HOUSE MEMORIAL 44

56th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2023

INTRODUCED BY

Tara L. Lujan and Susan K. Herrera and Raymundo Lara and

Joy Garratt and Debra M. Sariñana

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE SECRETARY OF PUBLIC EDUCATION TO CONVENE A COMMUNITY SCHOOLS FUNDING TASK FORCE TO STUDY THE ISSUE OF SUSTAINABLE FUNDING FOR COMMUNITY SCHOOLS IN NEW MEXICO, TO DEVELOP CRITERIA FOR CERTIFYING COMMUNITY SCHOOLS, TO RECOMMEND FUNDING BASED ON CERTIFICATION AND TO DEVELOP A COMMUNITY SCHOOLS STRATEGIC PLAN.

     WHEREAS, according to the criteria of the federal Every Student Succeeds Act, the community schools strategy is an evidence-based intervention that leads to improvement in student and school outcomes and, in particular, contributes to meeting the educational needs of low-achieving students in high-poverty schools; and

     WHEREAS, the community schools strategy has been shown to have a positive effect on student attendance, test scores, graduation rates and students' social, emotional and physical development; and

     WHEREAS, the community schools strategy is cost-effective, with an estimated return on investment of seven dollars ($7.00) to fifteen dollars ($15.00) for every one dollar ($1.00) spent on community school coordinators; and

     WHEREAS, the Community Schools Act was revised in 2019 to establish a community schools fund administered by the public education department to award grants to public schools to support the development and implementation of community schools initiatives in New Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, more than one hundred planning and implementation community school grants have been awarded to public schools in New Mexico since April 2019, totaling over fourteen million dollars ($14,000,000) in state and federally appropriated funds; and

     WHEREAS, there are currently more than one hundred community schools in sixteen school districts across the state; and

     WHEREAS, there is currently no designation for community schools that demonstrates that a particular school meets the statutory requirements for a community school or that the school is implementing a high-quality community schools strategy; and

     WHEREAS, there is no recurring funding in the general appropriation acts to sustain the cost of community schools initiatives beyond the planning and implementation grants awarded by the public education department;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the secretary of public education be requested to convene a community schools funding task force composed of:

          A. the secretary of public education or the secretary's designee, who shall chair the task force;

          B. three representatives from the coalition for community schools;

          C. two staff members of the legislative education study committee appointed by the chair of the legislative education study committee;

          D. two staff members of the legislative finance committee appointed by the chair of the legislative finance committee; and

          E. two members of the Indian education advisory council appointed by the assistant secretary for Indian education; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that vacancies on the task force may be filled by the original appointing authority and the chair of the task force may request the appointing authority to replace a task force member, if needed; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force be requested to analyze and evaluate grantee data collected by the public education department to study the:

          A. adequacy of current grant funding to hire a full-time school-based community schools coordinator and support high-quality implementation of the community schools strategy;

          B. effect of the lack of recurring state funding on the sustainability of community schools initiatives;

          C. need for indicators of high-quality community schools, including implementation of a certification program for eligibility for annual funding; and

          D. cost and return on investment to the state of supporting and funding community schools; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force be requested to partner with the coalition for community schools to develop a comprehensive set of criteria by which applicant public schools may be certified as high-quality community schools and eligible for recurring funding; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force be requested to partner with the coalition for community schools to develop a community schools strategic plan that:

          A. includes one- to two-year goals, five- to ten-year goals and short- and long-term action steps to achieve those goals;

          B. identifies whether action is required by the legislature, the public education department or any other public body; and

          C. includes detailed cost estimates accompanied by agreed-upon research-based indicators of high-quality implementation of the community schools strategy; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force be requested to provide an interim report on its analyses, evaluations and initial recommendations to the legislative education study committee and the legislative finance committee by December 1, 2023; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the final report of the task force be provided to the governor and the legislature by November 1, 2024 and that the final report include the task force's findings and recommendations for statutory and other changes necessary to support and improve the state's community school strategy; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the secretary of public education, the chair of the legislative education study committee, the chair of the legislative finance committee and the coalition of community schools.

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