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

SPONSOR Ortiz y Pino

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

1/23/08

HB

SHORT TITLE G.E.D. Certificate Educational Training

SB 311

ANALYST Cox

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY08

FY09

$100.0

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Higher Education Department (HED)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Bill 311 requests making an appropriation of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) to

the local government division of the Department of Finance and Administration to provide

educational training for persons attempting to attain their general educational development

certificate. This Bill contemplates an appropriation from the General Fund.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

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

The appropriation of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) contained in this bill is a recurring

expense to the General Fund. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of

Fiscal Year 2009 shall revert to the General Fund.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

HED states that forty percent 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

Senate Bill 311 – Page

2

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

its 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 12th 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’s

one-stop center for workforce development. NMSU-Dona 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.

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.

PRC/bb