Legislative Action Needed
June 8, 2011
To find your representative, please click here: http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/
We received the following email from Tracy Weinberg, of TAGT requesting that we send emails to state representatives to preserve formula funding for gifted education.
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Senate Bill 1 will likely be heard on the House floor this Thursday. This bill is the school finance package already approved by the Senate. TAGT is asking you to contact your state representative and urge him or her to support an amendment to the bill that will protect formula funding for gifted education, and all other areas that receive formula funding, in future legislatures.
The amendment does not yet have a number nor has the author of the amendment been determined. However, the amendment in question will alter Section 56.07 of Senate Bill 1, by amending Section 42.101 of the Texas Education Code, titled “BASIC AND REGULAR PROGRAM ALLOTMENTS.”
Here is the reason for our support: The bill as currently written reduces both the basic allotment (monies for all students) and the regular allotment (for gifted, career and technology, etc.) by a fixed percentage the next two years. Without this amendment, the bill would allow a small group of legislators to change the effect of the G/T weight without debate by the full legislature in the future. This amendment would protect formula funding in the future by retaining formula funding as a percentage of the overall basic allotment.
If you have questions or would like to read the specific language, please contact me for further details.
Sincerely,
Tracy Weinberg
Associate Director
Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented
tweinberg@txgifted.org
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Coppell Gifted Association 