
can succeed
academically
and serve
as
productive
members of
society.
Public
schools
should
have
adequate
and actual
cost-based
funding
to
provide
transportation
so as
not to
hinder
participation
by
economically disadvantaged
students
in
summer
school, extended
day
programs,
after-school tutoring,
etc.
Students
in
property-wealthy
districts should
not
continue to
access
substantially
greater
resources
at lower tax
effort than
students in
property-poor
districts.
ln
using
dollars
from
the expected state
surplus, the Legislature must
prioritize
investment
in
public
school
funding, rather than
make
education-related
appropriations on a
"funds-left-over"
basis.
Texas
must stop
privatization
experiment efforts
such as
corporate
charter
schools, Home
Rule
charter districts, vouchers, and
full-time virtual
schooling
that
divert
public
education
funds from
publicly
accountable, neighborhood
public
schools.
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Teacher
Quality
.
Teaching
quality
means
that teachers are
prepared,
supported
and
trusted
to assess
student
performance
in
their
classrooms.
Quality
instruction for Latina/o
and
emertent
bilingual
students
begins
with
supervised
programs
based
on
proven
instructional
methodologies.
All Texas
students should
have access
to culturally
and linguistically
competent
teachers and administrators.
Quality
teaching for Latina/o students is
more
than
mere
cultural recognition;
it
involves
pedagogy,
or the ability to connect
content objectives
to the
"funds
of
knowledge"
and
experiences
of multicultural
students
to enhance learning.
Quality
teaching
necessitates less
focus
on
"teaching
to a
test."
Teacher
preparation programs
need to be revised
so
that
they are interdisciplinary
and
engage
teacher candidates
with the
cultural and linguistic
resources
to
meet
the
needs
of multicultural communities.
There
must
be an
equitable
distribution
of high-quality
teaching
across
ondwithin
schools.
The
state should create reassignment
incentives
and
provide
additional
professional
support to help with that
distribution.
Access
to
Curriculum
Texas
public
schools
should
provide
all students with
access
to college-ready
cu
rriculum.
The
State
must direct
TEA and THECB
to
work
together
to ensure alignment
between high school
graduation
requirements
and college
admissions
requ irements.
Trade
and
technical
programs
within
the
K-12
context should
be optionaland
viewed
as
supplemental in nature, not
as a
replacement forcurriculum
that
provides
all students
a
fair
opportunity to
attend
college.
The state should
increase equity in
the availability
of
high-school
endorsement
and dual-credit
course
options
across
public
high
schools.
All students should
be exposed
to
curriculum and texts
that
acknowledge the
contributions of
historically
underrepresented communities.
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Parent
& Community
Engagement
.
Students,
parents
and communities
need
to
have
more input on
how
education
they
receive
impacts them and
reverse
their
limited involvement
in
school
and
district
inf
rastructures.
.
The diversity of
actors-i.e.,
teachers,
administrators,
boards
and committee
members-
in
Texas'educational
system
should better
reflect the demographics
of the
state.
.
For
many Latina/o
parents,
the
structure of
the traditional
Parent Teacher
Associations
is
not
always
sufficient
to
meaningful
engage
parents
who have
been
previously
excluded
or underserved
by
that
model.
I
School
&
District
Accountability
.
The State
must
increase
equity
in the ovoilobility
of
high-school endorsement
and dual-credit
course
options
across
public
high schools.
.
The State
must monitor the
quolity
of applied
and
locally-developed
courses
to
ensure
students' eligibility
to
Texas
and out-of-state
colleges
and universities.
.
The
State
must lead
with
an
accountability
system
that
places
a
greater
focus on
the resources and the
"holding
power"
of
schools
(lDRA,
Quality
Schools
Action
Framework).
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High-stakes
Testing
&
,
Student
Assessment
.
High-stakes
testing obstructs students' access
to
quality
learning
time
and
diverts
precious
dollars and
resources
(e.g.,
teacher
and staff time)
to
testing
companres.
.
The
misuses
of state-mandated testing are both
unethical and unsupported
by
research,
and disproportionately impact
poor,
minority,
and ELL students,
as well
as those students receiving
special
education
services.
'
Focusing
on student test
performance
does not
lead
to a deeper understanding
of
the
curriculum.
.
ln
a
student
assessment system
that
moves away
from
a
sole reliance
on high-
stakes
testing,
high
school
graduation
standards would
consist
of the following
requirements for receiving
a
Texas
high
school
diploma:
-
Course grades
and overall
GPA;
-
Student
evaluations by teachers;
-
Student
portfolios;
-
School attendance;
and
-
Students'contributions to their school
and community.
r
Preserving
Public Education
.
Corporate charter
schools
should
be
subject
to the
same
accountability
standards
as
traditional
public
schools.
.
The
State
should revisit its Home
Rule
policies
that allow
school
boards
to
convert
an entire district
to a
charter
school
format,
thereby exempting
them from
state
provisions
such
as
teacher
contract requirements
and student
discipline regulations.
.
Full-time virtual
schools,
which
generally
have
high
teacher-student
ratios, result
in
poor
student
performance.
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Access to
Higher
Education
.
College
should be a
realistic
option
for a//Texans,
regardless
of
race,
geography
or socio-
economic
background.
