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Advocacy Update
Below, you will find the position paper that the Advocacy Committee has
drafted in response to SB 591 / HB 1236, a bill that supports in-state
tuition for undocumented students in Maryland who meet certain criteria.
The Advocacy Committee responds to ESOL issues brought up by members
and initiates the drafting of position papers. We are now submitting the
position paper to Maryland TESOL’s Executive Board and its members
for feedback. We will then review feedback received and revise the proposed
position paper accordingly. Once agreed on by the Advocacy Committee by
a vote, the position paper will be sent to the Executive Board for final
approval that requires a vote of 75% in favor of adopting a particular
position.
Please send any feedback to Rachele Lawton <Rlawton at* ccbcmd.edu>
and Minah Woo <mwoo at* howardcc.edu>
MD
TESOL Position In State Tuition Bill.doc
Members of the Maryland TESOL Advocacy Committee met on February 23
to compose a letter of support for increased
state investment in Adult Education services in Maryland. The letter
supported Senate Bill 650 and House Bill 1130: FUNDING FORMULA FOR ADULT
EDUCATION AND LITERACY GRANTS. Passage of this bill would result in
a $26.5 million increase in funding for Adult Education over the next
five years. Maryland TESOL Board members felt it was important to support
this legislation because 47% of adults currently on the waiting list
for adult education services are English language learners. Copies of
these letters are available here (Letter
1, Letter 2).( Action
on Adult Ed. Bill)
Members who are interested in supporting this legislation through personal
letters or calls to their legislators can educate themselves about the
issues by referring to a report from the State Superintendent’s
Panel on Excellence in Adult Education entitled Stepping Up to the Future.
This report is available at http://www.marylandpublicschools.org/MSDE/divisions/careertech/adult_ed/
(list
of Senate Members in BUDGET & TAXATION COMMITTEE) (list
of House of Delegates in WAYS & MEANS COMMITTEE)
Anyone interested in TESOL action alerts or details about current legislation,
elections, and positions of members of Congress can access this information
easily through the TESOL website.
From the TESOL website one can access the TESOL U.S. Advocacy Action
Center. The Action Center can also be found at http://capwiz.com/tesol.
Additional links from the Advocacy Center provide contact information
for senators and representatives. Once a zip code is entered, the site
provides the names and addresses of local legislators. If you would
like to be more proactive about issues related to education and services
for immigrants and English language learners, check out the Advocacy
Action Center.
One more advocacy tip: Track bills as they progress through Congress
by going to http://thomas.loc.gov.
This site also allows readers to see how senators or representatives
vote on an issue and provides information about the Senate and House
schedules.
Note the Following Interesting Web sites:
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