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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T

SPONSOR:	Sanchez, B.		DATE TYPED:	2/21/03		HB
SHORT TITLE:		Support Teacher Certification Plan				SB	SJM 17
					ANALYST:		L. Baca

APPROPRIATION

Appropriation Contained		Estimated Additional Impact		Recurring or Non-Rec	Fund Affected
FY03	FY04	FY03	FY04
	NFI

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

Responses Received From

State Department of Education (SDE)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Joint Memorial 17 requests that the State Superintendent of Public Instruction conduct a study to determine how a statewide plan for teacher certification in New Mexico’s public schools can be implemented. The bill also provides sanctions against school districts for non-compliance. The superintendent is required to appear before the Legislative Education Study Committee (LESC) to discuss the findings.

Significant Issues

The SDE and the Commission on Higher Education have worked closely the past year to help New Mexico meet the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), which requires that states develop a plan with measurable objectives to ensure that all teachers of core subjects are highly qualified. Core subjects include English, math science, foreign languages, social studies, and reading or language arts. According to SDE, all employees hired for Title 1 programs after the beginning of the 2002-03 school year must meet these requirements, and all current teachers must meet these requirements by the end of the 2005-06 school year.

The SDE reports the agency has submitted a plan to the U.S. Department of Education that includes identifying measurable objectives for meeting the requirements of NCLB, and its Title II Unit is working with school districts to collect the necessary data.

OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

The issue of sanctions for non-compliance with teacher certification rules poses some interesting dilemmas for SDE, school districts and teachers. There is shortage of “qualified” teachers, especially in areas such as math, science, bilingual education and special education. Instructors staff some of these classrooms and are not endorsed for their assignments. But, the district has filled the position with the “best” available person. Should either the district or the teacher be penalized for this? SDE currently has rules and procedures in place that will allow teachers unendorsed for their teaching assignment to work toward full certification while being full-time teachers. Would these individuals be sanctioned?

POSSIBLE QUESTIONS

1. What kind of sanctions could be imposed on a school district? A teacher?

2. Has the SDE developed a set of guidelines regarding the sanctioning of a school district or teacher?

3. Should a school district be sanctioned because it can’t find qualified teachers?

LRB/ls