HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL 5

47th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2006

INTRODUCED BY

Ray Begaye

FOR THE LEGISLATIVE EDUCATION STUDY COMMITTEE

A JOINT MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THAT THE INDIAN EDUCATION DIVISION OF THE PUBLIC EDUCATION DEPARTMENT STUDY AND CONSIDER IMPLEMENTING SUCCESSFUL ACADEMIC INITIATIVES IN SCHOOLS WITH HIGH ENROLLMENTS OF NATIVE AMERICAN STUDENTS.

     WHEREAS, approximately eleven percent of public school students in New Mexico are Native American, making them the second largest minority group, after Caucasian students, in the public schools of the state; and

     WHEREAS, the gap in reading achievement between Native American and white non-Hispanic students in New Mexico on the national assessment of educational progress test is twenty-eight percentage points in grade four and twenty-six percentage points in grade eight; and

     WHEREAS, the gap in mathematics achievement between Native American and white non-Hispanic students in New Mexico on the national assessment of educational progress test is twenty-five percentage points in grade four and twenty-two percentage points in grade eight; and

     WHEREAS, in Oklahoma, Native Americans represent approximately eighteen percent of public school students; however, in Oklahoma the achievement gap between Native American and white non-Hispanic students on the national assessment of educational progress test is ten to eighteen points less than in New Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, many other states also have lower achievement gaps between Native American and white non-Hispanic students than New Mexico in reading and mathematics; and

     WHEREAS, in 2003, the New Mexico legislature enacted the Indian Education Act as a means to provide for the study, development and implementation of educational programs that positively affect the educational success of Native American students; and

     WHEREAS, the Indian Education Act requires the Indian education division of the public education department to provide assistance to school districts and tribes to meet the educational needs of Native American students; and

     WHEREAS, if educators in other states have identified methods that are succeeding in reducing the achievement gap between Native American and non-Native American students, it would greatly benefit Native American students in New Mexico if educators in this state had the opportunity to implement those methods;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the Indian education division of the public education department be requested to study the successful academic initiatives for reducing the achievement gap between Native American and non-Native American students undertaken in other states that have large Native American populations; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the public education department consider supporting the implementation of the most successful of these initiatives in New Mexico schools that have a high proportion of Native American students; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the director of the legislative education study committee and the secretary of public education for appropriate distribution.

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