HOUSE MEMORIAL 18

55th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2021

INTRODUCED BY

Natalie Figueroa

 

 

 

 

 

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE SECRETARY OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND THE SECRETARY OF PUBLIC EDUCATION TO CONVENE A TEACHER WORKFORCE TASK FORCE TO STUDY INCREASING THE NUMBER AND TYPE OF TEACHERS AND TO CREATE A DIVERSE, QUALIFIED AND EFFECTIVE TEACHER WORKFORCE TO MEET THE NEEDS OF NATIVE AMERICAN STUDENTS, ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNER STUDENTS, STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES AND LOW-INCOME STUDENTS, AS IDENTIFIED IN MARTINEZ AND YAZZIE v. STATE OF NEW MEXICO.

 

     WHEREAS, New Mexico's public education system is facing tough challenges as it grapples with school closures and remote learning disruption caused by the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic; and

     WHEREAS, the challenges facing New Mexico's public education system were daunting even before the onset of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic in March 2020; and

     WHEREAS, public education department statistics reveal that nearly three out of every four public school students come from low-income families, one in seven students are English language learners and the same percentage are disabled; and

     WHEREAS, the creation of a teacher workforce task force to study and better understand the needs of Native American students, English language learner students, students with disabilities and low-income students, as identified in Martinez and Yazzie v. State of New Mexico, is urgently needed;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the secretaries of higher education and public education be requested to convene a teacher workforce task force composed of:

          A. the secretaries of higher education and public education, who shall co-chair the task force;

          B. the assistant secretary of Indian education and the Hispanic education liaison of the public education department;

          C. two deans of the colleges of education at the four-year public post-secondary educational institutions appointed by the secretary of higher education;

          D. one faculty member from a four-year public post-secondary educational institution, who represents expertise in the education of Native American students, appointed by the secretary of higher education, to be selected from a list of candidates submitted by the dean of the college of education;

          E. one faculty member from a four-year public post-secondary educational institution, who represents expertise in the education of English language learners, appointed by the secretary of higher education, to be selected from a list of candidates submitted by the dean of the college of education;

          F. one faculty member from a four-year public post-secondary educational institution, who represents expertise in the education of low-income students, appointed by the secretary of higher education, to be selected from a list of candidates submitted by the dean of the college of education;

          G. one faculty member from a four-year public post-secondary educational institution, who represents expertise in the education of students with disabilities, appointed by the secretary of higher education, to be selected from a list of candidates submitted by the dean of the college of education;

          H. two faculty members of teacher preparation programs at the two-year public post-secondary educational institutions, at least one of whom is involved in alternative licensure preparation programs, appointed by the secretary of higher education;

          I. one representative of teacher preparation programs at Native American colleges in New Mexico, appointed by the secretary of higher education;

          J. three members appointed or designated by the Indian nations, tribes and pueblos they represent;

          K. one representative appointed by the secretary of public education on the recommendation of the national education association;

          L. one representative appointed by the secretary of public education on the recommendation of the American federation of teachers New Mexico;

          M. two teachers appointed by the secretary of public education on the recommendation of New Mexico education partners, who are representative of the geographical, linguistic, cultural, ethnic and racial diversity of the state, to include bilingual, teaching English as a second language, special education and Native language certified teachers;

          N. one school superintendent from a rural school district and one school superintendent from an urban school district appointed by the secretary of public education on the recommendation of the New Mexico school superintendents association; and

          O. two members of the legislative education study committee appointed by the chair of the legislative education study committee; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force be requested to create subcommittees to include non-task-force members with state, tribal and local technical knowledge and expertise in the education of Native American students, English language learners, students with disabilities and students from low-income families; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the subcommittees be requested to study:

          A. teacher pipeline, including educators rising and similar programs, and scholarship and loan programs;

          B. faculty capacity within the departments of education at public post-secondary educational institutions regarding teacher pipeline and the recruitment and retention of teachers;

          C. teacher recruitment and retention strategies, including teacher residencies, mentorship, induction and support;

          D. teacher credentials and licensing, including bilingual and teaching English as a second language endorsement, five hundred twenty certification and special education;

          E. teacher preparation programs for general education teachers, including instruction that incorporates effective strategies to teach the state's diverse student population in culturally and linguistically responsive pedagogy and practices, and that meet the educational needs of Native American students, English language learners, students with disabilities and low-income students;

          F. teacher preparation programs for Native language and Spanish-English bilingual teachers that build on the work conducted by the faculty of the departments of education bilingual and teaching English as a second language teacher preparation workgroup;

          G. teacher preparation programs for special education teachers;

          H. teacher compensation, including yearly salary and salary differentials; and

          I. professional development and training for general education teachers in culturally and linguistically relevant pedagogy and professional development and training that is specific for Native language, bilingual education and special education teachers; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force and subcommittees be requested to collect, analyze and evaluate the gaps and barriers to creating a diverse, qualified and effective teacher workforce that meets the needs of Native American students, English language learners, students with disabilities and low-income students, including:

          A. the current and future need for teachers in the state, including mapping of teacher shortages by license level and license endorsement, short- and long-range needs for teachers by license level and each license endorsement and mapping of teacher diversity at the school district level in relation to student population served;

          B. teacher pipeline;

          C. faculty capacity within departments of education at state post-secondary educational institutions;

          D. teacher recruitment and retention;

          E. teacher credentials and licensing, including alternative pathways;

          F. teacher preparation programs, including alternative pathways;

          G. mentorship programs;

          H. compensation; and

          I. professional development opportunities available to new and returning teachers; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the teacher workforce task force be requested to develop a comprehensive teacher workforce strategic plan that includes one- to two-year goals, five- to ten-year goals and short-term and long-term action steps to achieve those goals; that identifies whether action is required by the legislature, the public education department, the higher education department, institutions of higher education or any combination of those; and that includes funding requirements to fully implement the teacher workforce strategic plan; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that vacancies on the task force may be filled by the original appointing authority, and the co-chairs of the task force may request the appointing authority to replace a task force member or replace a subcommittee member if needed; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force be requested to provide an interim report on its analyses, evaluations and initial recommendations to the governor, the legislative education study committee, the legislative finance committee, the boards of regents and governing boards of public post-secondary educational institutions, the council of university presidents, the public education department and the higher education department by September 1, 2022; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force be requested to operate from its appointment to September 1, 2023; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force be requested to provide a final report with its findings and recommendations, including the teacher workforce strategic plan, to the governor; the legislative education study committee, the legislative finance committee and the legislature by filing the report with the legislative council service library; the boards of regents or governing bodies of the public post-secondary educational institutions; and the council of university presidents, the public education department and the higher education department by September 1, 2023 for publication on the departments' websites; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the governor, the chair of the legislative education study committee, the chair of the legislative finance committee, the secretary of higher education, the secretary of public education and the boards of regents and governing boards of public post-secondary educational institutions.

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