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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR Miera
ORIGINAL DATE
LAST UPDATED
1/31/06
2/1/06 HB 206
SHORT TITLE Educational assistant Licensing Framework
SB
ANALYST Aguilar
APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)
Appropriation
Recurring
or Non-Rec
Fund
Affected
FY06
FY07
$5,866.3
Recurring
General Fund
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
Relates to House Bill 418
Relates to an Appropriation in the General Appropriation Act
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
LFC Files
Responses Received From
Public Education Department (PED)
Department of Finance and Administration (DFA)
State Personnel Office (SPO)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of Bill
House Bill 206 appropriates $5.9 million from the general fund to the public school fund for the
purpose of implementing an educational assistant licensing framework.
The bill establishes a four-tiered licensure framework for educational assistants’, sets forth the
requirements for licensure and provides for minimum salary guarantees statewide for educational
assistants at each licensure level. The minimum salaries are:
Level One $12,000
Level Two $13,000
Level Three $15,000
Level Four $17,000.
pg_0002
House Bill 206 – Page
2
School districts must implement a career salary framework for educational assistants that sup-
ports the licensure system, including salary increments above the minimums based on training
and experience. The PED is authorized to promulgate transition rules and rules’ assuring that
levels three and four meet the paraprofessional standards of the federal No Child Left Behind
Act of 2001.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
The appropriation of $5.9 million contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general fund.
Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2007 shall revert
to the general fund.
House Bill 2 contains appropriations of $7.1 million for a 9.5 percent salary increase for educa-
tional assistants.
The three-tier career ladder for teachers is in it fourth year of implementation while the princi-
pal’s ladder is poised for implementation beginning in FY08. The LFC is concerned that adding
additional out-year obligations before meeting existing responsibilities may cause budget issues
to arise in the future.
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
As of the 120th day of school year 2004-2005, there were approximately 5858.93 full-time
equivalent educational assistants whose salaries were paid from state operational funds. The
FTE breakdown of licensure levels is 438.78 Level 1, 873.88 Level 2, and 4546.27 Level 3 edu-
cational assistants. There are currently no Level 4 licensed educational assistants in the state of
New Mexico as the level does not exist.
PED notes the level one license is a three-year license for beginning educational assistants who
do not meet the requirements for higher levels of licensure. The level one EA must be a high
school graduate, be at least 18 years of age and complete a local orientation session pertinent to
his/her work assignment. An EA must be intensively evaluated locally for at least two years be-
fore advancing to level two.
The level two license is a nine-year license. A level two EA meets the same requirements as
level one and is evaluated annually.
The level three license is a nine-year license that is issued to an EA who meets all of the re-
quirements of a level two EA plus has completed at least 48 semester hours of postsecondary
non-remedial coursework that prepares the EA to work effectively in instructional support or has
demonstrated competency by passing a state-approved test or through a locally administered
portfolio assessment. The level three EA is also evaluated annually.
A level four EA license is for nine years and requires the EA to meet all of the requirements of a
level three license as well as earning an associate’s degree or higher.
pg_0003
House Bill 206 – Page
3
It is important to note that of the four tiers, only educational assistants in levels 3 & 4 meet the
No Child Left Behind requirements of being highly qualified. Although this requirement is only
needed for working in Title I schools, highly qualified personnel should be assigned to all
schools.
An EA may be issued a level three or four license if he/she qualifies for either of those levels,
without first holding levels one and two licensure. This is important for recruiting EAs who must
meet the paraprofessional status required by NCLB
PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS
Supporters of HB 206 argue that higher salaries and more rigorous qualifications for educational
assistants who have instructional duties in Title 1 schools will result in better academic perform-
ance for students. Since Title 1 schools serve the children most in need of support, this effort
may help New Mexico reduce the achievement gap, particularly for poor and minority students.
ALTERNATIVES
The Legislature may wish to consider leaving the base salary for educational assistants at $12
thousand and creating only two additional tiers only for those assistants achieving No Child Left
Behind certification.
PA/nt