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1995 SESSION

LD4402476
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 565
Offered January 23, 1995
Requesting the Secretary of Education to develop a statewide plan for equal opportunity in higher education.
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Patrons--Van Landingham, Bennett, Christian, Connally, Cooper, Crittenden, Cunningham, Darner and Van Yahres; Senators: Lambert, Lucas and Miller, Y.B.
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Referred to Committee on Rules
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WHEREAS, as a result of the 1970 federal court decision in Adams, Virginia, together with nine other states, was required to submit a plan for removing the remaining vestiges of the state’s dual system of higher education to the United States Office for Civil Rights as a means to remedy the underrepresentation of minorities in Virginia institutions of higher education; and

WHEREAS, in response to the federal court order, the Virginia Plan for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education was enacted and funded by the General Assembly to increase higher education opportunities for minorities through (i) better dissemination of and access to information on academic preparation, college admissions requirements, graduate education, professional career opportunities, and the availability of financial aid; (ii) the implementation of certain initiatives to enhance diversity among faculty, staff, and students; and (iii) improvements to the physical facilities of certain public colleges and universities; and

WHEREAS, to support these efforts, the Monitoring and Advisory Committee was informally established in the Office of the Secretary of Education to assist the state in its efforts to remove the remaining vestiges of the dual system of higher education, and to address the problems, issues, and needs which contributed to the state’s dilemma; and

WHEREAS, a recent report of the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission on the evaluation of the State Council of Higher Education noted the need for a statewide plan for the “continued administration and monitoring of equal education opportunity programs to ensure effective and efficient use of State resources”; and

WHEREAS, JLARC noted further that “the plan should integrate State efforts at the elementary and secondary school level as well as higher education institutional affirmative action efforts”; and

WHEREAS, the findings of the Joint Subcommittee Studying the Status of and Need for Academic Preparation, Financial Aid, and Incentive Programs to Encourage Minorities to Pursue Postsecondary Education and Training, pursuant to HJR 199 (1994), has determined that a statewide plan for administering the equal education opportunity programs is essential to ensuring continued access for minorities to higher education; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the Secretary of Education be requested to develop a statewide plan for the administration and coordination of the equal education opportunity programs to ensure continued coordination of such programs and minorities’ access to higher education in Virginia.

The Secretary shall submit the first plan by December 1, 1995, and thereafter annually to the Governor and the General Assembly as provided in the procedures of the Division of Legislative Automated Systems for processing legislative documents.