HJ100: Governor's schools; Board of Education encouraged to support establishment of additional schools.

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 100
Offered January 13, 2010
Prefiled January 12, 2010
Encouraging the Board of Education to support the establishment of additional mathematics, science, and technology Governor's Schools in the Commonwealth.
Patron-- LeMunyon

Committee Referral Pending

WHEREAS, Virginia Governor's Schools provide some of the state's most able students academically and artistically challenging programs beyond those offered in their home schools; and

WHEREAS, Academic-Year Governor's Schools are established as "joint schools" and are typically managed by a regional governing board of representatives from the school boards of each participating school division; and

WHEREAS, with the support of the Board of Education and the General Assembly, the Governor's Schools presently include summer residential, summer regional, and academic-year programs serving more than 7,500 gifted students from all parts of the state; and

WHEREAS, the Board of Education must approve proposals for new or expanding Governor's Schools; and

WHEREAS, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Fairfax was recently ranked the number one high school in the nation by U.S. News & World Report for the third year in a row; and

WHEREAS, the Joint Subcommittee to Study Science, Math, and Technology Education in the Commonwealth at the Elementary, Secondary, and Undergraduate Levels (HJR 90, 2008), charged with reviewing and recommending innovative ways to interest students in math, science, and technology, in its final report agreed that Thomas Jefferson is a pioneer and any efforts by other local school divisions to reproduce such a model should be encouraged; and

WHEREAS, the outstanding demand for admission to Thomas Jefferson High School demonstrates the need for the creation of similar programs throughout the Commonwealth; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the Board of Education be encouraged to support the establishment of additional mathematics, science, and technology Governor's Schools in the Commonwealth; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates transmit a copy of this resolution to the President of the Board of Education, requesting that the President further disseminate copies of this resolution to their respective constituents so that they may be apprised of the sense of the General Assembly of Virginia in this matter.