HOUSE BILL 892

48th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2007

INTRODUCED BY

Ray Begaye

AN ACT

RELATING TO EDUCATION; CLARIFYING THE DUTIES OF THE PUBLIC EDUCATION DEPARTMENT TO CONSULT WITH INDIAN TRIBES; CHANGING THE COMPOSITION OF THE INDIAN EDUCATION ADVISORY COUNCIL; AMENDING THE INDIAN EDUCATION ACT.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

     Section 1. A new section of the Indian Education Act is enacted to read:

     "[NEW MATERIAL] POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION.--The department shall collaborate and coordinate efforts with the higher education department and institutions of higher education, including tribal colleges and teacher education institutions and tribal education departments, to facilitate the successful and seamless transition of American Indian students into post-secondary education and training."

     Section 2. Section 22-23A-3 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2003, Chapter 151, Section 3) is amended to read:

     "22-23A-3. [DEFINITION] DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Indian Education Act:

          A. "assistant secretary" means the assistant secretary for Indian education;

          B. "government-to-government" means the relationship between a tribal and a state government;

          C. "indigenous" means native or tribal groups of the Americas that maintain a cultural identity separate from the surrounding dominant cultures;

          D. "tribal" means pertaining to an Indian nation, tribe or pueblo located within New Mexico;

          E. "tribe" means an Indian nation, tribe or pueblo located within New Mexico; and

          F. "urban Indian" means a tribal member who lives in an off-reservation urban area."

     Section 3. Section 22-23A-4 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2003, Chapter 151, Section 4) is amended to read:

     "22-23A-4. [STATE BOARD--TRIBES] RULEMAKING.--[The state board, in consultation with tribes, may adopt and promulgate rules to implement the provisions of the Indian Education Act.]

          A. The secretary shall ensure that the duties prescribed in the Indian Education Act are carried out and that each division within the department is collaborating to fulfill its responsibilities to tribal students.

          B. The secretary shall consult on proposed rules implementing the Indian Education Act with the Indian education advisory council and shall present rules for review and comment at the next semiannual government-to-government meeting pursuant to Section 22-23A-5 NMSA 1978."

     Section 4. Section 22-23A-5 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2003, Chapter 151, Section 5, as amended) is amended to read:

     "22-23A-5. INDIAN EDUCATION DIVISION--CREATED--ASSISTANT [SUPERINTENDENT] SECRETARY--DUTIES.--

          A. The "Indian education division" is created within the department. The secretary shall appoint an assistant secretary for Indian education, who shall direct the activities of the division and advise the secretary on development of policy regarding the education of tribal students. The assistant secretary shall also coordinate transition efforts for tribal students in public schools with the higher education department.

          B. The assistant secretary shall coordinate with appropriate administrators and divisions to ensure that department administrators make implementation of the Indian Education Act a priority.

          C. The secretary and the assistant secretary, in cooperation with the Indian education advisory council, shall collaborate with state and federal departments and agencies and tribal governments to identify ways such entities can assist the department in the implementation of the Indian Education Act.

          D. The secretary and assistant secretary shall convene semiannual government-to-government meetings for the express purpose of receiving tribal input on education of tribal students.

          [B.] E. In accordance with the rules of the department and after consulting with the Indian education advisory council and determining the resources available within the department, the [Indian education division] assistant secretary shall:

                (1) provide assistance, including advice on allocation of resources, to school districts and tribes to improve services to meet the educational needs of [American Indian] tribal students based on current published indigenous best practices in education;

                (2) provide assistance to school districts and tribes in the planning, development, implementation and evaluation of curricula in native languages, culture and history designed for [American Indian] tribal and nontribal students as approved by tribes;

                (3) develop or select for implementation a challenging, sequential, culturally relevant curriculum to provide instruction to [American Indian] tribal students in [kindergarten] pre-kindergarten through sixth grade to prepare them for pre-advanced placement and advanced placement coursework in grades seven through twelve;

                (4) provide assistance to school districts and tribes to develop curricula and instructional materials in native languages, culture and history in conjunction and by contract with native language practitioners and tribal elders, unless the use of written language is expressly prohibited by the tribe;

                (5) conduct indigenous research and evaluation for effective curricula for tribal students;

                (6) collaborate with the department to provide distance learning for tribal students in public schools to the maximum limits of the department's abilities;

                [(5)] (7) establish, support and maintain an Indian education advisory council;

                [(6) by January 2006] (8) enter into agreements with each tribe or authorized tribal educational entity to share programmatic information and to coordinate technical assistance for public schools that serve [American Indian] tribal students;

                [(7)] (9) seek funds to establish and maintain an Indian education office in the northwest corner of the state or other geographical location to implement agreements with each tribe or authorized tribal educational entity, monitor the progress of [American Indian] tribal students and coordinate technical assistance at the public pre-kindergarten to post-secondary schools that serve [American Indian] tribal students;                 [(8)] (10) require school districts to obtain a signature of approval by the tribal governments or tribal government designees residing within school district boundaries, verifying that the tribes agree to Indian education policies and procedures pursuant to federal requirements;

