| NEW MEXICO | Gov. Bill Richardson, a Democrat, has signed into law the Hispanic Education Act, which aims to close the achievement gap for Hispanic and other students. The measure, which he had proposed, creates a Hispanic advisory council and a liaison to bring recommendations on Hispanic education to the state’s secretary of education.
But the legislature did not appropriate funds for that piece of new legislation as well as others pertaining to K-12 education that the body had approved and the governor signed.
| Gov. Bill Richardson |
|---|
| Democrat |
| Senate: 27 Democrats 15 Republicans |
| House: 45 Democrats 25 Republicans |
| Enrollment: 328,000 |
Out of a $5.6 billion state budget for fiscal 2011 signed by the governor on March 24, $2.4 billion is appropriated to support K-12 public schools, up from $2.3 billion in the current fiscal year. But that increase was not enough to make up for the temporary aid through federal economic-stimulus funding the state received for the current year, so the net effect is a 1.2 percent decrease in total public school support, said state education officials.
The legislature also passed a measure that expands the states dual-credit program to include high school students in Bureau of Indian Education schools and tribal colleges in New Mexico, along with a law aimed at increasing school boards financial accountability.
