SENATE MEMORIAL 69

53rd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2018

INTRODUCED BY

Mimi Stewart

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE NEW MEXICO LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL TO CHARGE THE LEGISLATIVE EDUCATION STUDY COMMITTEE WITH STUDYING FUNDING SOURCES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATOR INCENTIVE PROGRAM FOR THE PURPOSE OF ENCOURAGING MORE CANDIDATES TO ENTER THE EARLY LEARNING WORKFORCE.

     WHEREAS, every child in New Mexico, birth through third grade, deserves high-quality early learning opportunities served by a highly qualified early learning workforce; and

     WHEREAS, New Mexico was ranked forty-eighth in economic well-being and forty-ninth in child well-being in 2018 by the Annie E. Casey Foundation's KIDS COUNT Data Book, and New Mexico is challenged by the effects of poverty on children, as many children living in poverty enter kindergarten unprepared as compared with their more affluent peers; and

     WHEREAS, children who experience toxic stress, whether as the result of poverty, family instability, abuse or neglect or other adverse childhood experiences, can have impaired brain development, especially in the areas of the brain dedicated to higher-order skills; and

     WHEREAS, high-quality early childhood education can reduce the developmental effects of poverty and childhood trauma by providing children with rich social experiences; and

     WHEREAS, early childhood education teachers and the development of skills and competencies are predictive of childhood outcomes; and

     WHEREAS, teacher preparation with specialization in early childhood development is related to positive outcomes for children; and

     WHEREAS, the national conference of state legislatures' publication, No Time to Lose: How to Build a World-Class Education System State by State, found strong early learning educational systems have extra support for struggling students and that a bachelor's degree and, in some cases, a master's degree in early childhood education are required; and

     WHEREAS, New Mexico does not require teachers in all state-funded pre-kindergarten classrooms to have a bachelor's degree that specializes in early childhood education and does not require teacher's assistants to have at least an associate's degree in child development or equivalent credential-based coursework; and

     WHEREAS, New Mexico's early childhood education and care system begins prenatally, extends through age eight and spans several state agencies: the children, youth and families department; the department of health; the human services department; the higher education department; and the public education department; and

     WHEREAS, despite declining revenues in fiscal years 2017 and 2018, New Mexico has continued to prioritize funding for early childhood programs so that children enter kindergarten ready to learn, and the legislature has appropriated seven hundred sixty-two million dollars ($762,000,000) in general fund revenue for early childhood programs since fiscal year 2012;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the New Mexico legislative council be requested to charge the legislative education study committee with studying funding sources to finance coursework and a bachelor's or associate's degree specializing in early childhood education as an incentive to expand New Mexico's highly qualified early learning workforce, including:

          A. existing scholarships;

          B. loan-for-service programs and loan repayment programs;

          C. grants;

          D. tuition reimbursement;

          E. other financial incentives; and

          F. recruitment initiatives that other states are implementing targeted specifically for the early childhood workforce; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the higher education department; the public education department; the children, youth and families department; the department of health; and the human services department be requested to collaborate with the legislative education study committee as needed and to provide early childhood workforce qualification data; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the co-chairs of the New Mexico legislative council; the secretary of higher education; the secretary of public education; the secretary of children, youth and families; the secretary of health; the secretary of human services; and the director of the legislative education study committee.

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