.
Protecting access to
Texas
public
universities
requires
institutions to
consider race as a
limited
factor in admission decisions
and to
preserve
the
TTPP.
.
College
affordability
problems
are
not
solved by cut-rate schemes such as "$10,0O0 diploma
challenges"
that raise
quality
and
marketplace credibility concerns
for students
and
whose
costs
may
outweigh
its benefits
for institutions of
higher
education
themselves.
.
Tuition deregulation
has erected
barriers to
access
to
higher
education
for Latinas/os.
.
All
qualified
students must
have an equal opportunity
to
attend Texas'flagship universities.
. The State
must ensure
that
institutions of higher education adjust their entrance requirements
to better
align with the new high school
graduation
plans
and coursework.
.
Dual
credit
programs
between high schools
and colleges are vital and contribute significantly
to
student
success in college.
Fundihg,
Capacity
&
Expansion
of
Higher
Education
.
More funding
is
needed
for two-
and four-year
public
college and university
programs
focused on student
retention.
.
Texas must address the
lack
of doctoral
programs
and law and medical
schools in
border cities.
2
.
The State should expand the
funding and resource capacity
of
Hispanic
Serving
lnstitutions.
.
Funding
support
for
Mexican
American
Studies Centers,
Programs,
and
Departments must
be a
priority.
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College &
University
Campus
Climate
.
College
and university
governing
bodies, administrators,
staff, and
tenure-track
professor positions
should
better
reflect
the current demographics of the
state.
The Legislature
should
take a more
proactive
role in improving
student
diversity,
particularly
in
predominantly
Anglo,
four-year institutions
of
higher
education.
Texas
should demand
greater
transparency and improved enforcement of
college
and university
campus assaults
and discrimination
policies.
Higher
Education
.
Financial incentives and loan forgiveness
options should
be
available
for
students
who
obtain
bilingual- and ESL-certified teaching
degrees
and
pledge
to
work
in
schools
with
acute shortages.
.
The
growing
use
of standardized testing to
filter
students out of certain
degree
programs
is
problematic
for
Latina/o
college
students.
.
Academic and
social
supports for Latina/o
students
must
be
priorities,
particularly
at
predominately
White
institutions.
.
Higher
education institutions must
leverage
any
and all
state
and
federal
funding
(e.g.,
TRIO)
and
work-study
opportunities.
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iGracias
For more
information
please
contact:
Patricia
D.
L6pez,
Ph.D., Task
Force Co-Chair
pd
lopez(o a usti
n. utexas.
ed
u
(s12)
s6s-t722
Celina
Moreno,
Task
Force
Co-Chair
(6L7)
388-3ss1
*
Resources
.
Full
Education Recommendation
and
Background
http:'ssuu.com/txlatinoedpolicv/docs'
hc
malc edu
task
force
agenda
fina
.
Additional
reading material
text
here
www.idra.org
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3l2OL4
Hispanics have
particularly
high
uninsured rates.
lnsurance Coverage of Hispanics in the
United States and Texas, 2011:
,:iMedicaidlOlherPublic
rUninsurod
39%
United Stales
Data may
not
total
100% due to
rounding
SOURCE:
KCMU/ Urban lnstitute analysis
ol
201
2 ASEC Supplement to the
CPS
10
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Hispanics
in Texas
have
particularly
high
stakes
in
the
Medicaid
expansion
decision.
Nonelderly
Uninsured
3138% FPt
by Race/Ethnicity
United
States
Asian/
orn",
Pacif
ic
,*
lslander
5%
Total
=
25.4
Million
Asian/
other
Pacif ic
1%
lslander
3%
Total
=
3.1 Million
NOTE:
Totals may not sum to
100%
due
to rounding
SOURCE:
KCMU/Urban lnstitute analysis
of
2011
American Community
Suruey
The
Texas Medicaid
expansion
decision
has
important
impacts
for
the overall
uninsured and
Hispanics
nationally.
Distribution ofTotal Uninsured
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Medicaid expansion/Close the
Coverage Gap:
.
Participants acknowledged
that
reaching
a "Texas
Solution
to the
Coverage
Gap"
is
both
essential and
politically
challenging.
.
Follow the example of the
red
states
and Republican
governors
who
have already
found
ways
to negotiate solutions
with federal Medicaid officials
to
make
this work
in
their states.
-
ensuring coverage
is
equally
available statewide in Texas;
-
supporting
health
coverage
and health
homesfor
allfamily
members;
-
offuring comprehensive
benefits that are at least
as
good
as
commercial and small
business standards;
-
including
personal
responsibility
provisions
such as:
.
affordablecost-sharing(e.g.,co-payments,premiumsforadultsabovethepoverty
line) that is not
punitive
to family
members
with serious or chronic illness; and
.
incentives for wellness behaviors that
are
evidence-based
and
not
punitive
to
persons
who are ill;
-
including reasonable
policies
to
ensure ongoing access
to community safety net
providers;
-
and
pursuing good
faith negotiations
(i.e.,
free from
"poison
pills")
with federal
Medicaid
authorities.
-
Donotruleoutakeyroleforconsideringtheinput,
leadership,needs,andvoicesofTexas
communities,
local
and county officials, and safety net health care
providers.
