Teaching Profession

Law Stiffens Math Credentials for New Mexico K-8 Teachers

By Mary Ann Zehr — April 28, 2009 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

|New Mexico| In a legislative session long on education action, state lawmakers trimmed the fiscal 2010 education budget and approved measures—since signed into law—stiffening the required math credentials for K-8 teachers and tightening financial-audit requirements for districts and charter schools.

The budget signed by Gov. Bill Richardson provides $2.36 billion for K-12 education, down from $2.38 billion in the current fiscal year. The K-12 budget for the coming year includes $164.7 million that the state has approved for education from federal economic-stimulus funds. The total state budget for fiscal 2010 is $5.5 billion.

Gov. Bill Richardson
Democrat
Senate:
27 Democrats
15 Republicans
House:
45 Democrats
25 Republicans
Enrollment:
323,881

The math-credentials measure says that all teachers seeking K-8 certification in New Mexico must have taken 9 college credit hours of math rather than 6 credit hours, the number required previously.

In addition, the governor signed into law a bill that enables schools to put student-identification numbers on transcripts, so that the data can be used for longitudinal tracking; and a bill that requires districts to provide 180 school days per year, rather than simply a minimum number of hours of instruction.

The state needed a law that stepped up enforcement for school districts to complete financial audits on time because a quarter of its districts are a year or two behind in submitting audits, state Secretary of Education Veronica Garcia said in an interview. The new law permits the state to reduce funding to districts that are more than 90 days late in submitting audits, she said.

But a bill that would have revamped the education funding formula to give greater weight to high-poverty districts and small districts died in a Senate committee. The bill would have meant an increase of $350 million for K-8 education.

A version of this article appeared in the April 29, 2009 edition of Education Week

Events

Teaching Profession K-12 Essentials Forum New Insights Into the Teaching Profession
Join this free virtual event to get exclusive insights from Education Week's State of Teaching project.
Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and K-12 education jubs at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
Mathematics K-12 Essentials Forum Helping Students Succeed in Math

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Teaching Profession What the Research Says A Personal 'Nudge' Can Get Teachers to Use Student Data in Smart Ways
Teachers are key to effective ed-tech interventions. A new study looks at ways to engage them.
4 min read
Woman using laptop computer.
A new study found that teachers who received more personalized messages about their students’ progress were more likely to review and use student data.
Getty Images Plus
Teaching Profession Opinion Larry Ferlazzo's 6 Reasons Why He Stayed at His School
Why leave a high school where the administrators have fostered a supportive environment and made teaching fulfilling?
5 min read
Conceptual illustration of classroom conversations and fragmented education elements coming together to form a cohesive picture of a book of classroom knowledge.
Sonia Pulido for Education Week
Teaching Profession Download Principals, Find Ways to Boost Teacher Morale (DOWNLOADABLE)
Our discussion guide for principals has three key findings about teacher morale. Use them to jump-start your team's PD.
1 min read
collage art of upward arrows, data trends, a magnifying glass, and a teacher with students. Boosting teacher morale.
Vanessa Solis/Education Week via Canva
Teaching Profession Opinion Larry Ferlazzo: 10 Things I Will (and Won't) Miss When I Retire
After 23 years, I am bidding farewell to my classroom. But I'm far from done with education, he explains.
4 min read
Conceptual illustration of classroom conversations and fragmented education elements coming together to form a cohesive picture of a book of classroom knowledge.
Sonia Pulido for Education Week