45th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2001

REQUESTING THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC EDUCATION TO INITIATE AN ANNUAL JOINT STATE AND FEDERAL STATUS OF INDIAN EDUCATION IN NEW MEXICO REPORT IN COLLABORATION WITH THE FEDERAL DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND THE DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR AND THEIR EDUCATION PROGRAMS IN NEW MEXICO.

WHEREAS, about thirty-five thousand seven hundred American Indian students were enrolled in New Mexico public schools in 1999-2000, representing eleven percent of the overall student population; and

WHEREAS, according to the December 2000 New Mexico Accountability Report, Native American students once again are shown to perform at a lower level in New Mexico than Anglo, Black, Hispanic and other ethnic groups on all statewide assessments administered in English; and

WHEREAS, the needs of Indian children are often ignored or overlooked to accommodate the needs of the non-Indian population; and

WHEREAS, in response to tribal requests, all education systems that serve Indian students are required to incorporate tribal involvement in planning and policy- and decision-making in every school and school district, make efforts to encourage tribal involvement in planning, policy- and decision-making and be accountable to tribes; and

WHEREAS, the state department of public education has an established Indian education division, advisory council and state board policy statement on Indian education to reflect systemic reform emphasizing local control, government-to-government relationship with tribes and the empowerment of parents and communities to develop partnerships with school districts; and

WHEREAS, it is the purpose of the state board of education policy to secure a commitment to shared responsibility and partnership with tribal entities and Indian parents to attain quality education for their children and to ensure maximum active participation by tribal entities and Indian parents in the planning and development of educational goals, policies, curricula and standards; and

WHEREAS, the federal government has established a comprehensive federal Indian education policy statement that recognizes and supports tribal sovereignty, treaty rights, the government-to-government relationship between the United States and Indian nations, the trust relationship of the federal government with Indian people and Indian self-determination as the immutable foundation for the comprehensive policy statement; and

WHEREAS, the resource of human potential represented by emerging generations of native children cannot be wasted or stunted because education policies are poorly implemented or ignored; and

WHEREAS, current state and federal Indian education policies are fragmented among various treaties, statutes, agencies and programs, as are efforts to promote tribal and federal educational partnerships; and

WHEREAS, coordination of the policies and programs rarely takes place to ensure that Indian education and Indian students are included in major national education initiatives; and

WHEREAS, the state department of public education has established an annual school district accountability report to provide a statewide format for reporting data for the previous school year and ensure that the relevant data is provided annually to parents, students, educators, policymakers, legislators, the governor and business and economic development organizations, and that format can be used to report information on the status of Indian student education in New Mexico; and

WHEREAS, the state department of public education has been required to ensure that the relevant data is provided annually to Indian parents and the leaders of Indian nations, tribes or pueblos and their departments of education, as well as Indian centers in urban areas where large Indian populations are located;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the state department of public education be requested to initiate an annual joint state and federal Status of Indian Education in New Mexico report on the educational programs and achievements of Indian students in New Mexico in all schools, including the bureau of Indian affairs and tribal, charter or state schools; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the state department of public education bring together the needed parties to cooperate, collaborate and enter into partnerships with tribal and federal departments of education, including the Indian education programs at the department of the interior and the federal department of education to produce the annual Status of Indian Education in New Mexico report; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the annual Status of Indian Education in New Mexico report shall be distributed to the twenty-two tribal governments through their departments of education, the legislature, the Albuquerque Indian center, the legislative education study committee, the Indian affairs committee and the legislative council service library; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the superintendent of public instruction, the director of the division of Indian education, the secretary of the interior, the secretary of education and the Albuquerque Indian center.