Latinas and
Access
to Health
Care
ln the
US between
2000 and
2008,
the
number
of
women
in
need
of
family
planning
services
who
were
Hispanic
increased by 27%,
and
the
number
who
were black increased by
11.5%,
while the number who were white
decreased
by
less
than
1%.
About
three-quarters
of
poor
women, women
who
are
uninsured, African
American and
Latina
women and those who
were born outside the United
States
who obtain
care
from
a
family
planning
center
consider
the
center
to
be
their
usual source of
medical
care.
While Latinos represent 1.6.7
percent
of the
population
nationwide, nearly 40
percent
of
Texans
are
Latino.
ln Texas, 460/o ol
Hispanic women are uninsured compared
to
175%
of
White
women.
GrrttnedE
,
Mcy2012
Gara.
Nc
il)attgr what.'
d.Flanned
llJParenthood'
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Latinas
and
Access to
Health
Care
Latinos face greater obstacles
to obtaining,
and
benefiting from,
sexual and
reproductive health
services
than
non-Latino
white
Americans.
As a result, Latinos experience higher rates
of
reproductive cancers, unintended
pregnancy,
and
sexually transmitted infections
than
most
other
groups
of
people
in the U.5.
For example:
REPRODUCTIVE
CANCERS
.
Latinas are
more likely to be diagnosed
with cervical cancer than
women
of
any other racial
or ethnic
group
-
one
and a half times as
likely as non-Latina white women
(ACS,
2012).
.
Latinas
have the
third
highest death
rates from cervical cancer
(ACS,
2012).
SEXUATTY
TRANSMTTTED INFECTIONS
.
Latinos contract HIV at nearly three
times the rate of
non-Latino whites
(CDC,2012a).
.
The rate
of
gonorrhea
for
Latinos
is
double that of non-Latino
whites
(CDC,
2012b).
.
The rate of chlamydia among
Latinos
is more than twice as high as
it is
for
non-Latino whites
(cDc,2012b).
Approximately
20
percent
of Latinas
have
not
visited a
physician
in the last
year,
and
one-third
of Latinas
do not
have a
regular health care
provider
(KFF,
2011b).
Planned
Parenthood"
Care.
No
matterwhat:
Women's
Healthcare
.
Continue
progress
toward
restorin8 and increasing
access
to
women's health
care.
.
Recommend Texas HHSC and DSHS be directed
to
take
a
leadership role in identifying
and
filling
gaps
in
access to
low-income women's health care across the state.
The
state's
goal
should
be
to ensure all
populations
in need have access.
.
The agencies
should
compile
information
that identifies resources and
gaps
across
the
state, includinB:
.
Areas
which
have had
facility closures
(i.e.,
the
76
clinics
which
UT. Researchers
report
have
closed to date),
as well as those
with
reduced hours
and/or reduced
services, and distinguishingthose
from
areas where
there
have
never been local
providers.
.
Service capacity that is supported
with
federal
and/or
private
funds
that
are
not
state-appropriated resources.
.
Participants
aSree
that
coordination
and oversight by the state agencies
is
desirable,
but
o
simple merger
of oll
Women's Heolth
ond Fomily Plonning
progroms
is not
desiroble,
os
it
would rcsult
in
loss
of
occess
to
core to some
populotions
under
current
stote
low
testil(,]ions.
.
Establish an
"Opt-Out" policy
to auto-enroll women who
have
had a Medicaid-paid
birth into
the
Texas
Women's Health Program
after
delivery.
'
Women who
chose not
to
participate
could simply decline,
but research
has
shown that
opt-out
policies
are effective at
promoting participation.
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Establish services of certified
Promotoras/es
as a
Texas
Medicaid
service
benefit
.
Currently,
services
may
only
be
funded
as
an administrative
activity of
the
Medicaid
Managed Care
health
plans,
which limits
their
use
(by
limiting
the
extent HMOs
can
use
their
services,
and drawing a lower federal Medicaid match).
.
Promotoras/es could
fill
critical
gaps
for Texas
families related
to
Texas Medicaid,
such as:
-
connecting
new mothers
with
screening for
postpartum
depression,
-
encouraging
good
pre-conception
health care for those
planning
families,
-
connecting families
with
prenatal
care
and
parenting
classes,
and
-
helping all Medicaid Managed
Care
enrollees
(maternity,
children,
individuals
with
disabilities,
and seniors,) and
their
parents,
family
members
and
caretakers,
to
navigate
the
system,
learn
self-advocacy
skills,
and overcome
barriers
to
care.
To
promote
the best
possible
health of children, Texans Care for
Children and
other
o
Limitthe
marketing
of
unhealthy
foods in
schools, and
the
availability
of
unhealthy foods and beverages on school campuses
o
Promote community
opportunities
for
physical
activity
(for
all ages
and
family
members)
o
lncrease
access
to
affordable,
healthy foods
through
school based
initiatives,
community
gardens
and support of farmers' markets
.
Support
measures,
like
a
soda tax,
that
reduce
public
health spending
while
increasing
public
health revenue.
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Children's
Medicaid
and
CHIP
.
