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

SPONSOR Taylor

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

02/10/2007

HB

SHORT TITLE NM Highlands Bilingual Education

SB 708

ANALYST Moser

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

$400.0

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Public Education Department (PED)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Bill 708 appropriates $400,000 from the general fund to the Board of Regents of New

Mexico Highlands University for expenditure in FY 2008 and subsequent fiscal years to prepare,

compile and distribute bilingual education materials statewide for students in kindergarten

through 12

th

. Also this fund will be utilized to produce a monthly periodical, to digitalize

materials and to produce a weekly radio show. .

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $400,000 contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general fund.

Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of FY08 shall not revert to the

general fund.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

PED indicates:

•

The state of New Mexico has been a leader in the nation in recognizing the academic,

economic and social value of being bilingual. Since 1973, the Bilingual Multicultural

Senate Bill 708 – Page

2

Education Act has provided financial support for programs that allow students to become

proficient in two languages, English and a second language (one of which is Spanish),

and to succeed academically;

•

In 2005-2006, a total of 58,403 (18.44%) of the total student population in the New

Mexico public school system in grades K-12 participated in Bilingual Education

programs;

•

A total of 58 districts received state funding for implementing Bilingual Education

programs. The PED distributed $35.5 million in FY 2006 for districts implementing

Bilingual Education Programs (Source- Accountability Data System 80

th

Day, 2005-

2006);

•

Currently, there is a significant need to continue the development of instructional

materials for Bilingual students in grades K-12.

PED states that New Mexico Highlands University has been a leader in educating and preparing

professionals from different disciplines to serve the needs of students with linguistic needs.

Additionally PED indicates that New Mexico public schools serving Bilingual students and

families will benefit from the instructional materials developed and disseminated through this

funding.

PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS

PED indicates that if enacted, this bill may impact the performance of Bilingual students as

measured by the New Mexico Standards Based Assessment.

GM/csd