HOUSE BILL 449

54th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2019

INTRODUCED BY

Roberto "Bobby" J. Gonzales and Susan K. Herrera and

Christine Trujillo and Anthony Allison and Cathrynn N. Brown

AN ACT

RELATING TO EDUCATION; CONDUCTING A FIVE-YEAR, STATEWIDE LITERACY INITIATIVE FOR CHILDREN AND ADULTS; MAKING AN APPROPRIATION.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

     SECTION 1. A new section of the Regional Cooperative Education Act is enacted to read:

     "[NEW MATERIAL] NORTHEAST REGIONAL EDUCATION COOPERATIVE-- STATEWIDE LITERACY INITIATIVE FOR CHILDREN AND ADULTS.

          A. The northeast regional education cooperative shall conduct a five-year, statewide literacy initiative for children and adults. The cooperative may contract for assistance with the initiative.

          B. The initiative shall:

                (1) comprise a wide variety of strategies to improve literacy for approximately thirty-five thousand low-income school-age students and approximately six hundred thousand children and adults overall; and

                (2) include:

                     (a) working directly and indirectly with low-income pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade students, including after-school literacy tutoring and providing a variety of fiction and informational read-aloud texts to practice oral language and reading fluency skills at school and home;

                     (b) providing early childhood literacy services for children and their families;

                     (c) providing embedded literacy professional development and mentoring to tutors, teachers, parents and community organizations that support learning;

                     (d) community and school book distributions through little free libraries located in every community in which the program is conducted that provide free books for readers of all ages and through community and school literacy events;

                     (e) community reading events, including interactive discussions, instruction on reading components, fun reading activities and read-along events for family and community members to read with children;

                     (f) teaching parents, extended families and communities the importance of supporting emergent literacy and learning in very young children, including strategies, books and instructional materials for parents and for caregivers who conduct at-home visits to families to encourage early learning at home; and

                     (g) providing classroom sets with instructional materials tied to the common core principles for kindergarten through third grade, fourth through sixth grade and seventh through twelfth grade teachers to supplement classroom materials.

          C. The program shall include assessments to show programmatic success each year."

     SECTION 2. APPROPRIATION.--Four million seventy-four thousand nine hundred fifty dollars ($4,074,950) is appropriated from the general fund to the northeast regional education cooperative for expenditure in fiscal year 2020 to carry out the statewide literacy initiative in 2019 and 2020, including salaries, travel, books and classroom sets, general supplies, tutors and contract management. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2020 shall revert to the general fund.

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