Bill > HB464

This bill appropriates funds from the General Fund to state institutions of higher education, tribal colleges, and the Public Education Department for fiscal year 2024 and subsequent fiscal years to improve educational outcomes for certain students and families, in compliance with court rulings. * The University of New Mexico receives a total of $2,577,000 for various initiatives within its College of Education and Human Sciences and College of Arts and Sciences. These funds are designated for culturally responsive curriculum development, bilingual education programs, pipeline programs for students pursuing bilingual education, Native language certification programs, Hispanic studies curriculum extension, and efforts to increase African American student participation in STEM and higher education. * New Mexico State University receives a total of $4,000,000 for developing culturally and linguistically relevant curricula and instructional materials, providing resources and technical assistance for ethnic studies, Chicana and Chicano studies, Africana studies, Native studies, and borderland and ethnic studies. Additionally, $1,250,000 is allocated for bilingual education teacher recruitment and retention, funding bilingual education programs, and hiring professors for bilingual and Native American language coursework. * New Mexico Highlands University receives a total of $3,392,600 for increasing bilingual teacher education faculty, supporting research for endowed professors in indigenous knowledge and bilingual studies, teacher training, staff development, curriculum development, and providing doctoral student support in bilingual teacher education. * The Public Education Department receives $450,000 to contract for technical assistance and professional development for staff focused on bilingual multicultural education programs. * The Higher Education Department receives $125,000 to convene a working group of faculty of color to develop recommendations for a higher education bilingual multicultural education framework. * The University of New Mexico also receives $700,000 for culturally and linguistically appropriate mental and behavioral health services, including Native American suicide prevention training and support for Native American health careers. * Navajo Technical University receives a total of $1,422,000 for establishing a curriculum development center, expanding early childhood Navajo teacher training, and providing courses on substance abuse, suicide prevention, and behavioral health in its nursing program. * Dine College receives $215,000 for multicultural teacher education program recruitment and retention. * Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute receives a total of $992,000 for establishing a curriculum development center and for its teacher preparation pipeline for both general education and social work students. * All unexpended or unencumbered balances from these appropriations do not revert to the General Fund at the end of a fiscal year.