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2012 Education Policy

Education Public Policy Recommendations to the

2012 Regular Session of the New Mexico Legislature

  1. Early Childhood Care and Education- NMBR SUPPORTS the continued implementation of SB 120 “Early Childhood Care and Education Act” (2011 Regular Session), infrastructure development and program expansion through the prioritization of additional and/or new state revenue funding. Providing age appropriate development opportunities for our children is necessary to ensure that they are both ready and able to succeed in school. It is imperative that we invest in high quality early childhood programs in a world where education and skill levels determine future earnings. The social and economic costs to individuals, communities, and the nation of not taking action on early childhood care and education are too great to ignore, especially when the benefits far outweigh the costs. Furthermore, employers increasingly find that the availability of good early childhood care and education programs is critical to the recruitment and retention of parent employees. New Mexico will be unable to improve education outcomes and develop a world-class workforce without the State’s commitment to high quality early childhood care and education.

  2. Land Grant Permanent Fund (LGPF)- NMBR OPPOSES any additional distribution from the NM Land Grant Permanent Fund as LGPF is NOT a “Rainy Day Fund” but rather a trust fund designated for current and future LGPF Specified Beneficiaries. It is important that the NM citizens understand the legality and purpose of the LGPF. See item 3 below for additional explanation.

  3. Land Grant Permanent Fund (LGPF) Distribution for Early Childhood Care and Education- NMBR OPPOSES any additional distribution from the NM LGPF for Early Childhood Care and Education for the following reasons:
    • Per the 1910 “Enabling Act for New Mexico” there is no provision for distributions from the LGPF for faith based or private sector providers. Doing so would require an act of US Congress and Presidential Signature to make that provision a reality and, even if successful, would cause an unacceptable disparity in the provision of services to families and children.
    • Since Early Child Care and Education is not an “Entity” or “Specified Beneficiary” there is no provision within the “Enabling Act” for Early Childhood Care and Education. An amendment would require an Act of the NM Legislature and Governor Signature to make that provision a reality.
    • There is no guarantee that additional distributions from the LGPF will result in increased funds for early childhood care and education programs. Historical appropriations have demonstrated that increases in LGPF distributions have resulted in a supplanting of general fund.
    • Any additional distributions from the LGPF should only be used for non-recurring cost, expenses and distribution amounts are subject to change and often sunset.
    • The plan for the Early Childhood Care and Education system and supporting infrastructure is still in the development stage and there is much to be learned with regard to program and service gaps as well as community capacity.
  4. Common Core Standards- NMBR SUPPORTS the state’s adoption of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) as these are world class standards, which specify clear expectations of what will be taught in terms of mathematics and English language arts. New Mexico children need to learn important content knowledge and skills that will enable them to compete nationally and internationally.
    • NMBR supports a carefully developed and comprehensive plan to assist districts in adopting the CCSS in a thoughtful and timely manner.  To be successful, schools need to assure that their curricula are completely aligned with the CCSS.  We view the CCSS as the single best prospect for improving instruction in our schools.  Accordingly, implementation of CCSS should be the number one priority with regard to all matters of education policy.
    • NMBR believes that it is essential to the successful implementation of CCSS that properly aligned professional development and resources (textbooks, curricular guides, etc) be provided to all districts to support the successful implementation of CCSS.  As public funding becomes available and private funds are solicited, they should be prioritized to support such needs.
    • NMBR is convinced that assessment of student learning should include both summative and formative strategies, be tied directly to CCSS, and have national standing. In this regard, NMBR strongly supports the state’s adoption of the PARCC assessment.
  5. Ending Social Promotion- NMBR SUPPORTS ending social promotion at grade three as a last resort for students who are not reading at proficiency. NMBR supports assessments of Kindergarten through grade two to determine student learning capacity and cognitive processing skills. There is significant research that shows that Education/Student Success is a function of both pedagogy and the student’s learning capacity. NMBR believes that our educators are in general teaching effectively; however, the intervention needed is to accurately assess and improve the students learning capacity. NMBR supports the development of innovative approaches and processes to help build student learning capacity. Intervention pilots must be developed and deployed in a timely fashion as simply holding students back will not solve the problem if we just continue teaching the same way without other supplemental tools/approaches.

  6. New Mexico Effective Teaching- NMBR SUPPORTS the development and implementation of a system for teacher evaluation utilizing the thirty-eight recommendations of the “Effective Teaching Task Force” as they apply to legislation, rule, and regulation.

  7. Moratorium of Charter Schools- NMBR OPPOSES any moratorium of Charter Schools with the understanding that there must be a rigorous development and implementation of standards for authorizing state and district authorized Charter Schools, and the development and implementation of contracts between Charter Schools and Chartering Authorities. It is imperative that unintended consequences of charters also be recognized and addressed as to budgetary impacts on the Districts for items such as operations and maintenance.

  8. Higher Education Funding Formula- NMBR SUPPORTS the concept of a performance based funding formula based on funding by mission. NMBR also cautions that we do not sacrifice the efficiency and effectiveness of two-year community colleges as they provide many services, certificates, and degrees necessary to support the economic development of the state.

  9. Accountability- NMBR SUPPORTS efforts to ensure fiscal and program accountability at all levels within the Early Childhood Care and Education to Grade Twenty System. This will require the continued funding for the development and implementation of data systems and accountability measures to determine longitudinal results to be shared with all stakeholders.