HM 57

                                1  HOUSE MEMORIAL 57
                                2      57TH LEGISLATURE - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - SECOND SESSION, 2026
                                3  INTRODUCED BY
                                4  E. Diane Torres-Velásquez and G. Andrés Romero
                                5  and Patricia Roybal Caballero
                                6
                                7
                                8
                                9
                                10  A MEMORIAL
                                11   REQUESTING THE LEGISLATIVE EDUCATION STUDY COMMITTEE TO CONDUCT
                                12   A STUDY OF BEST PRACTICES FOR CREDENTIALING BILINGUAL
                                13   EDUCATORS.
                                14
                                15  WHEREAS, non-English speaking and bilingual students in
                                16   New Mexico often face significant achievement gaps in academic
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                                17   performance, graduation rates and college and career readiness;
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                                18   and
                                19  WHEREAS, research demonstrates that well-implemented
                                20   bilingual multicultural education strengthens executive
                                21   function, expands career and higher education opportunities and
                                22   improves academic achievement for students; and
                                23  WHEREAS, there is a chronic shortage of skilled and
                                24   qualified professional bilingual educators available to meet
                                25   the need for bilingual education in New Mexico's public
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                                1    schools; and
                                2  WHEREAS, the quality of bilingual education depends
                                3    substantially on the performance of professional bilingual
                                4    educators, and, like all other states, New Mexico requires
                                5    professional educators to hold credentials in the form of an
                                6    endorsement granted by the state in order to teach in the
                                7    public schools; and
                                8  WHEREAS, each state, including New Mexico, establishes and
                                9    enforces standards and requirements for earning credentials for
                                10   public school teachers, and these certification standards and
                                11   requirements are among the ways in which states exercise their
                                12   constitutional responsibility for governing public education;
                                13   and
                                14  WHEREAS, New Mexico has a legitimate interest in the
                                15   quality of training programs for credentialing professional
                                16   bilingual educators because completion of a professional
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                                17   preparation program for bilingual educators is critical for
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                                18   their subsequent professional performance; and
                                19  WHEREAS, evaluating best practices for credentialing
                                20   bilingual educators, including English as a second language
                                21   instructors, would help inform legislative recommendations and
                                22   actions to increase the number of bilingual educators in the
                                23   state and thereby help strengthen educational outcomes for
                                24   bilingual students; and
                                25  WHEREAS, the public education department is responsible
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                                1    for the implementation of bilingual education programs and
                                2    oversees the bilingual multicultural education advisory council
                                3    that consists of selected educators, school leaders and higher
                                4    education faculty; and
                                5  WHEREAS, the public education department is responsible
                                6    for the credentialing of bilingual educators in the state,
                                7    including the promulgation of rules determining the education,
                                8    training and experience required to receive an endorsement as a
                                9    professional bilingual educator; and
                                10        WHEREAS, the state's higher education institutions that
                                11   teach courses required for certification of bilingual educators
                                12   and professional organizations such as the New Mexico
                                13   association for bilingual education and the New Mexico
                                14   coalition for the majority, as well as other professional
                                15   community organizations, include researchers, parents and
                                16   higher education faculty with substantial experience in
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                                17   preparing bilingual education teachers to teach and supporting
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                                18   those teachers in practice; and
                                19        WHEREAS, these organizations are well-versed in current
                                20   best practices and current effective policies in the bilingual
                                21   and English as a second language classrooms in New Mexico; and
                                22        WHEREAS, there is a critical need for the public education
                                23   department to communicate, consult and coordinate with the
                                24   state's higher education institutions and other relevant
                                25   professional organizations in the process of promulgating rules
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                                1    for credentialing bilingual educators in the state;
                                2  NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF
                                3    REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the legislative
                                4    education study committee be requested to conduct a study in
                                5    consultation with the public education department, the state's
                                6    higher education institutions and members of the above-named
                                7    professional organizations and other bilingual education
                                8    professionals to study best practices for credentialing
                                9    bilingual educators, including English as a second language
                                10   instructors, and to publish a report of its findings and
                                11   recommendations by August 15, 2026; and
                                12        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the committee's study include
                                13   conclusions and recommendations regarding ways to improve
                                14   communication and coordination among the public education
                                15   department, the state's higher education institutions and other
                                16   relevant professional organizations when determining best
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                                17   practices for the purpose of promulgating rules for
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                                18   credentialing bilingual educators in the state; and
                                19        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be
                                20   transmitted to the legislative education study committee, the
                                21   secretary of higher education, the secretary of public
                                22   education, the New Mexico association for bilingual education
                                23   and the New Mexico coalition for the majority.
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