SENATE JOINT MEMORIAL 6

56th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2023

INTRODUCED BY

Roberto "Bobby" J. Gonzales

 

 

 

 

 

A JOINT MEMORIAL

HONORING NEW MEXICO'S BILINGUAL MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION ACT AND REQUESTING THE GOVERNOR TO PROCLAIM 2023 AS "THE YEAR OF BILINGUAL MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION".

 

     WHEREAS, on the eve of the fiftieth anniversary of the Bilingual Multicultural Education Act, the legislature acknowledges that bilingualism and multilingualism have always been a reality in this land that is now called New Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, reflecting on the linguistic and cultural gifts of the elders both past and present, the legislature celebrates the diverse languages represented among the nineteen Pueblos and the Dine, Apache, Comanche, Kiowa and Ute Nations; and

     WHEREAS, the legislature recognizes that the Spanish language of New Mexico has been sustained for almost half a millennium in this region and that the state continues to welcome and be further enriched by other languages; and

     WHEREAS, the fortitude and resiliency of the bilingual multicultural educators, students, parents, families and communities continue to contribute to the multilingual and multicultural legacy of the state; and

     WHEREAS, the efforts of communities, educators and political leaders who honor and continue the advocacy for teaching the heritage languages of New Mexico remain both a goal and a daily struggle; and

     WHEREAS, New Mexico's bilingual education professors and prominent educators continue to provide educational supports and structures that ensure a legacy for future generations and continue to advocate for bilingual multicultural education infrastructures; and

     WHEREAS, there are a number of professional and educational organizations that the Bilingual Multicultural Education Act helped propel, including the New Mexico association for bilingual education, the center for the education and study of diverse populations, dual language education of New Mexico and the coalition for the majority; and

     WHEREAS, the statutory bilingual multicultural education advisory council advises the public education department about goals for equitable access to high-quality education on behalf of students and their families without compromising students' linguistic and cultural heritage; and

     WHEREAS, New Mexico recognizes teachers of Native American languages as professionals equal to teachers of English and other languages; and

     WHEREAS, the Spanish proficiency endorsement exam for Spanish bilingual teachers is inclusive of and values the assets of New Mexico's Spanish vernacular; and

     WHEREAS, New Mexico adopted the state seal of bilingualism-biliteracy in 2014; and

     WHEREAS, the implementation of the federal standard process for the identification of home languages, through the home language survey, supports emergent bilingual students; and

     WHEREAS, fifty years after the Bilingual Multicultural Education Act, bilingual multicultural education programs continue to be supported through the funding formula to public schools, and bilingual multicultural educators continue to infuse and advocate for a cultural and linguistic lens in the teacher evaluation process;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the public education department and the director of the language and culture division be requested to provide a report to the legislature on how the requirements of the Bilingual Multicultural Education Act are or are not being fulfilled; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the public education department and school districts ensure that curricula, instruction, assessments and instructional materials be developed and selected through the lens of the bilingual multicultural needs of New Mexico's population; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that bilingual multicultural education and Indigenous language experts be consulted in the areas of curriculum, instruction, assessment, teacher preparation, teacher evaluation, professional development and licensure; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that funds be made available to revise and update the current Spanish proficiency endorsement exam; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that funding for professional development, time and resources be allocated for educators to develop a scope and sequence for bilingual multicultural education programs appropriate for the languages being taught; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that institutions of higher education be encouraged to create degree programs with appropriate credentialed professors in bilingual multicultural elementary education to increase the number of bilingual teachers; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that all school administrators, including superintendents, receive ongoing in-depth training on the Bilingual Multicultural Education Act and how to effectively implement the act's rules at the local level; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that current and emergent bilingual students with exceptionalities be recognized as vibrant participants and contributors to bilingual multicultural education programs; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that students identified in the Martinez/Yazzie v. State of New Mexico ruling be represented with greater equity and consistency as eligible for gifted education programs and bilingual multicultural programs; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the public education department be requested to provide additional remuneration to kindergarten through twelfth grade bilingual educators, administrators and professors who use their bilingualism to teach languages, prepare bilingual teachers, evaluate teachers and classroom instruction, produce language materials, develop tools for assessment and certify language teachers; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that resources, including research, specific to bilingual multicultural education that are inclusive of local and regional perspectives be used in teacher preparation and educational leadership programs; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the public education department be requested to provide resources and expertise to assist Native American language teachers, coordinators and tribes in New Mexico to develop appropriate tools for assessing Native language learning and evaluation programs; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that students who graduate with the state seal of bilingualism-biliteracy be granted college credit in a language other than English throughout all institutions of higher education, including Indigenous students, regardless of whether those students' languages are written or oral; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the public education department be requested to review the need for scholarships for students who attend New Mexico universities and colleges to pursue bilingual multicultural education teaching degrees or bilingual multicultural education terminal degrees; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the public education department be requested to adopt and use culturally relevant materials and textbooks in multiple languages for all students in bilingual multicultural education and the school libraries that serve these programs; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the public education department be requested to provide resources to develop local instructional materials appropriate for both oral-based languages and those providing Native literacy; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that multiculturalism be encouraged throughout kindergarten through twelfth grade education programs; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the language and culture division of the public education department be requested to create an instructional guidance document to support the effective implementation of bilingual multicultural education that moves beyond compliance and includes specific guidance from the bilingual multicultural education advisory council for oral-based languages as well as effective development in two languages; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the public education department, in consultation with the bilingual multicultural education advisory council, be requested to convene a task force and generate a report to address the New Mexico Legislative Finance Committee Program Evaluation: Bilingual and Multicultural Education Programs Report Findings and Recommendations and any community concerns by September 1, 2023; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the governor be requested to proclaim 2023 as "The Year of Bilingual Multicultural Education"; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the public education department be requested to fully comply, address and fund the linguistic rights of New Mexico's bilingual multicultural students as provided for in Article 12, Section 8 of the constitution of New Mexico, the court rulings of Serna v. Portales, Lau v. Nichols, Castañeda v. Pickard and Martinez/Yazzie v. State of New Mexico, the Bilingual Multicultural Education Act and the federal Native American Languages Act; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the governor, the secretary of public education and the secretary of higher education.

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