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SPONSOR: |
Stewart |
DATE TYPED: |
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HB |
374/aHEC |
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SHORT TITLE: |
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SB |
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ANALYST: |
L. Baca |
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APPROPRIATION
Appropriation
Contained |
Estimated
Additional Impact |
Recurring or
Non-Rec |
Fund Affected |
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FY03 |
FY04 |
FY03 |
FY04 |
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NFI |
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(Parenthesis
( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
Identical to SB 321,
Relates to SB 189, Require Reading Proficiency
for 4th Graders
Responses
Received From
State
Department of Education (SDE)
SUMMARY
Synopsis
of HEC Amendments
The amendments adopted by the House Education
Committee clarify the charge in section 2.A.
to the literacy task force so that the amended
portion now reads:
“E. The literacy task force shall develop
a plan containing specific steps so that, by
Synopsis
of Original Bill
House Bill 374 creates
the Literacy Task Force, to be staffed jointly by SDE, the Legislative
Education Study Committee (LESC), and the Legislative Council Service (LCS);
specifies the composition of the task force; charges the task force to develop
a plan containing specific steps so that, by July 1, 2005, all children of New
Mexico will have attained literacy by the end of the 3rd grade; and
requires the task to submit its plan to the Legislature and the Governor no
later than December 15, 2003.
Significant
Issues
HB 374 addresses one of the most significant
factors for academic and employment success:
literacy. It is also supportive
of the State Board of Education’s legislative priorities for 2003.
According to SDE, the emphasis on literacy in
the early years is crucial to future success, and reading skills are best
learned in the early years. Also, the need for this emphasis is needed because:
Disaggregated
data from norm-referenced assessments administered from 1997 to 2001 to measure
the reading proficiency of fourth graders indicate a consistent pattern in
which Anglo achievement falls between 18 to 20 percentile points above the
national median percentile while Hispanic achievement in reading falls four to
nine points below and Native American fourth grade achievement in
reading has been consistently 19 to 22 percentile points below the national
median.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
The bill has no
additional fiscal impact on the general fund.
Expenses for task force activities are to be borne by the SDE, LESC and
LCS.
ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS
SDE, LESC and LCS will
need to coordinate their efforts to attain the goals set forth in the bill.
OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES
The 19-member task
force is to be comprised of: