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

SPONSOR Pinto

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

2/12/2007

HB

SHORT TITLE Native American Student Teaching Degrees

SB 887

ANALYST McOlash

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

$4,500.0 Non-Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Relates to HB 97.

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Higher Education Department (HED)

Public Education Department (PED)

Indian Affairs Department (IAD)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Bill 887 appropriates $4,500,000 from the General Fund to the UNM Regents for expen-

diture in FY 2008 through FY 2010 to continue a scholarship program for Native American stu-

dents pursuing a teaching degree or administrative licensure or a graduate degree with concentra-

tion in Indian Education.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $4,500,000 contained in this bill is a non-recurring expense to the General

Fund. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of FY 2010 shall revert to

the General Fund.

Senate Bill 887 – Page

2

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

Native American students (2005-06) comprised 11.11% (36,474 of 328,202) of New Mexico’s

student population while Native American teachers made up only 2.6% (566 of 22,017), result-

ing in a Native American student to Native American teacher ratio of 64 to 1. Just 2.5% of the

principals (26 of 1,039) were Native American.

The College of Education’s Institute for American Indian Education (IAIE) was created in 2003

in response to New Mexico's critical need to improve academic achievement and reduce dropout

rates of Native American students. The institute provides a forum for educators, scholars and

tribal leaders to examine the critical education issues facing American Indian communities.

In 2004, the College of Education has received nearly $900,000 from the New Mexico Public

Education Department to increase the number of American Indian teachers and principals. Ad-

ministered by UNM's IAIE, the three-year grant from Indian Education Division has provided

scholarships and support for American Indian students at UNM. The grant will end this current

year.

Through the grant, scholarships have been made available to Native Americans intending to

teach in New Mexico. Program participants must be undergraduate, post-bachelor or graduate

degree students interested in teaching or administration at the elementary or secondary levels.

Students receive tuition and fees, a textbook allowance, travel expenses and a $750 stipend each

semester and are expected to complete the program in two consecutive years.

The IAIE students include 30 from NM Pueblos, 29 from the Navajo Nation, and seven from other nations.

As a result of this program, 36 American Indian students are graduating with Bachelor’s Degrees in Educa-

tion with Teacher Licensure; 16 students graduated with a degree in Educational Administration and/or Ad-

ministrative or Teacher Licensure, and five students are pursuing a Master’s Degree in Education with a con-

centration in Indian Education.

CONFLICT, DUPLICATION, COMPANIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP

HB 97 amends the Indian Education Act to expand the responsibilities of the Assistant Secretary

for Indian Education in the Public Education Department and to mandate more consultation and

collaboration with tribal entities which could lead to more successful answers to the contempo-

rary and critical challenges in Indian Education.

ALTERNATIVES

The Higher Education Department recommends seeking other sources of funding such as federal

grants to fund this initiative or determine if the institution has existing funds available to help

support this initiative. Native American students in the teacher education program at UNM may

also apply for the New Mexico Teacher Loan-for-Service program.

BM/sb