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

SPONSOR Lopez

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

2/6/06

HB

SHORT TITLE Educational Tech Funds to Private Schools

SB 743

ANALYST Aguilar

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY06

FY07

None

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

See Fiscal Implications

ESTIMATED ADDITIONAL OPERATING BUDGET IMPACT (dollars in thousands)

FY06

FY07

FY08 3 Year

Total Cost

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

Total

Minimal

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Public Education Department (PED)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Bill 743 provides for accredited private schools to receive distributions from the state

educational technology fund, and changes enabling legislation creating the Council on Technol-

ogy in Education to add membership representing private schools.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

Provisions contained in the bill require the Public Education Department, among other responsi-

bilities, to assess and determine the educational technology needs of a district or private school

and to develop a statewide plan for the integration of technology in schools, both public and pri-

Senate Bill 743 – Page 2

vate.

The Public Education Department notes that assuring equitable access to educational technology

for all students is a primary goal of the Technology in Education Act. Funding is provided by

formula to districts on a per-pupil basis, and these calculations are prepared in the year prior to

award. Consequently funds that will be distributed in FY 2007 were based on a school popula-

tion count that did not include membership in accredited private schools. Additional funds

would be needed to provide the approximately $16/per student that the Education Technology

Fund provides. Not doing so would reduce the funding for all districts, until and unless the addi-

tional membership created by implementing this bill is accounted for when the amounts of ap-

propriation are decided.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

The bill requires the Public Education Department to annually fix a means of distributing state

Educational Technology Fund monies to private schools. Such a distribution of funds to a pri-

vate school may be inconsistent with Article IV, Section 31 of the New Mexico Constitution,

which prohibits a direct educational appropriation to any person, corporation, association, institu-

tion or community not under the direct control of the state and further may be in conflict with

anti-donation provisions in the constitution. Additionally, Article XII, Section 3 of the New

Mexico Constitution would be implicated because it prohibits the use of public money for the

support “of any sectarian, denominational or private school…”

TECHNICAL ISSUES

With full-day kindergarten now in effect in most districts, the Legislature may wish to consider

the following:

On Page 8 Strike Lines 3 and 4 and insert thereof,

“kindergarten membership shall be calculated on a one-half fulltime-equivalent basis for half-

day Kindergarten and fulltime-equivalent basis for full-day kindergarten programs.”

PA/mt