Greetings from the State Bar of Texas School Law Section!
Your Board of Directors has been busy planning some exciting opportunities for you in the coming months. Please mark your calendars now and plan to attend two outstanding activities for attorneys interested in school law.
At the State Bar of Texas annual meeting in San Antonio June 24-25, 2004, we have a number of unique opportunities to highlight the impact of school law on our society. First, May 2004 marks the 50th Anniver- sary of the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision, which ruled that racially segregated schools are “inherently inequal” and which ordered desegregation “with all deliberate speed.” The State Bar of Texas School Law Section has been working with a number of other State Bar of Texas sections to co- sponsor programs highlighting this important decision. Current plans call for CLE with nationally-known speakers, the showing of an excellent PBS video of the Kansas struggle that triggered the Brown decision, a display of the Brown Foundation’s traveling exhibit regarding the history of the desegregation struggle and the significance of the decision, a video highlighting the history and progress of desegregation in Texas, a breakfast honoring minority lawyers who were Texas “trailblazers,” and a luncheon with a nationally-known keynote speaker. We are very excited to be a part of this dynamic and important program and urge you to attend. Second, we will have the wonderful opportunity to welcome one of our own, Mr. Kelly Frels, who will take the oath as State Bar President, becoming the first school attorney to be elected to that role. Final- ly, the School Law Section will conduct a business meeting on Friday, June 25, 2004, where we will elect next year’s officers. Elneita Hutchins-Taylor and Ann Manning have graciously agreed to assist me in coor- dinating these events at the Bar Convention.
In July, we will hold our always-popular State Bar of Texas School Law Section Retreat, to be held at the San Luis in Galveston on July 16-17, 2004. Joy Baskin and Miles Bradshaw are already hard at work devel- oping an excellent program. The Retreat provides excellent CLE opportunities. It also gives all school attor- neys many chances to get to know each other better and to spend some quality vacation time with their own families.
Please feel free to contact me or any of the School Law Section Directors or Officers if you have sugges- tions on how we can better meet your needs.
Lynn Rossi Scott
Chair
State Bar School Law Section