HIGHER ED BILINGUAL ED FACULTIES & DEGREE

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Angel Charley and 3 co-sponsors

SJM 3 urges public universities to develop a joint bachelor’s degree in elementary bilingual multicultural education and expand bilingual faculty, plus fund scholarships and suppor

action postponed indefinitely

#education #postsecondary #memorials #other

Purpose

Senate Joint Memorial 3 asks state higher‑education and K–12 agencies to take steps to expand bilingual/multicultural teacher preparation in New Mexico. It requests development of a joint undergraduate degree program in elementary bilingual multicultural education, increased bilingual faculty capacity to support that program, and an assessment of scholarship needs for advanced bilingual‑education degrees. It also urges the Public Education Department (PED) to “fully address, fund and support the linguistic rights of New Mexico’s bilingual multicultural students” consistent with constitution, statute, and court rulings.

Key provisions

Requests the Higher Education Department (HED) to work with four public universities — University of New Mexico (UNM), Western New Mexico University (WNMU), New Mexico Highlands University (NMHU), and New Mexico State University (NMSU) — to:

Develop a joint bachelor’s degree in elementary bilingual multicultural education; and
Provide funds to increase bilingual faculty lines to support the program.

Requests HED to assess the need for scholarships for students pursuing doctoral, terminal, or teaching degrees in bilingual multicultural education.

Requests the Public Education Department (PED) to address, fund, and support linguistic rights of bilingual multicultural students as required by law and court decisions.

Who would be affected

The four named universities (UNM, WNMU, NMHU, NMSU) — in planning and potentially staffing a joint undergraduate program.

Prospective and current bilingual/multicultural teacher candidates at undergraduate and graduate levels.

PED, which is urged to prioritize funding and support for linguistic rights and bilingual education in K–12.

Fiscal and implementation notes

The Legislative Finance Committee fiscal note identifies no direct fiscal impact because the memorial contains no appropriation. Any costs to create programs, expand faculty lines, or provide scholarships would need to be absorbed within existing agency/university budgets or funded separately.

The House version of the General Appropriation Act includes $500 for PED “for purposes pursuant to the Bilingual Multicultural Education Act,” noted in the fiscal analysis.

The fiscal note indicates an effective date provision (90 days after adjournment / June 20, 2025) if enacted, but as a memorial it is a non‑binding request to state agencies rather than a statute creating mandatory appropriations.

Legislative history & procedural timeline

Feb 22, 2025: Introduced; sent to Senate Rules and Senate Education Committees.

Feb 26, 2025: Senate Rules Committee reported DO PASS (vote 8–0).

Mar 12, 2025: Senate Education Committee reported DO PASS (vote 5–0).

Mar 13, 2025: Passed the Senate.

Mar 14, 2025: Sent to House Education Committee.

Jun 3, 2025: Action in the House was postponed indefinitely (current status).

Note: As a joint memorial, SJM 3 expresses legislative intent and requests agency action but does not itself appropriate funds or create binding statutory requirements.

Bill