                [(9)] (11) seek funds to establish, develop and implement [the following] culturally relevant support services for the purposes of increasing the number of [American Indian] tribal teachers, administrators and principals and providing continued professional development for educational assistants, teachers and principals serving [American Indian] tribal students, in conjunction with the Indian education advisory council:

                     (a) recruitment and retention of highly qualified teachers and administrators;

                     (b) academic transition programs;

                     (c) academic financial support;

                     (d) teacher preparation;

                     (e) teacher induction; and

                     (f) professional development;

                [(10)] (12) develop curricula to provide instruction in tribal history and government and develop plans to implement these subjects into history and government courses in school districts throughout the state;

                [(11)] (13) ensure that native language bilingual programs are part of a school district's professional development plan, as provided in Section 22-10A-19.1 NMSA 1978; and

                [(12)] (14) develop a plan to establish a

post-secondary investment system for [Indian] tribal students to which parents, tribes and the state may contribute."

     Section 5. Section 22-23A-6 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2003, Chapter 151, Section 6) is amended to read:

     "22-23A-6. ADVISORY COUNCIL.--

          A. The "Indian education advisory council" is created and shall [consist] advise the secretary and assistant secretary on implementation of the provisions of the Indian Education Act. The council consists of [fourteen] seventeen members as follows:

                (1) four representatives from the Navajo Nation;

                (2) two representatives, one from the Mescalero Apache Tribe and one from the Jicarilla Apache Nation;

                (3) four representatives, two from the southern pueblos and two from the northern pueblos; [and]

                (4) four [members] urban Indians representing urban areas, [the] including Albuquerque, Gallup and Farmington; and

                (5) three at-large representatives, one from the federal bureau of Indian affairs, one from a head start [organizations] organization and one from the general public, at least one of whom shall be [non-Indian] nontribal, but all of whom shall have knowledge of and involvement in the education of [Indian] tribal students.

          B. Members shall be appointed by the secretary with input from tribes for staggered terms so that the terms of the at-large members and of one-half of each of the tribal representatives and the urban Indian organization representatives end on December 31, 2009 and the terms of the remaining members end on December 31, 2011. Thereafter, appointments shall be for terms of four years. The terms of existing members shall expire on the effective date of this 2007 act.

          C. A majority of the members of the Indian education advisory council constitutes a quorum. The advisory council shall elect a chair from its membership.

          [B.] D. On a semiannual basis, representatives from all tribes, members of the [state board] commission, the [governor's] office of the governor, the [New Mexico office of] Indian affairs department, the legislature, the [state superintendent] secretary, the assistant secretary and the Indian education advisory council shall meet to assist in evaluating, consolidating and coordinating all activities relating to the education of [American Indian] tribal students.

          [C.] E. Members of the Indian education advisory council may receive per diem and mileage as provided for nonsalaried public officers in the Per Diem and Mileage Act."

     Section 6. Section 22-23A-7 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2003, Chapter 151, Section 7) is amended to read:

     "22-23A-7. REPORT.--

          A. The Indian education division in collaboration with the education division of the federal bureau of Indian affairs and other entities that serve [American Indian] tribal students shall submit an annual statewide [American Indian] tribal education status report no later than November 15 to all tribes. The division shall submit the report whether or not entities outside state government collaborate as requested.

          B. A school district with tribal lands located within its boundaries shall provide a districtwide [American Indian] tribal education status report to all tribes represented within the school district boundaries.

          C. The status reports shall be written in a brief format and shall include the following information, through which public school performance is measured and reported to the tribes and disseminated at the semiannual government-to-government meetings held pursuant to Section 22-23A-5 NMSA 1978:

                (1) student achievement as measured by a statewide test approved by the [state board] department, with results disaggregated by ethnicity;

                (2) school safety;

                (3) the [dropout] graduation rate;

                (4) attendance;

                (5) parent and community involvement;

                (6) educational programs targeting [American Indian] tribal students;

                (7) financial reports;

                (8) current status of federal Indian education policies and procedures;

                (9) school district initiatives to decrease the number of student dropouts and increase attendance;

                (10) public school use of variable school calendars; [and]

                (11) school district consultations with [parent advisory committees] district Indian education committees, school-site parent advisory councils and tribal, municipal and Indian organizations; and

                (12) indigenous research and evaluation measures and results for effective curricula for tribal students."

     Section 7. Section 22-23A-8 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2003, Chapter 151, Section 8) is amended to read:

     "22-23A-8. FUND CREATED.--

          A. The "Indian education fund" is created in the state treasury. The fund consists of appropriations, gifts, grants and donations and income from investment of the fund. Money in the fund shall not revert [to any other fund at the end of a fiscal year]. The fund shall be administered by the department [of education], and money in the fund is appropriated to the department to distribute awards to support the Indian Education Act.

          B. The department shall ensure that funds appropriated from the Indian education fund shall be used for the purposes stated in the Indian Education Act and shall not be used to correct for previous reductions of program services.

          [B.] C. The department [of education] shall develop procedures and rules for the award of money from the fund. Disbursement of the fund shall be made by warrant of the department of finance and administration pursuant to vouchers signed by the [state superintendent] secretary of public education."

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