The
Texas
Legislature has
not adopted legislation
to
correct conflicts
between
Texas
Medicaid-CHIP laws and
federal law changes
under the
ACA. Two
factors
affect
Texas children
can be remedied in the 2015
session:
-
Ensure
that
Texas
children
can
continue to
qualify
for segments of 6-month
continuous
coverage as
they
have since
January
2OO2
per
SB
43
of
the
2001
session. Current
HHSC
policy
would limit children to only one 6
month
CE
segment
out of each
12-month
period.
-
Eliminate the current
exclusion
of children
from
Texas CHIP unless
they
have
been uninsured
for
at
least 3
months.
Children should
not
have
to
go
without
coverage
and
parents
should
not
face
tax
penalties
for leaving their
children
without
coverage
for
3
months.
Medicaid
Managed
Care
Consumer
Assistance
and Ombudsman
Create
a network of local/regional
assisters
(e.g.,
located
at
AtuAs
and
ADRCs),
plus
enhance
capacity at HHSC Ombudsman, to
really serve all
Medicaid
Managed
Care
enrollees
who need
assistance
accessing care
and
navigating
systems.
Raise network
adequacy standards
for Medicaid
Managed
Care
(i.e.,
local
access
within
a reasona ble timeframe).
.
Complaints
from Medicaid Managed
Care
families in
Rio Grande Valley
and El
Paso
have
included children with
serious
conditions
including
cancer
having
treatment
disrupted
because
of
parents
receiving
inaccurate information
about hospital
participation
in Medicaid Managed
Care
health
plans.
.
Texas
Medicaid Managed
Care
health
plans
have mixed
track
records:
some
preform
better
than
others in outcomes and
patient
and
provider
satisfaction.
Texas
Medicaid should work
aggressively
to
require
best
practices
in
its contracts.
.
Federal Medicaid officials have indicated that Texas
should look
to
incorporating
best
practices
statewide
in Medicaid Managed
Care
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lncreased
capacity
in
training,
loan
repayment
programs,
and
residency
placements
of across
the
spectrum primary
care
and
behavioral health
professionals
.
lnvest in
growing
the Texas
primary
care
workforce
through
increased funding
for
loan
repayment
programs.
.
Research
and
pursue
the
proven
and
promising
approaches
to
effectively
target
reducing
provider
shortages
and encouraging
providers
locating
practices
in
border and rural
Texas.
lncreased
Outreach
and
Application Assistance
Capacity
for
all
Texans
o
Marketing, outreach, and
application assistance are needed
by Texans
for
access
to both
private
commercial insurance and Medicaid-CHlP.
HHSC
and
TDI
budgets
should
include support for
statewide
networks
of
culturally
competent application
assistance and health care navigation
across the full spectrum
of
public
and
private
insurance
programs.
o
Holding hearings to
identify and explore the unmet needs for educating and
^..:-+i^-
T^v-.
^^h.',m^rc
rc ra.,arlarl in +ha 1Al rl l\Irrlza+nlraa nnan
assisting
Texas
consumers,
as revealed
in
the
2014 Marketplace
open
enrollment
period,
could
provide
the basis
for
future
legislation.
o
This legislative inquiry
could help define
the need
and expanded
role
forTDl,
HHSC,
and
DSHS
in
supporting
statewide
networks of
outreach
and
a
pplication
assista
nce.
15
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LLlL3l2074
'
Reso u rces
A Diverse network of
Texans and Texas organizations
will
keep
working
to find
health care
for the
Texans in
the
"Gap
Group," to tell
their
stories, and
to
seek
inclusion of
Texas' working
poor
in
the
ACA
s
health reform.
www.cooo.orP
You can
link to all the
websites below
from
our CPPP
website:
www.cove
rtexa snow. o
rg;
www.Texas
Left M eOut.
o
rg
www.texa swel la
nd
hea
lthv.org
mmigration
77
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LLlL3l2OL4
Expand
lmmigrants'
Rights
Allow
eligible undocumented immigrants
to
apply
for
a Texas
driver's
license,
Lawmakers should
ensure
that
an applicant's
information will not
be
turned
overto
immigration officials, unless
the
applicant
is
under
criminal
investigation.
-
Rotionole:
lncreases
public
safety
by reducing
the
number
of
unlicensed,
uninsured
drivers in Texas.
-
Note: Survey
results indicate
that
a driver's license bill is the Task Force's
top
priority
for
proactive
legislation
in 2015.
Prohibit
peace
officers
from
asking
for
the
nationality
or
immigration
status of
a
victim of
or
witness
to
a crime, unless
it is necessary
to
investigate
the
crime or
gather
information
in
furtherance
of an application for a
visa
designed to
protect
victims assisting law enforcement.
-
Rotionole:
Keeps
communities
safe by
changing
current
practices
that
discourage
immigrant families
from
reporting
crimes to
the
police.
i
Oppose
Militarization
of
the
Border
.
Creation
of
an
oversight
mechanism
to
make
the
Texas Department
of
Public
Safety
more transparent
and
hold it
accountable,
particularly
on issues
related
to
checkpoints and border
security contracts.
.
Study of compliance
issues around a state mandate
to
take DNA samples of
the
unidentified
remains
of
migrants
who have
perished
attempting
to cross the border.
.
Drafting
of
resolution(s) encouraging
the
passage
of federal
comprehensive
immigration
reform, the end
to the Secure Communities Program, the end to
immigrant detention
quotas,
etc.
