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

SPONSOR Papen

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

2-1-2007

HB

SHORT TITLE Instructional Support Provider Licensure

SB 188

ANALYST Dearing

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

$250.0

Nonrecurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

ESTIMATED ADDITIONAL OPERATING BUDGET IMPACT (dollars in thousands)

FY07

FY08

FY09 3 Year

Total Cost

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

Total

$250.0

$250.0

Non-

recurring General

Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Relates to Appropriation in the General Appropriation Act

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

LESC Files

Responses Received From

Public Education Department (PED)

Department of Finance and Administration (DFA)

SUMMARY

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Bill 188 appropriates $250 thousand from the general fund for expenditure in FY07 and

FY08 to the public education department for creating a licensure and compensation framework

Senate Bill 188 – Page

2

for certain instructional support providers. Enactment of Senate Bill 188 includes an FY09

migration to a three-tiered minimum salary structure similar to that existing for the State’s

teachers, with levels at $30,000, $$40,000, and $50,000 for specified instructional support

providers.

The bill declares an emergency.

Although this legislation appropriates $250 thousand in FY08, there is an additional, recurring

cost to provide three-tiered licensure. The cost estimated for an FY07 proposal had been $6.2

million. It should be noted that this cost is dependent on the level of “other" compensation

increases prior to the 2009 implementation of the bill’s provisions and would be at progressively

lower levels when including intermediate compensation increases. Under various compensation

scenarios, the FY09 costs to implement a three-tiered salary structure for instructional support

providers ranges from a high of $6.3 million to as low as $4.1 million, depending on the

incremental intermediate compensation increases.

Based on the cost of the evaluation system design for the teacher evaluation system and the time

required to implement it, the PED estimates an annual cost of $250.0 for at least two years to

accomplish the evaluation system design. PED’s estimate includes a temporary education

admininistrator-O position or equivalent contractor for six months (1,040 hours @ $22.74) with

benefits (30%) or a total annual staff cost of $30.7 and other administrative costs as necessary.

The LFC remains concerned about increasing recurring out-year general fund obligations.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

The fiscal impact on PED and on public school districts from this legislation appears to be

significant, however, will be a recurring out-year increase to existing salary expenditure. The

appropriation of $250 thousand to create a licensure and compensation framework for certain

instructional support providers will be a preliminary expenditure prior to the incorporation of a

three-tiered salary structure for this group. Based on the cost of the evaluation system design for

the teacher evaluation system and the time required to implement it, the department estimates an

annual cost of $250 thousand and at least two years to accomplish this work.

The term “instructional support provider" covers approximately twenty professional positions

including nurses, audiologists; diagnosticians; speech language pathologists; occupational,

recreational, and physical therapists; psychologists, counselors, and others. Further, provisions

contained in the bill require the evaluation system to be in place prior to the implementation of

the salary structure.

The bill authorizes PED to adopt rules considering verified employment as a certified

professional in a clinical or parallel setting in lieu of experience in a school setting when

determining placement of instructional support providers in the licensure levels.

PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS

The Office of Educational Accountability notes increasing the rigor of the evaluation system for

instructional support providers may address one of New Mexico’s biggest challenges in terms of

helping schools meet the NCLB requirements of Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). Many of the

Senate Bill 188 – Page

3

instructional providers including physical therapists, speech language pathologists, social

workers, and diagnosticians work with students with disabilities. Much of the burden of helping

students with disabilities falls on the shoulders of instructional support providers.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

Provisions contained in the bill require PED to provide a progressive licensing framework as

well as develop a highly objective performance evaluation. The department notes the effort

required to develop and implement the teacher evaluation.

TECHNICAL ISSUES

It is important to note that classroom teachers, after a few years of teaching, become instructional

support providers particularly with respect to teachers who become counselors. Under

provisions contained in this bill, a level 2 or level 3A teacher who became a counselor would

have to start as a level one instructional support provider licensure. The individual could be

forced to move from a minimum $40,000 teacher salary back to a minimum $30,000

instructional support provider salary. The provision on page 3, lines 16-20 do not clearly

authorize the department to establish in rules how a new instructional support provider could be

placed at level two or three in order with respect to the level of teaching license.

The bill authorizes reciprocity of instructional support provider licensure with other states. The

bill also requires that providers work at levels one and two for three full years before

advancement to the next higher licensure level.

The evaluation system must be adopted by 2008-2009, in order to migrate to a three-tiered salary

structure.

OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

PED notes that educational diagnosticians have completed their study and developed a rule and

an evaluation component for a three-tiered system. Their work could serve as a model for the

other instructional support providers.

PD/mt