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

SPONSOR Sanchez, B

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

2/12/2007

HB

SHORT TITLE

ENLACE PROGRAM AT CERTAIN SCHOOLS

SB 500

ANALYST Moser

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

$2,000.0 Non-recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Conflicts with SB 77 and HB 325

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

NM Department of Higher Education (HED)

Department of Public Education (PED)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Bill 500 appropriates a total of $2,000,000 from the General Fund to the New Mexico

Higher Education Department (NMHED) to support Engaging Latino Communities for

Education (ENLACE) programs at the University of New Mexico, New Mexico State

University, San Juan College, and Santa Fe Community College. The appropriation shall be

distributed equally to each institution.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $2,000,000 contained in this bill is a non-recurring expense to the general

fund. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of FY08 shall revert to the

general fund.

Senate Bill 500 – Page

2

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

HED states that this request was not on the list of priority projects submitted individually by the

University of New Mexico, New Mexico State University, San Juan College, or Santa Fe

Community College to NMHED because it was important to the program to make a single

request for the whole state rather than multiple requests by individual institutions.

ENLACE is a multi-year initiative to strengthen the educational pipeline and increase

opportunities for Latinos to enter and complete college. By 2007, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation

is expected to have invested more than $35 million in the Engaging Latino Communities for

Education initiative. ENLACE was launched in 1997, well before census data confirmed that

Latinos are the nation's largest ethnic group.

ENLACE consists of 13 partnerships in seven states that are working to increase the number of

Latino graduates from high school and college. In Spanish, "enlace" means link or weave

together in such a way that the new entity is stronger than its parts. ENLACE partnerships

include universities, community colleges, K-12 schools, community-based organizations,

students, and parents.

ENLACE has evolved in three phases. In Phase 1, 18 higher education institutions received one-

year planning grants of $100,000 each to respond to the needs of students and families by

developing action plans based on best practices as well as local contexts. For Phase II, 13

partnerships received grants ranging from $1.4-$2 million to implement their plans over four

years. Implementation funds ended with the 2004-05 school year. A final phase will seek to

sustain promising practices and ENLACE principles for the benefit of more Latino communities

and underserved student populations.

Latinos make up the fastest-growing segment of the nation's college-age population (ages 18-

25). With a total population approaching 40 million, Latinos will constitute one-fifth of the

nation's workforce by 2025. Preparing students for success in the workforce or later education is

critical.

CONFLICT, DUPLICATION, COMPANIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP

SB500 conflicts with HB325 and SB77, which both ask for $1,200,000 for ENLACE programs

at University of New Mexico, New Mexico State University, and Santa Fe Community College,

excluding San Juan College

.

GM/mt