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Oppose
Bills That Restrict
lmmigrants'
Rights
.
Oppose any
proposed
ban
on so-called sanctuary cities, which would
allow
police
to
inquire about a
person's
immigration status.
.
Support
ln-state
tuition:
Ensure
Texas
continues
to
grant
certain immigrant
students, including undocumented
students,
access
to
state
financial
aid and in-
state
tuition
rates
at
Texas
public
institutions
of
higher
education.
.
Oppose
E-Verifu: Fight bills seeking to
require
Texas
business or agencies
to use E-
Verify,
a
voluntary
employment
verification
program
that often
incorrectly
identifies authorized
workers
as
undocumented.
.
Oppose "S.Comm"
Expansion:
Combat efforts
to
expand the federal
"Secure
Communities" Program
(for
example, requiring
localjails
to
participate
in
the
program),
which has led
to the
deportation of many immigrants who committed
only
minor
infractions
or
had no
criminal
record at all.
Civic Engagement
Resistration
.
Provide
online
voter
registration
.
Modify or
drop
deputization
requirements
-
require Election offices
to
provide
more training.
.
Provide
electronic
voter
registration
at
government
agencies
.
Move
voter
registration
deadline
to
last day of early voting
or
alternatively to
10
days
prior
to Election Day.
.
Take more
pro-active
action
to
register
eligible high school
students
including
-
mandates
to the Secretary
of State
to
partner
with
schools
-
Automatic
registration
process
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1.L113/2OL4
-
allow
for
more identifications
to
be included
including
student
lDs.
-
Provide
easier and cheaper
access
to
underlying documents
necessary for
photo
ID
-
Allow
other
governmental
agencies the
ability
to
provide
Photo
lDs, including
school
districts
.
Do more
to
include
the
importance of
voting in
the
school curriculum
.
Examine
the
possibility
of uniform
Election
dates
for
local
elections
Econom
ic
Opportu
nities
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Asset
Building
Housing:
o
Establish
a
dedicated
revenue source to
fund
the
Affordable
Housing
Trust Fund.
Capital and
Capacity-Building
for
Small
Businesses
.
Fund
the Texas
Capital
Access Program
.
Access to
Banking
.
Redirect Business Subsidies to Small Businesses
o
Latino-owned businesses in
Texas
are overwhelmingly
small
businessesThe Legislature should look to
generally
redirect
any
business
subsidies
so
that they
go
to
help
the in-state,
small
businesses
who are crucial
to
Latino
employment and wealth
building.
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7L/7312OL4
College
Savings
.
Amend
SNAP
and
TANF
asset
limits
to
allow children
to save
for
college
.
Require
for-profit colleges to
provide
students with information from the
TWC
Directory
of
Licensed Coreer Schools
&
Colleges
to
students
prior
to
enrollment
and expand the
directory to include the
average
student
loan
burden at the end ofthe
program
and student loan default
rates.
Asset Protection
Predatory Lending:
o
Rein
in abusive
payday
and auto
title lending
practices.
o
Add to
protections
against abusive
property
tax
lending
practices;
require
counties
to offer affordable
payment
plans
to homeowners as an
alternative.
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1.Ll73l2oL4
Protecting
I nvestments
.
Simplify
probate process
for
low-income families,
particularly
related
to
the transfer of home ownership.
.
Adopt model laws to ensure basic
quality
standards for for-profit
tax
preparers.
Modify
or
Repeal
Driver
Responsi
bi
I
ity
Progra
m
The
Texas
Driver Responsibility Program,,
has
caused the licenses
of more
than
1.3
million Texas drivers to
be suspended.
The Program
creates fees
for those with moving violations that are unaffordable for working-class
Texans
and
have
been shown
to
have no
effect
on
reducing
DUls
or other
driving offenses.
The
Program
is
driving
millions
of
Texas
families into
economic
crisis and
endangering their employment.
23
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L7/13/20L4
construction
industry;
.
lncrease
options for affordable
childcare;
.
Support
initiatives to
reduce
barriers
to employment for those with criminal history;
-
"Ban
the
Box"
to
Remove Unnecessary
Discrimination Against
Ex-Offenders
.
Connect education to
the
needs
ofthe
workplace
through apprenticeship
and
training
.
Provide more training opportunities
for
persons
who
get
laid
off or
who
lose
their
jobs
due to companies
closing.
i
Questions
.
Please rank
your
top
3
recommendations/proposals
.
Are
there
any
topics
you
feel that
are missing
from the recommendations?
.
Which of
the
proposals
will impact
your
family and community the most?
.
Please share a
personal
story that highlights the
need
to adopt one
ofthe
proposals
or
recommendations?
.
Would
you
be
willing
to
support
all the
proposals
by
making
calls, testifying or
submitting
letters?
24
r
Workforce
lssues
.
Raise
the
minimum
wage
::*:'
.
Strengthen
laws against
wage
theft;
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2}l4latino Summit
Special
Guest
Credentials
The Honorabte
Sylvia
Garcia
is a
native
of
the
South
Texas farming community, Palito Blanco.
