The following is a collection of news and notes involving issues that affect House District 32.
REMINDER: TEXAS ARMED SERVICES SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITY FOR FUTURE MILITARY SERVICE MEMBERS
My office has started accepting scholarship applications from students who reside in House District 32. Each state representative has been asked to nominate one student to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board for a Texas Armed Service Scholarship Award. A student may receive up to a $10,000 scholarship for college for the 2011-2012 academic year.
Eligibility Requirements for Nomination
In order to be considered for the Texas Armed Services Scholarship, a student must meet two of the following four academic criteria at the time of the application:
- Is on track to graduate high school with the Distinguished Achievement Program (DAP) or the International Baccalaureate Program (IB);
- Has a current high school GPA of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale;
- Achieve a college readiness score on the SAT (1590) or ACT (23);
- Is currently ranked in the top one-third of the prospective high school graduation class.
Once a student is nominated, a number of criteria must be met for the nominated student to be eligible for receipt of an initial scholarship. The student must be a member in good standing of the ROTC. A selected student must also enter into a written agreement with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board agreeing to complete four years of ROTC training and graduate no later than six years after the date the student first registers at an institution of higher education.
This is an exciting opportunity for any student seeking to enter the armed forces by way of a Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) program at a civilian college. If you are a student who would like to be nominated for this scholarship program, please submit a cover letter along with proof that you have met the required academic criteria to either my Capitol office inAustinor my District office inCorpus Christi.
If you would like any additional information on the Texas Armed Services Scholarship Program, please don’t hesitate to contact my Capitol or District office (512-463-0672; 361-949-4603). The scholarship is administered by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. Questions can also be directed to the board’s Office of External Relations which can be reached at 512-427-6117.
DISABILITY EMPLOYMENT AWARENESS MONTH
The State ofTexaswill recognize Disability Employment Awareness Month this October. Currently there are 12.3 million people working inTexas. It is clear that people with disabilities are an important part of theTexasworkforce, which is why it is important forTexasto promote opportunities for everyone. One such opportunity is the College Credit for Heroes program, which gives returning veteran’s, some of whom are returning with disabilities, college credit for their military service experience. This program will help provide a platform for those returning veterans to smoothly transition in to theTexasworkforce by utilizing there valuable military experience.
Another component of Disability Employment Awareness Month is recognizing Texans that are dedicated to equal employment opportunities for people with disabilities. The Texas Governor’s Committee on People with Disabilities has established the Lex Frieden Employment Awards to do just that. One of this year’s first Lex Frieden Employment Award winners is the Texas RehabACTion Network of the Coastal Bend. They are recognized for promoting the natural talents of Texans with disabilities and for working to provide an assortment of accommodations to promote those talents.
If you have questions regarding any of the information mentioned in this article, please do not hesitate to call my Capitol or District Office. As always, my offices are available at any time to assist with questions, concerns or comments (Capitol Office, 512-463-0672; District Office, 361-949-4603).
