H.R. No. 76
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, The Irma Lerma Rangel Young Women's Leadership
School in Dallas is commemorating in 2016-2017 its 13th year of
providing an outstanding education to area youth, and this occasion
offers a welcome opportunity to recognize the school as well as its
namesake, the Honorable Irma Rangel; and
WHEREAS, Opened in the Oak Lawn neighborhood in the fall of
2004, the Irma Lerma Rangel Young Women's Leadership School is a
magnet program of the Dallas Independent School District; the first
all-girls public school in Dallas, it was established so that
teachers could tailor their instruction to the particular ways in
which girls learn; and
WHEREAS, Through leadership seminars, weekly advisory
meetings, and partnerships with educational and cultural
organizations, the school provides students with a rigorous
college-preparatory course of study; the project-oriented
curriculum emphasizes math, science, and technology but also offers
ample learning opportunities in foreign languages and humanities;
in addition to equipping students with an excellent academic
foundation, the school encourages its youth 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, a trailblazer who worked
tirelessly as a member of the Texas Legislature to improve the
state's public school and higher education systems; an educator
herself early in her career, Ms. Rangel taught for 14 years in
Texas, California, and Venezuela before earning a degree from St.
Mary's University School of Law in 1969; after clerking for a
federal district judge and serving as an assistant district
attorney, she returned to her hometown of Kingsville in 1973 to
practice law; and
WHEREAS, When Ms. Rangel won a seat in the Texas House of
Representatives in 1976, she became the first Hispanic woman
elected to the state legislature; elected to 14 consecutive terms,
she was the fifth most-senior member of this body at the time of her
death in 2003; during her tenure, 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
marginalized, and the underserved, Irma Rangel was a true Texas
pioneer who worked tirelessly to make a college education
accessible to all citizens, and her life serves as a shining example
for 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 85th Texas
Legislature hereby pay tribute to the accomplished and inspiring
life of the Honorable Irma Rangel and commend the students of the
Irma Lerma Rangel Young Women's Leadership School on the 13th
anniversary of the opening of that academy; 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. 76 was adopted by the House on
February 23, 2017, by a non-record vote.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House