The
eighth
of
ten
children,
Sylvia
leamed at
an early age
the
value
of
education and hard
work. As
a
result,
Sylvia
attended
Texas
Woman's University
on
a scholarship
to eam
a
degree
in
social work,
followed
by
a
Doctor of
Jurisprudence
from Thurgood
Marshall
School
of Law at Texas Southern University.
Shortly after
graduating,
Sylvia
entered
her
public
service
career as
a social
worker
to
protect
our
community's
most
vulnerable
populations, children
and the elderly,
for whom she has
never
stopped
fighting.
She then
served
as
Director
and
Presiding
Judge
of
the
Houston
Municipal
System, was elected
as
City
Controller,
and
in
2002 was elected
to
the
Harris County
Commissioner's Court.
She
was the first
Hispanic
and
first
woman
to be
elected
in
her
own
right to
the office of County
Commissioner.
Throughout
her
years
of service,
she eamed
a reputation
as the taxpayers'
watchdog that fought
to
protect
the
pocketbooks
of
working
families.
Active
in the
Houston community,
Senator
Garcia
has received
numerous awards for her
service on more
than 25 community
boards
and commissions,
including the
San
Jacinto
Girl
Scouts, the Houston
Hispanic
Forum, the
American
Leadership
Forum, the
Texas Southern University
Foundation
and the lnstitute of
Hispanic
Culture.
She is
now
proud
to
serve as Texas Senator
for District 6
in Harris
County,
and will continue
to
grow
her
legacy
of fighting
for
working
families
and
education,
and
spearheading
economic
development.
The Honorable
Jos6
Rodriguez represents
Senate District
29,
which
includes the counties
of El Paso,
Hudspeth,
Culberson,
Jeff Davis, and
Presidio.
He represents both urban and
rural
constituencies,
and
more than 350
miles
of
the
Texas-Mexico border.
Rodriguez currently serves as the Chairman
of the
Senate Hispanic Caucus,
Vice
Chairman
of the Senate
Jurisprudence Committee, and
a
member
of the
Senate Committees
on Criminal Justice,
Veteran
Affairs
and
Military
Installations,
and Govemment
Organization.
The son of migrant
farm workers, Rodriguez
was born in
Alice,
Texas.
From
an early
age,
he
worked
in
fields throughout
the
country to
help support a
family
of
nine. He and his family have made
their home
in
El
Paso
since
1983
where
they
have been
deeply
involved
in civic,
economic development,
and human
rights activities. Rodriguez
graduated
from Pan American University in 1971, and
he received
his
law
degree
from the National Law
Center
at George Washington University in 1974.
Prior to
his election
to
the
Texas
Senate,
Rodriguez served as
the
El Paso County Attorney for l7
years.
As
a state Senator,
Rodriguez
is
a staunch advocate
for
those
in
need. He
has
advocated
for increased
funding for our schools; fought to ensure equal access to the
justice
system;
helped stop
anti-immigrant,
anti-Hispanic legislation; and authored
a
number
of state
laws
to
protect
workers'
rights,
to increase
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transparency
and accountability of
local
govemments
and
school districts, and to establish a new health
sciences
university
in
El
Paso.
Rodriguez has
also
filed
bills to increase access to health
care by
expanding Medicaid
and shoring
up funding
for our safety net hospitals,
to
promote
equality by
repealing
the state's
unconstitutional anti-gay
laws, and to
grow
and develop the renewable
energy
industry.
Sinsi
Hernandez
Cancio is the
Director
of
Health
Equity at
Families
USA,
where
she focuses on
expanding and strengthening the organization's
ability to
enhance and elevate
health
care
advocacy
and
activism
in
communities
of
color
across the nation. She
is
continuing
the
group's
work to
help
build
a
thriving
and vocal health equity
movement
that
will
protect
the
gains
of the health care law
while
ensuring maximum
equity in its
implementation.
Ms.
Hern5ndez-Cancio
has worked
in
the
field
of health
policy
for
more
than
a
decade
and has
a
longstanding
commitment to advancing social
justice
and
fighting
for the rights
of
people
of color,
especially vulnerable women
and
children.
She started
her
professional
career as a women's human
and
civil
rights
lawyer with
a
Georgetown
Women's
Law
and Public Policy Fellowship
at the Women's
Rights
Project
of Human Rights
Watch.
She continued to
work
on reproductive
rights and women's
health, as
well as
gender-based
discrimination and violence, in
both
the
domestic and international
arenas
for
several
years.
She first became deeply engaged
in
health
care
justice
and
the
elimination
of health
disparities when
she
served
as
Health
and
Human
Services
advisor for two
Puerto
Rico Govemors
at
their
District
of Columbia
offices. She
later
worked on
health
policy
for
the
Service Employees Intemational
Union
(SEru),
where
she continued
to
focus on health care issues
in
Puerto Rico,
in
addition to long-term
care, health
equity, and health reform. During the effort
to
pass
the
Affordable
Care Act,
she
was the
National
Campaign
Coordinator
for SEIU's Healthcare Equality Project,
where she worked
with
many
coalition
partners
to
ensure that health equity was
part
of
the national
debate and that health
disparities
were addressed.
She
has
appeared
on Univision, CNN Espaflol,
and
Telemundo,
and she has been
widely
quoted
in
both
print
and
radio.
