H.R. No. 50

	R E S O L U T I O N
	WHEREAS, The Irma Lerma Rangel Young Women's Leadership
	School is commemorating in the 2013-2014 school year its 10th year
	of providing an outstanding education to area youth, and this
	occasion provides a welcome opportunity to recognize the school as
	well as its namesake, the Honorable Irma Rangel; and
	WHEREAS, Opened in the Oak Lawn neighborhood of Dallas in the
	fall of 2004, the Irma Lerma Rangel Young Women's Leadership School
	is a magnet program of the Dallas Independent School District; it is
	the first all-girls public school in Dallas and part of a move that
	allows educators to focus on the different ways boys and girls
	learn; and
	WHEREAS, Through leadership seminars, weekly advisory
	meetings, and partnerships with educational and cultural
	organizations, the Dallas school provides students with a rigorous
	course of study that prepares them for college and addresses their
	developmental needs; teachers work with students following a
	project-oriented curriculum that emphasizes math, science, and
	technology, but also offers ample learning opportunities in foreign
	languages and humanities; in addition to providing an excellent
	academic curriculum, the school encourages students to develop a
	strong sense of ethics and civic responsibility and to become
	leaders in their community; and
	WHEREAS, It is fitting that such an admirable and progressive
	institution be named for Irma Rangel, who was a trailblazer and one
	of the leading proponents of the state's efforts to improve public
	school and higher education systems; Ms. Rangel taught for 14 years
	in Texas, California, and Venezuela before changing careers and
	earning a degree at St. Mary's School of Law in San Antonio; after
	working as an assistant district attorney for two years in Corpus
	Christi, she returned to her hometown of Kingsville in 1973 to open
	her own law practice; and
	WHEREAS, When Ms. Rangel won a seat in the house of
	representatives in 1976, she became the first Hispanic woman
	elected to the Texas Legislature; she spent more than 26 years in
	the Texas House and was the fifth most-senior member of this body at
	the time of her death in 2003; while serving in the house, she
	sponsored legislation establishing a pharmacy school for Texas A&M
	University--Kingsville, now known as the Irma Lerma Rangel College
	of Pharmacy; and
	WHEREAS, The first Mexican American woman to be appointed
	chair of a house committee, Representative Rangel was named chair
	of the House Committee on Higher Education in 1995, and she served
	in that role for four consecutive legislative sessions; she was
	also the first woman elected chair of the Mexican American
	Legislative Caucus and the first Mexican American  to  receive  the
	G. J. Sutton Award from the Legislative Black Caucus; and
	WHEREAS, A passionate advocate for the poor, the needy, and
	the underserved, Irma Rangel was a true Texas pioneer who worked
	tirelessly to make a college education accessible to all citizens,
	and it is indeed appropriate that an important part of her legacy
	lies with the outstanding young women who are attending the school
	that bears her name; now, therefore, be it
	RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 83rd Texas
	Legislature hereby pay tribute to the rich and accomplished life of
	the Honorable Irma Rangel and honor the students of the Irma Lerma
	Rangel Young Women's Leadership School on the 10th anniversary of
	the opening of the school; and, be it further
	RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
	prepared for the school as an expression of high regard by the Texas
	House of Representatives.
	Alonzo
	______________________________
	Speaker of the House
	I certify that H.R. No. 50 was adopted by the House on
	February 7, 2013, by a non-record vote.
	______________________________
	Chief Clerk of the House