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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:

"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. 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 New Mexico tribe and a state

government;

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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 urban Indians who

are residents of New Mexico or to an Indian nation, tribe or

pueblo located within New Mexico;

E. "New Mexico tribe" means an Indian nation,

tribe or pueblo located within New Mexico; and

F. "urban Indian" means a member of a federally

recognized tribe or an Alaskan native who lives in an off-

reservation urban area and is a New Mexico resident."

Section 3. Section 22-23A-4 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2003,

Chapter 151, Section 4) is amended to read:

"22-23A-4. RULEMAKING.--

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:

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"22-23A-5. INDIAN EDUCATION DIVISION--CREATED--

ASSISTANT 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 and work to expand appropriate

Indian education for tribal students in preschool through

grade twenty.

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 input on education of tribal

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students.

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 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 tribal

students based on current published indigenous best practices

in education;

(2) provide assistance to school districts

and New Mexico tribes in the planning, development,

implementation and evaluation of curricula in native

languages, culture and history designed for tribal and

nontribal students as approved by New Mexico tribes;

(3) develop or select for implementation a

challenging, sequential, culturally relevant curriculum to

provide instruction to tribal students in 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,

public post-secondary schools and New Mexico tribes to develop

curricula and instructional materials in native languages,

culture and history in conjunction and by contract with native

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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;

(7) establish, support and maintain an

Indian education advisory council;

(8) enter into agreements with each New

Mexico tribe or its authorized educational entity to share

programmatic information and to coordinate technical

assistance for public schools that serve tribal students;

(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 New Mexico tribe or its authorized educational entity,

monitor the progress of tribal students and coordinate

technical assistance at the public pre-kindergarten to post-

secondary schools that serve tribal students;

(10) require school districts to obtain a

signature of approval by the New Mexico tribal governments or

their government designees residing within school district

boundaries, verifying that the New Mexico tribes agree to

Indian education policies and procedures pursuant to federal

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requirements;

(11) seek funds to establish, develop and

implement culturally relevant support services for the

purposes of increasing the number of tribal teachers,

administrators and principals and providing continued

professional development for educational assistants, teachers

and principals serving 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;

(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;

(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

(14) develop a plan to establish a

post-secondary investment system for tribal students to which

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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 advise the secretary and assistant secretary

on implementation of the provisions of the Indian Education

Act. The council consists of sixteen 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;

(4) three urban Indians representing urban

areas, including Albuquerque, Gallup and Farmington; and

(5) three at-large representatives, one from

the federal bureau of Indian affairs, one from a head start

organization and one from the general public, at least one of

whom shall be nontribal, but all of whom shall have knowledge

of and involvement in the education of tribal students.

B. Members shall be appointed by the secretary

with input from New Mexico tribes and organizations involved

in the education of tribal students for staggered terms so

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that the terms of the at-large members and of one-half of each

of the tribal 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.

D. On a semiannual basis, representatives from all

New Mexico tribes, members of the commission, the office of

the governor, the Indian affairs department, the legislature,

the 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 tribal students.

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 tribal students shall

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submit an annual statewide tribal education status report no

later than November 15 to all New Mexico 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 tribal

education status report to all New Mexico 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 department, with results

disaggregated by ethnicity;

(2) school safety;

(3) the graduation rate;

(4) attendance;

(5) parent and community involvement;

(6) educational programs targeting tribal

students;

(7) financial reports;

(8) current status of federal Indian

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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;

(11) school district consultations with

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. The fund shall be

administered by the department, 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.

C. The department 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

secretary of public education."

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