HOUSE MEMORIAL 24

54th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2020

INTRODUCED BY

Elizabeth "Liz" Thomson and Joy Garratt

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE PUBLIC EDUCATION DEPARTMENT TO CONVENE A TASK FORCE TO STUDY, ASSESS AND MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS TO ADDRESS THE STAFFING LEVELS OF SUPPORT AND RELATED SERVICES STAFF NECESSARY TO MEET THE LEARNING, SOCIAL, EMOTIONAL, MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH NEEDS OF NEW MEXICO STUDENTS.

     WHEREAS, New Mexico has some of the highest rates of children suffering from adverse childhood experiences; and

     WHEREAS, the more adverse childhood experiences each child suffers, the more likely the trauma will lead to negative impacts on well-being and health that can follow a child for life and contribute to chronic health issues and problems such as alcoholism, drug abuse and suicide; and

     WHEREAS, adverse childhood experiences can cause toxic stress, which can interrupt normal physical and mental development and can even change the brain's architecture; and

     WHEREAS, the 2019 New Mexico kids count profile shows that New Mexico ranks fiftieth in indicators of child well-being; and

     WHEREAS, public school educators are often the first responders in students' lives to issues such as relationship disappointments or conflicts; family issues such as death, divorce, parent-child issues, parent substance use or mental health problems; test or performance anxiety; general academic stress; procrastination; panic attacks; social isolation; mild to severe depression; cutting and other forms of self-injury and suicidal thoughts, plans or actions; and

     WHEREAS, teachers and students depend on school nurses, counselors, social workers and school psychologists to ensure that the ever-increasing complexity of students' needs is met; and

     WHEREAS, years of disinvestment in public education have led to schools that are inadequately staffed to meet the needs of students; and

     WHEREAS, New Mexico can make a significant positive impact on students' learning and well-being by working toward following national recommendations for staffing in the following areas:

          A. the national association of school nurses and the national association of state school nurse consultants recommends a school nurse in every school to provide direct care and oversight to the student population in keeping healthy children well and further recommends the following nurse-to- student ratios:

                 (1) no more than one nurse to every seven hundred fifty students in a healthy student population;

                (2) one nurse to every two hundred twenty-five students in populations requiring daily professional nursing services; and

                (3) one nurse to every one hundred twenty-five students in populations with complex health care needs;

          B. the national association of social workers recommends a ratio of one school social worker to each school building serving up to two hundred fifty general education students, and when a school social worker is providing services to students with intensive needs, a lower ratio, such as one social worker to every fifty students, is suggested;

          C. the national association for college admission counseling and the American school counselor association state that school counselors in public schools often have unmanageable caseloads with high national student-to-counselor ratios of one school counselor to four hundred eighty-two students. States, which design and fund the bulk of public school education, must increase their investment to ensure the full benefit of school counseling programs to the American school counselor association recommendation of a two hundred fifty to one student-to-counselor ratio;

          D. the American association of school librarians considers a well-funded and fully staffed school library with a state-certified school librarian as an integral component of a student's education; and

          E. special-education-related services include supportive services required to assist a child with a disability to benefit from special education, including speech-language pathology and audiology services; interpreting services; psychological services; physical and occupational therapy; recreation, including therapeutic recreation; early identification and assessment of disabilities in children; counseling services, including rehabilitation counseling; orientation and mobility services; and medical services for diagnostic or evaluation purposes. Related services also include school health services, school nurse services and social work services in schools. New Mexico can make a significant positive impact specifically for special education students' learning and well-being by establishing staffing recommendations for the following related services personnel:

                (1) sign language interpreters;

                (2) speech-language pathologists;

                (3) occupational therapists;

                (4) physical therapists;

                (5) audiologists;

                (6) orientation and mobility specialists;

                (7) transition specialists and vocational rehabilitation counselors;

                (8) diagnosticians; and

                (9) school psychologists; and

     WHEREAS, in New Mexico, the legislature is responsible for the public school funding needed to adequately and appropriately staff schools for the learning, social, emotional, mental and physical health needs of all students;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the public education department be requested to convene a task force to study, assess and make recommendations to address the staffing levels of support and related services staff necessary to meet the learning, social, emotional, mental and physical health needs of New Mexico students; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the secretary of public education appoint task force members and that no less than seventy percent of the task force members be current school nurses, social workers, counselors, librarians and special-education-related services staff in public schools representing geographically diverse locations; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force be requested to report its findings and recommendations to the office of the governor and the legislative education study committee by November 1, 2021; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the governor, the secretary of public education and the chair of the legislative education study committee.

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