| 1 | House Resolution |
| 2 | A resolution designating September 2005 as "Take Your Dad |
| 3 | to School Month" in Florida. |
| 4 |
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| 5 | WHEREAS, the United States Department of Education |
| 6 | published a study in 1998 entitled "Fathers' Involvement in |
| 7 | Their Children's Schools," which revealed that children whose |
| 8 | fathers participate in their school activities, as compared to |
| 9 | their peers whose fathers do not, are more likely to get mostly |
| 10 | A's, enjoy school, and participate in extracurricular activities |
| 11 | and are less likely to have ever repeated a grade or have been |
| 12 | suspended or expelled from school, and |
| 13 | WHEREAS, a longitudinal study of 919 children indicated |
| 14 | that low parental involvement, among other factors, increased |
| 15 | the chances that a child would engage in antisocial behaviors |
| 16 | such as fighting, lying, cheating, and criminal activity, and |
| 17 | WHEREAS, a 1999 poll commissioned by the National Center |
| 18 | for Fathering discovered that 40.2 percent of fathers never read |
| 19 | to their children, only 40.9 percent of fathers between the ages |
| 20 | of 25 and 44 knew the name of their child's teacher, 32.4 |
| 21 | percent had never attended a child's class event or school |
| 22 | meeting, 77 percent had never had lunch with their child at |
| 23 | school, and 58 percent had never volunteered at their child's |
| 24 | school, and |
| 25 | WHEREAS, children who have the benefit of two supportive |
| 26 | parents, even if their parents are separated, are less likely to |
| 27 | live in poverty, drop out of school, become involved in |
| 28 | delinquent behavior, or become involved in an abusive |
| 29 | relationship and are at lower risk of teen pregnancy, and |
| 30 | WHEREAS, children who have the benefit of a healthy, active |
| 31 | relationship with their fathers are more likely to be well- |
| 32 | adjusted in adolescence and adulthood, and children whose |
| 33 | fathers are not present benefit from a relationship with |
| 34 | nurturing, actively involved father figures such as |
| 35 | grandfathers, uncles, Big Brothers, and mentors, and |
| 36 | WHEREAS, since the first designation in 2000 of September |
| 37 | as "Take Your Dad to School Month," more than 100,000 fathers |
| 38 | and father figures in Florida have attended school events with |
| 39 | their children, and many schools have adopted appropriate events |
| 40 | to observe the month in their regularly scheduled activities for |
| 41 | September, NOW, THEREFORE, |
| 42 |
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| 43 | Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of |
| 44 | Florida: |
| 45 |
|
| 46 | That September 2005 is designated as "Take Your Dad to |
| 47 | School Month" in Florida. |