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

SPONSOR Lujan, B.

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

02/11/07

HB 778

SHORT TITLE Native American Student Leadership Training

SB

ANALYST Weber

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

$150.0

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Relates to Appropriation in the General Appropriation Act

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Indian Affairs Department (IAD)

Department of Public Education (DPE)

Higher Education Department (HED)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 778 appropriates $150 thousand from the general fund to the Indian Affairs

Department to contract for the continued provision of a summer leadership and public policy

academy for Native American high school students and involves a partnership between the Santa

Fe Indian School and Harvard and Princeton Universities.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $150 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 2008 shall

revert to the general fund.

House Bill 778 – Page

2

The Indian Affairs Department appropriation in the current version of the GAA in includes $105

thousand for this purpose.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

The Higher Education Department notes that The Santa Fe Indian School Leadership Program

offers high school students an opportunity to participate in a two week academy on public policy

issues and tribal community issues. This project began ten years ago and has offered programs

to Indian youths since. The project is housed at the Santa Fe Indian School, a boarding and day

school. The school enrolls Indian youth from the 22 New Mexico tribes and pueblos as well as

other tribal nations from across the United States.

The goal of the Leadership Program is to provide a heightened awareness and appreciation of the

uniqueness of Native culture, traditions, art forms, governance, health and sovereignty within the

context of a changing society. Moreover, creating a conscious understanding of how external

forces impact the tribal communities through a curriculum that allows Indian youth to discover

the values of humanity through leadership is an important goal. The Leadership Program

comprises of three components: the High School Symposia, Community Convocations, and

Summer Enrichment Academy. The programs are interrelated in purposes and processes and

supported by collaborative partnerships which are cross-tribal and cross-generational. The

academy creates opportunities for participants to have frank, honest and open discussions about

provocative and sensitive topics that shape the experiences of tribal people. This process serves

as a catalyst for participant contribution through perpetuation of traditional storytelling of shared

experiences as a necessary part of understanding what our contributions will be to each person

and communities cultural survival.

The Leadership Institute of the Santa Fe Indian School Youth Leadership program collaborates

with the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation of Princeton University and the

Harvard University to shape curriculum for the summer academy. Princeton University

curriculum on Community Convocations is used to facilitate discussions about issues

confronting Indian communities. Harvard University Honoring Nation case studies are used for

student research. According to Carnell Chosa, the Director for the Leadership Institute at Santa

Fe Indian School, 30 to 40 Indian students will participate in the two week academy. Upon

completion of the academy, students will have an opportunity to participate in a leadership

internship at the local, state or federal levels of government.

The Indian Affairs Department reports that According to the Journal of College Student

Development (July/August 2003), “Despite evidence of academic ability, postsecondary dropout

rates are higher for Native Americans than for any other minority. Native Americans are also

underrepresented in graduate programs. In addition, Native Americans consistently have lower

educational attainment than other ethnic minorities."

The Chronicle of Higher Education (July. 2004) also noted from 2000 Census data that,

“Although an increasing number of American Indians are enrolling at postsecondary institutions,

the percentage of those attaining bachelor's degrees or higher remains relatively low -- 11

percent, compared with more than 25 for the general population."

House Bill 778 – Page

3

The leadership and public policy academy may have a positive impact on increasing the number

of Native Americans attending and completing college, particularly at the highly respected

Harvard and Princeton Universities.

PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS

Since there is an existing appropriation for this purpose, consideration may be given to including

some performance indicators consistent with the higher resource level. The indicators could be

as basic as how many additional students participated to tracking the potential increased

academic achievement.

MW/nt