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

SPONSOR Tsosie

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

1/30/06

HB

SHORT TITLE

NAVAJO & ENGLISH EDUCATIONAL

PROGRAMMING

SB 281

ANALYST Weber

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY06

FY07

$655.6

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Duplicates HB 11

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Indian Affairs Department (IAD)

Public Education Department (PED)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Bill 281 appropriates $655.6 thousand to identify existing Navajo and English bilingual

and educational programming and to develop and distribute language and educational curricula

using digital technology.

Indian Affairs Department is to divide the total amount in two ways:

1.

$156,848 to identify in coordination with the Crownpoint Institute of Technology (CIT)

and the public broadcasting station KNME existing Navajo and English bilingual

educational programming;

2.

$498,748 to produce, develop and distribute Navajo language curricula in conjunction

with the CIT and the Navajo Nation broadcasting service

.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $655.6 thousand contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general

Senate Bill 281 – Page 2

fund. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of FY07 shall revert to the

general fund.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

The Indian Affairs Department notes.

The bill appears to align with the tenets of the NM Indian Education Act of 2003. The Act

supports the maintenance of Native languages and development of Native American language

curriculum to meet the needs of Indian students. The bill would bring several tribal entities

together to produce or identify appropriate educational resources/programming that would

address the preservation or revitalization of the Navajo language while supporting English

literacy and proficiency. The bill intends to use television and digital technology to distribute the

language and educational programming. These mediums are particularly important to ensure

access to some of the remote Navajo Nation Chapters in New Mexico

.

A culturally relevant

curriculum of this nature may assist Indian children achieve academic success while helping to

preserve and maintain Native languages.

The Public Education Department adds.

The educational materials of this nature do not exist in the traditional publishing market from

which instructional materials are obtained. This bill would address this need by creating

materials in digital format, preserving the verbal and visual aspects of language that are not

conveyed adequately in print alone.

MW/nt