Congratulate Senate Committee on Education appointees: take action

The pace is picking up in the Texas Legislature! As you may know already, last Friday, Texas Senate Committee appointments were made.

The Senate Committee on Education always plays a critical role in the passage of high-quality early care and education bills, so we wanted to give our supporters the opportunity to congratulate the members of that committee. On the first day of the Texas Legislature, TECEC supporters were among some of the most active advocates, sending an amazing number of emails to legislators in support of our #1 priority, Senate Bill 21 and House Bill 130, relating to full-day high-quality pre-k programs with an emphasis on community based partnerships.

TECEC members, be the first to congratulate Senate Commitee on Education members on their recent appointment!

Senate Committee on Education appointees: Senator Florence Shapiro (Chair) Senator Dan Patrick (Vice Chair) Senator Kip Averitt Senator Wendy Davis Senator Mario Gallegos Jr. Senator Steve Ogden Senator Leticia Van de Putte Senator Royce West Senator Tommy Williams

We hope that early education advocates will take this opportunity to welcome the Senate Committee on Education members and get the message out to them about the importance of passing Senate Bill 21 and its companion, HB 130!

2008 Pre-k Satellite Conference Archive Available

On December 10, 2008 , the annual Pre-k Now National Satellite Conference took place from 12:00 noon – 3:00 PM. The broadcast,“Breaking Down Barriers to Quality Pre-K,” was hosted by Ray Suarez of the PBS News Hour.

The Texas Early Childhood Education Coalition (TECEC) and United Ways of Texas (UWT) joined the signal to host the Texas-Specific Pre-k Conference to discuss the Texas pre-k landscape and to present the TECEC Legislative Agenda to all of our important advocates. We were thrilled to be joined by Former Lt. Governor and Chair of Raise Your Hand Texas, Bill Ratliff, Senator Judith Zaffirini and Senator Leticia Van de Putte. Even more, Representative Diane Patrick joined the conference via phone, as well.

The entire Satellite Conference, including the Texas-specific portion is now available online.

The 2008 Pre-K Now National Satellite Conference brought thousands of local advocates and leaders from all across the country together for a discussion on the importance of early childhood education. Both the national broacast and the Texas-specific broadcast were great successes! This year Texas lead the country with 37 viewing sites!

Download the TECEC Legislative Agenda and Talking Points

The Legislative Session has begun! TECEC is very excited about its Legislative Agenda for the 81st Legislative Session.

Our Legislative Agenda includes five items for the 81st Session:

• Support Full-Day High-Quality Pre-Kindergarten Programs with an Emphasis on Local,
  Integrated Community-Based Partnerships
• Increase Reimbursement Rates Paid to Child Care Providers
  
• Support the Development of Early Childhood Professionals
  
• Maintain Support for Existing Quality Programs throughout Texas
• Establish a Pilot Early Childhood Behavioral Consultation Program in Texas
  

You can access in-depth information on our legislative agenda by downloading the Legislative Agenda Talking Points.

February 17, 2009: Pre-k Day at the Capitol

Mark your calendars! Join TECEC on February 17, 2009 at the Texas Capitol in Austin for Pre-k Day. Hundreds of early education advocates will meet at the capitol to let legislators know about the importance of high-quality early education to their communities.

The day will include a press conference on the Capitol steps, a model pre-k classroom setup in the Capitol Rotunda (complete with young learners), and tons of materials for you to share with your legislators on the crucial need for high-quality early education programs in Texas.

Advocates will be treated to a free lunch, and TECEC is currently in the process of securing funding to help advocates with some of their travel expenses. Check in with TECEC soon for more details on the event.

For more information about Pre-k Day and to learn more about planning your trip to Austin contact our communications coordinator, Don Titcombe at Dtitcombe@tecec.org.

See you at the Capitol!