Ms. Hern6ndez-Cancio
earned an A.B. from Princeton
University's Woodrow
Wilson
School
of
Public
and International
Affairs and
a J.D.
from New
York
University School
of Law, where
she
was
a Hays
Civil Rights
and
Civil
Liberties Fellow and eamed
a
Vanderbilt medal.
Beto
Cardenas
is a
Counsel
at
Vinson
&
Elkins,
LLP,
represents
businesses affected by America's
immigration
laws, and
advises
corporate and academic
clientele seeking resolution
on
statutory
and
regulatory issues.
He
has extensive experience
in drafting legislative
solutions
on diverse matters
and
in
his
tax
policy
practice
assists clients
with
issues
pending
before
governmental
entities. During
the
l09th
and
l10th
Congress,
Beto
served as
general
counsel
to
the senior
United States Senator from Texas,
the
Honorable
Kay
Bailey
Hutchison,
advising her
on
judicial
appointments, legal
affairs, and legislative
matters. Prior
to
joining
Senator
Hutchison's
senior
staff,
Beto
was
employed
by the
Texas
Tech
University
System as the
counsel
to
the chancellor and director
of
federal
relations.
In his capacity
with
Texas Tech,
he
coordinated
federal research initiatives and
served as a
liaison with
members
of
Congress,
executive
agencies, respective campus administrators, and the
System's
Board
of Regents.
Building
a
better
Houston is
a
passion
for
Beto and he dedicates a substantial
portion
of
his time to making
sure non-
profit
organizations
and poverty-stricken individuals
have
high-quality
legal
representation.
He
is
a
member
of the board of directors of the
Houston Food Bank
and
previously
served as an appointee
to the
Harris
County Housing Authority board
of
commissioners ushering
in
as
chairman
a
change in
administrative leadership, implementation
of accountability measures, and
guided
transparency
with
reforms in
ethics,
policies
and
procedures.
Beto
is
a frequent speaker
at both domestic
and
intemational conferences on immigration
policy
and the
legislative
process.
He
has been
quoted
as
an
authority
in
the National
Journal Daily,
the Houston
Chronicle,
the
Associated
Press,
and
is a
special
guest
on the Lou
Dobbs
Tonight Program
on
Fox
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Business News.
As
a
result of
his work, Beto
has been
recognized as one of Five Outstanding Young
Houstonians in
2009, one
of Five Outstanding
Young
Texans
in 2010,
and by Hispanic Business
Magazine
as
one of the
Top
100 most
influential
Hispanics
in the United States.
Carlos Duarte
is a Mexican
immigrant
who has worked
on
progressive
social change
for
the
past
20
years,
both
in
Mexico
and
the United
States.
He currently
helps promote
civic
participation
within
the
Latino community
as
the
Texas State Director
for Mi
Familia Vota
Education
Fund.
For the
past
l5
years,
Carlos
has
worked
diligently
in advancing
the interests
of
working
families
and the
immigrant and
Latino
communities
in Arizona
and Texas.
He
was honored
to
represent the Mexican
community
in
Arizona
by addressing
former
Mexican
President Vicente
Fox
during
his 2003 visit.
Carlos has
worked
with the
lndustrial
Areas
Foundation,
Arizona State University's Building
Great
Communities,
Roofers
Union,
and
Service
Employees
lntemational
Union.
He
has
volunteered in
numerous boards
and commissions
and is
a
recognized
Latino
leader having received numerous
awards.
Carlos
holds a
Master's
Degree
in
Social
and
Industrial
Psychology
and a
Bachelor's Degree in
Philosophy
from the Universidad
Autonoma
de Chihuahua.
He is currently an Arizona
State
University
PhD
candidate
in
Social
and Cultural
Anthropology
with
dissertation
work
on
Latin
American
undocumented
immigrant's
political
participation.
Dr. Laura Guerra-Cardusserves
as
Associate
Director
fortheTexas office of the Children's Defense
Fund
(CDF).
She
leads CDF's
policy
initiatives,
including
the Texas
Well
and
Healthy
Campaign,
which
works with
statewide
partners
to ensure
that all
Texas
children
have access to affordable,
comprehensive
health care coverage.
Since
2008 the Campaign
has connected
nearly
a million additional
children with
health coverage.
From
2009
- 2010, Laura served
as CDF-Texas'
Interim
Director. Laura is
a
graduate
of
fuce University and
Baylor College
of
Medicine
in
Houston.
After
graduating
from medical
school,
Laura
served as
a
Fellow in
the
Coro
Fellowship Program
in Public Affairs
-
St.
Louis.
In 2013,
Laura was
awarded
Rumbo's
Mujeres
Destacadas award
for her
public
service.
Ren6
Lara is the
Legislative &
Political
Director
at
the
Texas AFL-CIO,
which is
the
umbrella
organization
for
labor unions
in
Texas, including
affiliates representing teachers, firefighters,
plumbers,
flight attendants,
steelworkers,
nurses, communications
and electrical
workers
and many
others.
He is
also the current
Secretary
of
the
Texas Democratic
Party and he
serves
on the Board
of
the
Workers
Assistance
Program.
