March 17, 2009

Testifying at the State Board of Education Meeting, 25 March 2009

REGISTERING:

You should register early on Friday, 20 March 2009, or on Monday, 23 March, between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. (Central Time).

You may register in one of three ways:

  1. Calling 512-463-9007
  2. Faxing the registration form to 512-936-4319 (choose “Committee of the Full Board”)
  3. In person at William B. Travis (WBT) State Office Building, 1701 N. Congress, Austin, Texas 78701

The TEA’s official information on testifying can be found at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index4.aspx?id=3958#Public%20Testimony

At the January meeting, priority was given to speakers who had not spoken at the previous meeting in November.

WE ASK SPEAKERS TO:

  1. Encourage the board to adopt the science TEKS as written by the expert writing teams.
  2. Ask the board to reject the anti-evolution amendments passed during the January meeting.

TIPS FOR TESTIFYING:

  1. Testimony is scheduled for Wednesday 25 March, from noon to 6 pm, in the William Travis Bldg. The meeting room is on the first floor.
  2. The day of the meeting there will be a printed list of the order of speakers on the table outside the meeting room.
  3. Speakers should have 35 copies of their testimony to distribute to the board. This can include talking points or a written version of your testimony.
  4. Speakers are given 3 minutes for testimony, and will be told to finish their current sentence when the time elapses.
  5. Board members may then question the speaker.
  6. Be respectful and polite—as the old saying goes, honey works better to catch flies than vinegar.
  7. Three minutes goes by quicker than you think. Try to make one big point and reinforce it, rather than several smaller points.