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

SPONSOR Maestas

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

1/26/08

HB 459

SHORT TITLE Educational Training for GED’s

SB

ANALYST Propst

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY08

FY09

$100.0

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Duplicates SB 311

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Higher Education Department (HED)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 459, Making an Appropriation to Provide Educational Training for Persons

Attempting to Attain their General Education Development Certificate, appropriates $100.0

thousand from the general fund to DFA for the purpose of educational training in Bernalillo

County.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $100.0 thousand contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general

fund. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of FY09 shall revert to the

general fund.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

HED notes that 40% of ABE enrolled students were under 25 years of age in FY06-07. New

Mexico is one of the lowest performing states in the percentage of young people earning a high

school credential. About 18% of New Mexico adults do not have a high school diploma or its

House Bill 459 – Page

2

equivalent. According to the 2000 census, 15.6% (55,858) of adults over age 25 are without a

high school diploma in Bernalillo County.

Earning a high school diploma is one of the most effective ways to move into sustainable

employment. The New Mexico Higher Education Department (NMHED) Adult Basic Education

(ABE) Division oversees GED programs around New Mexico that help people transition to

college, enter the workforce, and assist their children to be successful in school. ABE programs

serve people 16 years and older whose skills are below a twelfth grade equivalent.

The NMHED ABE Division currently oversees five ABE programs offering GED services in

Bernalillo County: Central New Mexico Community College, Catholic Charities, Ser de New

Mexico, Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute, and the University of New Mexico-Los

Alamos. These programs are accountable to NMHED which has instituted a new state-of-the-art

database, state-level policies, and fiscal procedures. A statewide professional development plan

has been approved by the U.S. Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE) and is being

implemented by the New Mexico Adult Education Association (NMAEA). NMAEA recently

celebrated 40 years of service to the state.

ABE local programs have entered into partnerships with other agencies to enhance services

offered. For example, the ENMU-Ruidoso ABE director is also the manager of that community

one-stop center for workforce development. NMSU-Dona Ana Community College partners

with public school Even Start programs to provide family literacy and educational opportunities

to parents. By partnering with any local government division, the NMHED ABE Division can

bring the existing accountability system and its best practices to the proposed program.

PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS

NMHED recommends that all GED programs not administered by public schools be monitored

and receive oversight from the NMHED ABE Division. Being part of the existing statewide

ABE system would assure quality control and accountability for GED services offered. Annual

ABE performance measures are negotiated with and reported to OVAE at the U.S. Department

of Education.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

NMHED recommends that any new funding for GED programs flow through the department.

Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of FY09 shall revert to the

general fund.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

No specific administrative entity is mentioned in HB 459. NMHED successfully administers a

state allocation and a federal grant to operate ABE and GED programs in New Mexico.

CONFLICT, DUPLICATION, COMPANIONSHIP OR RELATIONSHIP

HB 459 duplicates SB 311.

House Bill 459 – Page

3

OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

ABE programs currently serve only 5% of the eligible population that does not have a high

school diploma or does not speak English well. Many ABE programs have up to 500 people

waiting for services. Forty-five percent of programs have students waiting for 4-8 months. The

NMHED ABE program continues to seek additional funding to address statewide needs.

ALTERNATIVES

An alternative to appropriating HB 459 funds to DFA would be to flow the funding through

NMHED and to take advantage of the existing ABE accountability and professional development

systems.

WEP/nt