Truán, Carlos (1935-)

Carlos Truán is a former Texas senator who wrote House Bill 103, which became the Texas Bilingual Education Act of 1969, one of the first state bilingual measures in the country. He was born in Kingsville, Texas, on June 9, 1935, during the Great Depression; his single mother raised him and his siblings. The family was among the earliest settlers of the community. With his mother's encouragement, Truán worked hard at attaining an education in a segregated environment. As a young man, he held various jobs to contribute to the support of the family and pay for his college education. In 1959, he graduated from Texas A&I (now Texas A&M) University with a bachelor's degree in business administration.

After graduating from college, Truán moved to Corpus Christi and started a career in the insurance [Page 862]industry. There, he became active in the community, which led to an appointment on the Texas Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. His participation in hearings about discrimination, employment, education, and unfair treatment of migrant farmworkers by the Texas Rangers attracted him to further human rights work and also led him to run for elected office as a Democrat.

First elected to the Texas House of Representative in 1968, Truán served four terms, including service as the chairman of the Committee on Human Resources. As a state representative, the legislation he became involved in included the Texas Child Care Licensing Act of 1975, the Texas Public Housing Authority Act (1969), the Texas Education Act (1973), and the Interstate Placement of Children Act (1975). In 1976, Truán was elected to the Texas Senate, where he served for 25 years and distinguished himself as a supporter of public and higher education, environmental protection, and mental health care issues.

Beginning with the 69th Legislature, Truán was elected and reelected to the post of Senate President pro tempore during the first, second, and third called sessions. The 74th Legislature saw him become the first Hispanic legislator to serve as Dean of the Texas Senate in 1995.

Carlos Truán has been identified by some as one of Texas's most influential supporters of public education. In his first year as a House member, Truán wrote House Bill 103, which became the Texas Bilingual Education Act of 1969. It was passed on May 22 of that year. However, before passing the bill, legislators also had to repeal the “English only” statute of 1918, which made it a misdemeanor for any teacher or administrator to use a language other than English in school or to use books not printed in English, except those used in high school foreign-language classes. Prior to the passage of this bill, Hispanics had an 80% school drop-out rate. Truán remembered being spanked on his first day of school by his elementary principal for speaking Spanish. Senator Truán's House Bill 103 began by acknowledging English as the primary language of instruction in school but went on to emphasize that “instruction in the earlier years which includes the use of language the child understands makes learning easier.” The legislation allowed but did not require a school district to provide bilingual instruction through Grade 6. Texas Education Agency approval was required before a district could offer bilingual education in the secondary grades.

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