SENATE JOINT MEMORIAL 30

48th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2008

INTRODUCED BY

Mary Kay Papen

A JOINT MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE PUBLIC EDUCATION DEPARTMENT, IN COOPERATION WITH THE LEGISLATIVE EDUCATION STUDY COMMITTEE AND THE OFFICE OF EDUCATION ACCOUNTABILITY, TO STUDY THE NEED FOR A MORE REALISTIC PERIOD OF TIME FOR A DUTY-FREE LUNCH FOR INSTRUCTIONAL PERSONNEL IN PUBLIC ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS.

     WHEREAS, the law provides that teachers shall not be required to perform noninstructional duties except in emergency situations as defined by the public education department; and

     WHEREAS, "noninstructional duties" means noon hall duty, noon ground duty and noon cafeteria duty; and

     WHEREAS, most teachers are given thirty minutes for lunch; and

     WHEREAS, in elementary schools, a teacher's own lunch period does not equal thirty minutes of duty-free time because of the need for the teacher to take students to the lunchroom and pick them up at the end of their lunch period; and

     WHEREAS, in many elementary schools, the result is that a teacher has fifteen minutes or less to eat lunch; and

     WHEREAS, research has shown that rapid eating is associated with a number of health concerns, such as insulin resistence, high blood pressure, obesity, high cholesterol and acid reflux; and

     WHEREAS, rapid eating can also contribute to chronic stress, which can ultimately create such physical symptoms as chronic headaches and increased susceptibility to colds and influenza; and

     WHEREAS, being required to eat rapidly and in a stressful situation on a day-to-day basis can exacerbate the stresses associated with the already stressful job of teaching;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE

STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the public education department, in cooperation with the legislative education study committee and the office of education accountability, be requested to study the feasibility of requiring a forty-five minute, duty-free lunch period for all elementary instructional personnel statewide; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the study include an examination of the health effects for teachers associated with the stress of eating rapidly, as well as the effects on their teaching practice; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that, among the elements of the study, the department seek input from teachers in school districts of various sizes and locations throughout the state of New Mexico on the duration and conditions of their respective duty-free lunch periods; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the secretary of education, in cooperation with the office of education accountability, report recommendations, including cost estimates, to the legislative education study committee and the legislative finance committee by November 2008; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the secretary of public education, the office of education accountability, the legislative education study committee and the legislative finance committee.

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