HOUSE MEMORIAL 97

51st legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2014

INTRODUCED BY

Antonio "Moe" Maestas

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING A TASK FORCE TO EVALUATE EXISTING DEAF EDUCATION AND STUDY THE FEASIBILITY OF CONVERTING THE NEW MEXICO SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF TO A LEARNING INSTITUTION OFFERING A FOUR-YEAR COLLEGE CURRICULUM AND A PARALLEL FOUR-YEAR COLLEGE PREPARATORY HIGH SCHOOL CURRICULUM TO PERSONS WHO ARE DEAF OR HARD-OF-HEARING.

     WHEREAS, the New Mexico school for the deaf is a land grant institution whose operation is provided for in the constitution of New Mexico through its designation, along with multiple public post-secondary educational institutions, as "the New Mexico school for the deaf, at Santa Fe, formerly known as the New Mexico asylum for the deaf and dumb", to be governed by a five-member board of regents; and

     WHEREAS, the New Mexico school for the deaf operates a thirty-acre campus that was granted by congress in the late 1800s; and

     WHEREAS, the New Mexico school for the deaf provides educational and support services on campus through programs for deaf and hard-of-hearing children in kindergarten through grade twelve; and

     WHEREAS, the New Mexico school for the deaf also provides educational and support services at satellite locations in other parts of the state for preschool-age and younger children; and

     WHEREAS, the New Mexico school for the deaf offers on-campus housing for some students who are sent to the campus for full-time instruction by families who live too far away to commute; and

     WHEREAS, at the time the New Mexico school for the deaf was established, the practice of families sending their children with special educational needs out of their communities to live at school was considered routine; and

      WHEREAS, at the time the New Mexico school for the deaf was established, the quality of being deaf or hard-of-hearing was deemed to be a medical pathology, and the centralization of services in one location in the state was the only means for many families to ensure an education for their deaf or hard-of-hearing children; and

     WHEREAS, keeping a child at home with family members is now understood to be, in many cases, a critical component of the child's well-being and success in education, particularly for younger children; and

     WHEREAS, family and community are vital components in the educational process of deaf and hard-of-hearing students to promote a sense of belonging and to feel connected to the world around them; and

     WHEREAS, real-world exposure and experiential learning opportunities are key to the development of real-world skills that result in future success and access to opportunity; and

     WHEREAS, a high-level, effective education requires systemic approaches that address social and emotional needs to promote academic rigor and produce measurable outcomes; and

     WHEREAS, in 2003, the education of the deaf and hard-of-hearing task force, a collaboration between the New Mexico school for the deaf and the New Mexico state department of public education, issued a report that identified what it called a "fundamental human rights issue: the right and necessity to develop communication and language which is the foundation for any educational growth"; and

     WHEREAS, that task force stated in its 2003 report that New Mexico's deaf children and youth were not developing effective communication and language skills, resulting in isolation and a lack of "essential skills required to fully participate in society"; and

     WHEREAS, while the New Mexico school for the deaf has been providing vital services to students for nearly one and one-third centuries, the provision of up-to-date current educational materials, instruction and technologies is required for measurable gains; and

     WHEREAS, many who have graduated from the New Mexico school for the deaf may wish to attend a college that offers courses in both American sign language and English, yet the only post-secondary educational institution that offers such a bilingual education is Gallaudet university in Washington, D.C.; and

     WHEREAS, many students in New Mexico may prefer to remain geographically close to their families; and

     WHEREAS, other students living in the west may have similar feelings about moving to the other side of the country for a bilingual post-secondary education; and

     WHEREAS, many students may prefer to attend a post-secondary educational institution in a less densely populated area than Washington, D.C.; and

     WHEREAS, the New Mexico school for the deaf has the campus and resources to become a post-secondary educational institution and thus provide greater educational impact for deaf and hard-of-hearing students; and

     WHEREAS, the New Mexico school for the deaf has a history of providing services to the deaf and hard-of-hearing communities, has community support and has become a regional needs-based institution to elementary and middle school students and a world-class institution at the Santa Fe campus to high school and college students; and

     WHEREAS, the establishment of a post-secondary educational institution for deaf and hard-of-hearing students on the campus of the New Mexico school for the deaf could cultivate the untapped potential of the institution and its students by allowing more young students to be educated regionally and allowing older students in grades nine through twelve and beyond to learn in a focused environment on campus; and

     WHEREAS, the conversion to or addition of a public post-secondary educational curriculum would allow the New Mexico school for the deaf to provide greater overall impact for deaf and hard-of-hearing students and communities;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that a task force consisting of qualified staff from the public education department, with assistance from the legislative education study committee, and the higher education department, with assistance from the legislative finance committee, be convened to:

          A. study the educational needs of students who are deaf or hard-of-hearing from birth through middle school and evaluate the necessity for updating and modernizing the current educational system to cultivate optimal educational fulfillment;

          B. study the educational needs of students who are deaf or hard-of-hearing from high school through college and evaluate the feasibility of converting to or adding a public post-secondary educational curriculum at the New Mexico school for the deaf;

          C. evaluate the best ways to use existing facilities, assets and resources at the New Mexico school for the deaf; and

          D. identify ways to improve and potential resources for amplifying the educational experiences of current and prospective students at the New Mexico school for the deaf; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force study the example of Gallaudet university for determining the feasibility of establishing a bilingual public post-secondary educational institution for deaf and hard-of-hearing students in New Mexico; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force study the example of the state land grant institution, the New Mexico military institute, for determining the feasibility of establishing a learning institution composed of a four-year college preparatory high school and a parallel four-year college; and

      BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the secretary of public education, the public education commission, the legislative education study committee, the secretary of higher education and the legislative finance committee.

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