2004 Memorial text for HJM013

HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL 13

46th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2004

INTRODUCED BY

Ray Begaye

A JOINT MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THAT THE PUBLIC EDUCATION DEPARTMENT AND THE ALBUQUERQUE PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT ADDRESS THE CONCERNS OF NATIVE AMERICAN STUDENTS ATTENDING ALBUQUERQUE PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND THEIR FAMILIES.

WHEREAS, while approximately one-half of the nearly five thousand Native American students attending school in the Albuquerque public school district are performing at average or better, the fact remains that approximately one-half of the Native American students in the district are performing at lower than average; and

WHEREAS, while a long history of low performance among Native American students in the Albuquerque public school district exists, the school district has made little effort to address the problems encountered by Native American students, including a high dropout rate, attendance problems and low test scores; and

WHEREAS, according to Albuquerque public school district reports, Native American students attending Albuquerque public schools had a dropout rate of approximately twenty percent in the 1998 school year, and only thirty-two percent of Native American students beginning high school in the Albuquerque public school district in 1993 graduated from Albuquerque public schools in 1998; and

WHEREAS, according to the 2001-2002 Albuquerque public school district Native American one-hundred-day report card, out of nearly five thousand Native American students in the school district, approximately forty-five percent had a grade point average below a passing grade of 2.0 and approximately fifty-five percent were chronically absent, missing ten or more days of school during the first one hundred days of school; and

WHEREAS, Native American students, specifically the eighty-one percent of Native American students on the free lunch program, show low terra nova test scores; and

WHEREAS, other education issues concerning Native American students attending Albuquerque public schools exist, including insufficient funding for Native American students at all levels in the school district, school district employment of too few Native American teachers and staff and Native American students with special needs not receiving necessary help;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the public education department and the Albuquerque public school district be requested to conduct an in-depth study of the reasons for the high dropout rate among Native American students and to collaborate with the Native American community to design a zero-tolerance dropout policy for Native American students, to be implemented within two years; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the public education department and the Albuquerque public school district be requested to increase or emphasize the teaching of a Native- American-based curriculum, including history, bilingual education and multicultural education, in all Albuquerque public schools; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the public education department and the Albuquerque public school district be requested to increase the number of Native American top-level administrators employed by the school district and to create a superintendent position filled by a Native American educator, who will collaborate with the Native American community to address the needs of Native American students, including their academic, cultural and linguistic needs; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the public education department and the Albuquerque public school district be requested to encourage and obtain more Native American parental and community involvement in the school district's decision-making processes by holding public meetings and orientation sessions with the Native American community; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the public education department and the Albuquerque public school district be requested to collaborate with the Native American community, including Native American professionals, in the planning, designing and implementing of a culturally based Native American magnet school, including preschool literacy, youth enrichment and arts programs; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that pursuant to the Indian Education Act, the Indian education advisory committee be requested to have Native American representatives from Albuquerque, Gallup, Farmington and Santa Fe; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Albuquerque public school district and the Albuquerque Native American community be requested to co-host a town hall meeting to obtain input from community members, parents and families on educating Native American students; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the public education department, the superintendent of the Albuquerque public school district, the president of the Albuquerque public school board, the Albuquerque commission on Indian affairs, the national Indian youth center, the Albuquerque metro Native American coalition, the New Mexico office of Indian affairs and the interim legislative Indian affairs committee.

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