Lawsuits, Legislation, and Implementation: The South Texas Border Initiative and Latina/o Graduate Education

• In Event: 65.081 - Poster Session 14
  In Poster Session: 65.081-3 - Poster Session: Legal and Judicial Issues for Underserved Populations

Abstract

Prior to 1987, appropriations to universities along the Texas-Mexico border were much less than in other areas of the state. As a result the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) v. Richards lawsuit was filed, claiming inequities for higher education funding. Between 1989 and 1995, the Texas Legislature approved a group of bills known as the South Texas/Border Initiative (STBI). Through a descriptive policy analysis, this study examined the three phases of the STBI – lawsuit, legislation and implementation – by interviewing the attorneys, legislators and university presidents. Descriptive statistics of educational and financial data show these universities in South Texas have fewer programs, but make a large impact on the number of Latino scholars enrolling and obtaining graduate degrees.

Author

• Emily Calderon Galdeano, Excelencia in Education