This recording is part 1 of 2 of an interview with Severo Gomez on February 14, 1979. Severo Gomez was the first Hispanic to serve on the board at the Texas Education Agency in 1960. Gomez and W. R. Goodson from the American Schools Overseas in Latin America department coordinated an international education program between Latin American countries and Alabama, Louisiana, Tennessee and Texas. During this program, Texas was connected with Guatemala in which Texas exchanged assistance with science education for Guatemala providing assistance in areas of bilingual education. Texas schools with Spanish speaking students that participated in this program had school days divided into an English-speaking half and a Spanish-speaking half. The program showed that Spanish speaking students participated a lot more and had more enthusiasm for class when instructed in Spanish. Gomez also states that in 1973 it was the right time politically for the bilingual education legislation to pass. Chet Brooks' influence in the legislature and the increase in Mexican American legislators both aided the passing of mandatory bilingual education.