[1] NOTE: As provided in LFC policy, this report is intended only for use by the standing finance committees of the legislature. The Legislative Finance Committee does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of the information in this report when used in any other situation.

Only the most recent FIR version (in HTML & Adobe PDF formats) is available on the Legislative Website. The Adobe PDF version includes all attachments, whereas the HTML version does not. Previously issued FIRs and attachments may be obtained from the LFC’s office in Suite 101 of the State Capitol Building North.

F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T

SPONSOR:	Lujan		DATE TYPED:	02/01/02		HB	211
SHORT TITLE:		Align School Curricula with Students Needs				SB
					ANALYST:		Segura

APPROPRIATION

Appropriation Contained

Estimated Additional Impact

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY02

FY03

FY02

FY03

$6,000.0

Non-Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Duplicates/Relates to Appropriation in The General Appropriation Act

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

State Department of Education (SDE)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 211 appropriates $6,000.0 to develop and implement a computerized learning system that aligns public schools curricula to the TerraNova tests, New Mexico Content Standards and Benchmarks and current adopted textbooks.

Significant Issues

According to SDE, the learning system will diagnose students skill deficiencies and automatically prepare lesson plans to address those deficiencies and measure objectives by grade level.

The learning system will provide reading, language arts and mathematics programs in English and Spanish and have the capacity of translating the programs into other languages.

The department indicates that although the legislation addresses the alignment of curricula in reading, language arts and mathematics, it is unclear to what extent other content standards and benchmarks will be included in the learning system.

The SDE is currently developing a standards-based web site capable of assisting teachers in identifying learning opportunities aligned with particular content standards, as well as provide sample assessments and applicable resources. It will not provide student diagnoses as described in House Bill 211.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

House Bill 211 appropriates $6,000.0 from the general fund and is non-recurring.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

SDE staff would be required to coordinate the development of an RFP, oversee the vendor selection process, develop a contract for services and monitor the performance of the selected contractor.

RS/ar