He
represents
the AFL-CIO on the
Board of Texans for
a Secure
Retirement
(TSR),
a coalition created
to
protect
public
employee
pension
systems. Previously, from 1995
to
2006,
Rene
represented the Texas
Federation
of
Teachers,
known now
as
the
Texas AFT,
at
the state capitol.
Ren6
Lara
played
an advocacy role
in
almost every
major
piece
of
legislation
related
to
the
public
schools,
including teacher
pay
raises,
school employee
health insurance
and
teacher
certification.
He is
proud
of
helping
to defeat
private
school-voucher
proposals
for two
decades now. Ren6
began
working
as a
legislative aide
for
Austin's
State Senator
Gonzalo Barrientos
in
1990.
He
has also
worked
in
countless
election campaigns for stateJevel
candidates and
legislators
since
Ann
Richards
and
Bob Bullock
held
office.
Ren6 Lara
grew
up
in
El Paso and
graduated
from the University
of Texas
at Austin,
the
LBJ
School
of
Public
Affairs and the
UT School of Law. He
completed his Master's
Report,
Solving
the
Texas Pubtic
School
Finance Problem, urder
the supervision of former Texas
Lieutenant
Govemor
Bill
Hobby.
Ren6
has lived in Texas
all
his
life
except
for
two
years
when
the
Minnesota
teachers'
union,
Education
Minnesota,
recruited him
to
lobby
on their behalf
at
the
Minnesota
state
capitol.
He nearly
froze
after
the
-
8/10/2019 The Senate Hispanic Caucus - Houston Latino Regional Summit Agenda.pdf
29/30
second Minnesota
winter
when the new Texas AFL-CIO President, Becky
Moeller,
easily recruited
him
back for
the
position
of
Legislative
and
Political
Director for
Texas.
Ren6
is
working on a book that will be titled 140 Capitol Tips. You
can
get
notice
of
the
book's
availability
on his
Twitter
page
@renerlara.
Dr.
Cesar Maldonado, Ph.D.,
P.E.
became
Houston
Community College's eighth
chancellor
in
May
2014. Prior to
joining
HCC, he was the fourth
president
in
the 47--year history
of
Texas
State
Technical
College
(TSTC)
Harlingen. A national leader
in
the
engineering and manufacturing
industry
with a
dedicated commitment
to
community service, Maldonado began
his
career in 1976 as
a
process
engineer for
Celanese
Chemical Corporation.
Before
joining
TSTC in
2008,
he held
executive
administrative positions
with
Tex---Steel Corporation
and
ASSA
ABLOY. In
2008, Maldonado
was
named
President
of
TSTC
in
Harlingen,
Texas.
In
the same
year,
Dr.
Maldonado
earned
a Ph.D.
in
Systems and
Engineering
Management
from
Texas Tech
University. In 2011, Maldonado
was named
Vice
Chancellor
for Institutional
Effectiveness
and Commercialization
for
the
TSTC
System,
while
remaining
President
at TSTC Harlingen. Maldonado holds
Bachelor and Masters
of
Science
degrees in
Chemical Engineering
from
Texas A&M
University,
and
is
an alumnus
of the
UC Berkeley
Haas School
of
Business.
Maldonado
led
legislative
efforts
to
create
high
school/college
dual
enrollment
opportunities in
Texas, and has served
as
a board
member
(twice
as
president)
of the
Harlingen
Consolidated
Independent
School
District
(TX).
He
served
as the lnterim
Chairman
of
the Border
Governors
Conference on Science and Technology. He
was also
appointed
by
the
govemor
to serve as
a
Regent of
the Texas
State
Technical
College
System.
He
was recently
elected
to
the
Texas Tech
University Industrial
Engineering Academy.
Maldonado
and his wife
of 38
years,
Liz,
enjoy
their
children,
Kristin,
Marcus,
and
Laura
and Jason Rocha,
and
grandchildren,
Julianne
and
William.
Celina Moreno is
the
Legislative
Staff Attorney for MALDEF's
Southwest
Regional
Ofhce
in
San
Antonio, Texas.
In
that role, Ms. Moreno
analyzes
legislation
and advocates
for
the
protection
and
promotion
of Latino
civil
rights in the
areas
of political
access,
education,
immigration,
employment
and
access
to
justice
for
that
Region.
Ms.
Moreno has
testified
in
state
legislative
hearings
on issues
ranging
from
public
school finance reform
to
immigrant rights.
Prior to
joining
MALDEF,
Ms. Moreno served
as
an attorney
and Equal Justice Works
Fellow
at Texas RioGrande Legal
Aid
(TRLA),
where
she directed
the organization's
School-to-Prison Pipeline Project, seeking
to
obstruct
the
forces
channeling
students
from schools
into
the
juvenile
and adult criminal
justice
systems. Celina
Moreno received
a
Bachelor's
of
Joumalism from
the
University
of
Texas
at
Austin,
a
law
degree
from
the
University
of
Houston,
and
a
Master's
of
Public
Policy
from
the
Harvard Kennedy
School.
-
8/10/2019 The Senate Hispanic Caucus - Houston Latino Regional Summit Agenda.pdf
30/30
Senate
Hispa
nic
Caucus
Houston
Latino Legislative
Regional
Summit
sponsored
by:
This summit
would not
have
been
possible
without
the
generous
support of
our
sponsors.