SENATE BILL 158

57th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2026

INTRODUCED BY

Harold Pope

 

 

 

 

 

AN ACT

RELATING TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS; CREATING THE MICRO-CREDENTIAL PILOT PROJECT IN THE PUBLIC EDUCATION DEPARTMENT; PROVIDING REQUIREMENTS FOR DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING THE PROJECT; ASSIGNING DUTIES; MAKING AN APPROPRIATION.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

     SECTION 1. A new section of the Public School Code is enacted to read:

     "[NEW MATERIAL] MICRO-CREDENTIAL PILOT PROJECT--ELIGIBILITY--APPLICATION--REPORTING AND EVALUATION.--

          A. As used in this section:

                (1) "equity-centered instruction" means instruction aligned with the Martinez-Yazzie decision and includes culturally and linguistically responsive practices, equity literacy and strengths-based approaches in serving bilingual students, English language learners, Native American students and other historically underserved student groups;

                (2) "equity-centered leadership" means school leadership that aligns with the Martinez-Yazzie decision and includes culturally and linguistically responsive practices, bilingual and multicultural program implementation, family and tribal engagement, data-informed and equitable decision making and supporting equity-centered instruction;

                (3) "Martinez-Yazzie decision" means the final judgment issued in the Martinez and Yazzie, et al., v. the State of New Mexico consolidated lawsuit;

                (4) "micro-credential" means a certification that recognizes a person's competency in a particular topic based on the person's completion of short performance-based professional development courses; and

                (5) "project" means the micro-credential pilot project.

          B. The "micro-credential pilot project" is created as a five-year pilot project in the department to demonstrate that expanding the issuance of micro-credentials aligned with the Martinez-Yazzie decision to site administrators and teachers through targeted professional development will improve administrator and teacher retention and student outcomes by advancing culturally and linguistically responsive education and by strengthening equity-centered leadership and instruction.

          C. The project shall be implemented in the following three phases:

                (1) phase one of the project is the department's development of micro-credential pathways for site administrators and teachers; provided that:

                     (a) each pathway shall require competency of each micro-credential in an appropriate sequence;

                     (b) the site administrator pathway shall focus on equity-centered leadership and be delivered through a cohort model that supports collaborative learning and practice; and

                     (c) the teacher pathway shall focus on equity-centered instruction;

                (2) phase two of the project is the department's validation of the developed pathways, which shall include testing the micro-credential pathways with and gathering feedback from representative cohorts of at least fifty site administrators and at least fifty teachers; and

                (3) phase three of the project shall be statewide implementation of the project.

          D. Statewide implementation of the project shall begin in the 2028-2029 school year. During the first year of statewide implementation, up to eighty site administrators may enroll in the site administrator pathway and up to four hundred licensed teachers may enroll in the teacher pathway. During the second year of statewide implementation, up to eighty site administrators may enroll in the site administrator pathway and up to seven hundred licensed teachers may enroll in the teacher pathway. During the third year of statewide implementation, up to eighty site administrators may enroll in the site administrator pathway and up to one thousand one hundred teachers may enroll in the teacher pathway.

          E. A site administrator or teacher shall demonstrate competency in each micro-credential before progressing to the next micro-credential in the sequence for a pathway. Competency shall be determined by successful completion of performance tasks and evidence of practical application and demonstrated growth in a pathway's focus area. Completion of performance tasks shall be measured on a pass-fail basis.

          F. The department shall:

                (1) adopt the curriculum and performance tasks for each micro-credential in the site administrator and teacher pathways that are aligned with the Martinez-Yazzie decision;

                (2) determine the criteria for enrollment in the site administrator and teacher pathways and a time line for the completion of each pathway;

                (3) determine reporting and evaluation procedures;

                (4) give interim reports on the progress of the project to the legislative education study committee and a final report with recommendations to the governor and the legislature that shall include an analysis of the project's effect on equity-centered leadership and instruction and on outcomes for historically underserved student groups, the challenges with implementing the project, the experiences of participants and the department's recommendations for expansion; and

                (5) collaborate in the development and validation phases of the project with New Mexico-based nonprofit organizations with expertise in providing professional development in equity-centered leadership and instruction, providing culturally and linguistically responsive education and serving historically underserved student groups."

     SECTION 2. APPROPRIATION.--Three million dollars ($3,000,000) is appropriated from the general fund to the public education department for expenditure in fiscal years 2027 through 2031 to implement and administer the micro-credential pilot project. Any unexpended balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2031 shall revert to the general fund.

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