SENATE MEMORIAL 118

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

INTRODUCED BY

Linda M. Lopez

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE NEW MEXICO HUMAN TRAFFICKING TASK FORCE TO STUDY THE FEASIBILITY OF INCORPORATING HUMAN TRAFFICKING AWARENESS TRAINING IN MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL CURRICULA.

     WHEREAS, middle school and high school curricula are designed to address current and pressing issues that affect the well-being of New Mexico's children and prepare young adults for healthy and successful futures; and

     WHEREAS, these programs are important to help students build vital life skills and a strong foundation for healthy, crime-free lives; and

     WHEREAS, human trafficking awareness prepares individuals to identify signs of dangerous and criminal behavior within their personal experiences; and

     WHEREAS, there is strong evidence of a low level of understanding of the realities and dangers of human trafficking in the United States; and

     WHEREAS, the New Mexico human trafficking task force is a federally funded collaborative task force that includes service providers, representatives from nonprofit organizations, faith-based organizations and the children, youth and families department, local, state, tribal and federal law enforcement agencies and prosecutorial agencies from around the state "whose sole purpose is to implement a collaborative approach to combating all forms of human trafficking within New Mexico, sex trafficking and labor trafficking, of foreign nationals and United States citizens of all sexes and ages"; and

     WHEREAS, since 2015, the New Mexico human trafficking task force has been meeting quarterly to gather information and fulfill its purpose in New Mexico;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the New Mexico human trafficking task force be requested to:

          A. review ways to incorporate curricula into middle schools and high schools to educate children on human trafficking awareness across the state;

          B. explore methods to introduce and support middle school and high school human trafficking awareness programs in New Mexico; and

          C. seek input from nationwide experts and successful examples of such programs from outside of New Mexico; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the secretary of public education be requested to assist the New Mexico human trafficking task force to develop a strategic plan for providing statewide human trafficking awareness in middle schools and high schools to include the following:

          A. a statement of purpose that describes the objectives the task force will accomplish by implementing a human trafficking awareness education program, the strategies by which those goals will be achieved and a time line for achieving those goals;

          B. a plan for expanding human trafficking awareness educational opportunities to every middle school and high school in the state within five years;

          C. a plan for the development of rigorous standards and curriculum guidelines for human trafficking awareness education, including ways to incorporate human trafficking awareness into existing standards at the middle school and high school levels;

          D. a plan for defining high-quality professional learning for teachers to teach human trafficking awareness;

          E. an ongoing evaluation process overseen by the public education department;

          F. proposed methods that incorporate the principles of the strategic plan into the state's public education system as a whole; and

          G. a plan to ensure long-term sustainability; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the office of the attorney general be requested to provide staff support to the New Mexico human trafficking task force and its education subcommittee; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the public education department be requested to encourage and inform superintendents and middle school and high school principals of the necessity for human trafficking awareness programs; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the New Mexico human trafficking task force be requested to make recommendations to incorporate curricula into middle schools and high schools to educate children on human trafficking awareness across the state; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the New Mexico human trafficking task force be requested to study ways to reinforce and support middle school and high school human trafficking awareness programs; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the New Mexico human trafficking task force present its findings and recommendations to the appropriate interim legislative committees by October 1, 2019; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the New Mexico human trafficking task force be requested to present the strategic plan for providing statewide human trafficking awareness to middle schools and high schools to the legislative education study committee by January 1, 2020; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the secretary of public education be requested to make publicly available a strategic plan for providing statewide human trafficking awareness in middle schools and high schools by February 1, 2020; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the governor, the office of the attorney general, the director of the New Mexico human trafficking task force, the secretary of public education, the secretary of human services, the secretary of public safety, the chair of the legislative health and human services committee and the chair of the legislative education study committee.

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