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NHCSL adopted a
series of Resolutions addressing the most
pressing issues facing Hispanics living in
America today. NHCSL President, Assemblyman
Felix Ortiz (NY) voiced pride in the ability
of his members and representatives from
Corporate America to build a consensus of
ideas and move forward with an agenda to
address serious issues facing Hispanics
across the country. “Our organization is
committed to addressing the disparities in
education and health care and in providing
economic opportunities for all Hispanics
living our country,” Ortiz said. The
Resolutions, as follows, were adopted at the
Third Annual Summit of NHCSL held in
November in Tampa, Florida.
• Video Choice and
Competition in the Hispanic
Community
Resolution urges Congress to
update our nation’s telecom laws by creating
a national broadband policy that provides a
legislative and regulatory framework for the
rapid, non-discriminatory deployment of
video choice while ensuring the benefits of
competition in the video marketplace for
Hispanic communities; and NHCSL calls upon
legislators and regulators at both the
federal and state level to work
cooperatively to review definitions, terms
and conditions to promote consumers’ choice
of similar services delivered through
different mediums; and that any new
legislation enacted by Congress should apply
the same Federal prohibition of
discrimination that currently applies with
respect to cable to new competitors as well;
and that any new legislation enacted by
Congress should expedite and simplify the
approval process for providers seeking
authority to offer video programming
services.
• Multiple Criteria
Assessment and High Stakes Testing
Resolution states that NHCSL
supports multiple criteria as a way of
determining promotion, retention and
graduation; and the appropriate use of
multiple measurements that include, but are
not limited to, the student's grades, school
ranking, grade point average, writing
samples, and/or teacher evaluations in
combination with the student's scores on
standardized tests as essential elements of
comprehensive student performance assessment.
• Adequate Funding
of the Low Income Energy Assistance Program
(LIHEAP)
Resolution urges Congress to
appropriate $5.1 billion in the FY 2006
budget to the Low Income Energy Assistance
Program and to adhere to that level of
funding in future budgets.
• Healthy Child
Initiative
Resolution states that the
National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators dedicates itself to:
educating its members, constituents and the
general public on the issue of childhood
obesity; supporting policies addressing
childhood obesity which include a multi-faceted
approach of promoting and encouraging
nutrition education and physical activity to
combat the sedentary lifestyle that
contributes to obesity in children; and will
work with Congress to enact legislation and
to provide funding to assist state and local
governments and community leaders who are
working to address child obesity as a health
epidemic.
• Student
Disciplinary Alternative Education Programs
Resolution states that NHCSL
opposes, in principle, "zero tolerance" and
other harsh discipline policies that
encourage the frequent use of suspension for
student code violations or mandate expulsion
to off-campus disciplinary educational
settings or referral of students to juvenile
or criminal court, without regard to the
circumstances or nature of the offense or
the student's history; and NHCSL opposes
policies and procedures that result in the
warehousing of students in disciplinary
alternative education programs without
proper education standards; and NHCSL
supports policies that ensure school safety
without compromising accountability and high
educational standards.
For the full text of the resolutions visit
the Policy Section at
www.nhcsl.org |
