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

SPONSOR Tsosie

DATE TYPED 02/03/05 HB

SHORT TITLE Indian Education Act Bilingual Education

SB 219

ANALYST Chabot

APPROPRIATION

Appropriation Contained Estimated Additional Impact Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY05

FY06

FY05

FY06

$250.0

Recurring General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Duplicates HB 127

Relates to SB 215 and the federal native American Languages Act

Relates to Appropriation in the General Appropriation Act

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Commission on Higher Education (CHE)

Department of Indian Affairs (DIA)

Responses Not Received From

Public Education Department (PED)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Bill 219 appropriates $250 thousand from the general fund to PED for the purpose of as-

sessing existing Native American bilingual language programs and establishment of a pilot pro-

gram for training Native American teachers to digitally generate instructional materials. The ap-

propriation will be used as follows:

1.

$200 thousand for an assessment of existing programs to evaluate effectiveness and rec-

ommending methods to increase proficiency of those programs, and

2.

$50 thousand to train teachers in the 16 school districts and 92 schools with Native

American language programs.

Senate Bill 219 -- Page 2

PED shall contract with an agency that demonstrated success in assessing Native American lan-

guage programs and in developing effective strategic plans and training activities to improve

teaching of indigenous languages. PED shall collect data and develop a strategic plan for bilin-

gual Indian education.

Significant Issues

DIA assess there is a need to develop appropriate systems in which to report information and as-

sess Native American students’ progress toward native language literacy and proficiency. This

bill would address the need to develop instructional materials for the various native language

groups. Development of the Native American bilingual program is one way in which schools

can assist tribes to address the challenges of language shifts.

PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS

Providing instruction in native languages could lead to better educational outcomes for Native

American students.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $250 thousand contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general

fund. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2007 shall

revert to the general fund.

The LFC FY06 appropriation recommendation is balanced between revenues and expenditures

and any increase in recurring funding must be offset by reductions in other areas of the recom-

mendation. The Legislature must consider all priorities and funding requirements to find reve-

nue to support this legislation.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

PED would have to establish procedures for requesting the fund by districts, evaluation of dis-

trict programs, outcome measures to determine if student outcomes are improved, recommend

methods to increase proficiency in indigenous languages, and arrange training programs for

teachers in sixteen school districts with Native American bilingual programs.

OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

CHE suggests post-secondary institutions may be able to assist in offering the teacher training.

DIA states a large number of Native American children are learning their tribal languages as

second languages as a result of increased language shifts in recent decades. The development of

Native American bilingual education programs is one way in which schools can help support and

assist tribes to address the challenge of language shifts. DIA cites Bernalillo, Central Consoli-

dated, Zuni and Jemez Valley as school districts with successful bilingual Indian education pro-

grams.

Senate Bill 219 -- Page 3

ALTERNATIVES

DIA recommends the bill could be improved by requiring contracts with native language experts

to work with schools and tribal communities. In addition, PED, in collaboration with tribes,

should develop appropriate assessment, evaluation tools and instructional materials to establish

the Native American bilingual program.

WHAT WILL BE THE CONSEQUENCES OF NOT ENACTING THIS BILL.

Native American bilingual programs will continue at the current level.

POSSIBLE QUESTIONS

1.

Can current bilingual education funding be used to conduct the assessment and training

envisioned by this bill.

2.

How will PED align this program with other bilingual programs of the department.

3.

Which bureau in PED will manage this program and why.

GAC/lg