The Senate Hispanic Caucus - Houston Latino Regional Summit Agenda.pdf

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


2/30

7L/7312OL4

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


3/30

L1,/13/2OL4

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

2


4/30

t7/L3/2Ot4

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.

3


5/30

LLlL3l20L4

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.

4


6/30

L1,/L3/2074

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).

5


7/30

L1,/13/20t4

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.

5


8/30

L7/L3/2074

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.

7


9/30

LLlL3/2OL4

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.

8


10/30

77/L3/20L4

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

[email protected]

(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

9


11/30

LLl

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


12/30

LLl73l2OL4

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


13/30

tu13/2OL4

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'

L2


14/30

LLlL3l2074

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.

13

u.


15/30

LuL3l2OL4

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.

L4


16/30

LtlL3/2074

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

L5


17/30

1.L/13/2074

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


18/30

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


19/30

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.

18


20/30

7L/73120L4

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

19


21/30

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

20


22/30

7L173/20L4

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.

2t


23/30

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.

22


24/30

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


25/30

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;


26/30

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


27/30

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


28/30

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


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.


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.

Documents

The Senate Hispanic Caucus - Houston Latino Regional Summit Agenda.pdf