N.M. Stat. § 22-23-7 — NM Code / Chapter 22 / Article 23 / Section 22-23-7
§ 22-23-7. Bilingual multicultural education advisory council; created; membership; duties
Status: in_force

A. The “bilingual multicultural education advisory council” is created and shall advise the secretary and department staff on the effective implementation of the Bilingual Multicultural Education Act and the support of all bilingual multicultural education students, including bilingual learners and English language learners, to have equitable access to instruction and learning as required by state and federal education and civil rights laws. The secretary and department staff shall provide biannual reports to the council regarding progress on yearly advisements.

B. The bilingual multicultural education advisory council consists of fifteen members who have technical knowledge of and expertise in bilingual multicultural education and teaching English to English language learners as follows:

(1) five members appointed or designated by the Indian nations, tribes and pueblos to include one member each from the Navajo Nation, the Mescalero Apache Tribe, the Jicarilla Apache Nation, the southern pueblos and the northern pueblos;

(2) eight members who represent pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade teachers, principals, superintendents, other education administrators and higher education faculty who are from different geographical areas of the state and at least one of whom has a special education background; and

(3) two parents whose students are enrolled in bilingual multicultural education programs.

C. The department shall appoint the council members noted in Paragraphs (2) and (3) of Subsection B of this section from a list generated and approved by both the department and the existing ad hoc bilingual multicultural education advisory council co-chairs that is representative of various stakeholder groups.

D. The bilingual multicultural education advisory council shall elect two members to serve as co-chairs of the council. The co-chairs shall assist with the selection of new members for the council.

E. New members of the council shall begin to serve their appointments on July 1, 2021 for a term of three years. Members who are currently serving their appointments prior to the effective date of this 2021 act shall continue to serve through the remainder of their appointed term. All council members may serve two consecutive terms, and co-chairs may serve one additional year to assist with transition.

F. The council shall:

(1) study issues of bilingual multicultural education for all students, including the needs of bilingual learners and English language learners; and

(2) provide advice to the department in the areas of curriculum, instruction, assessment, teacher preparation, teacher evaluation, professional development, licensure and student and family services to:

(a) strengthen the quality and effectiveness of bilingual multicultural education programs;

(b) promote rigorous culturally and linguistically responsive instruction in bilingual multicultural education programs;

(c) support effective classroom teaching for participating bilingual multicultural education program students, including bilingual learners and English language learners who may or may not be part of standalone federal language acquisition programs;

(d) recruit, develop and train effective bilingual multicultural education teachers and teachers of bilingual learners and English language learners;

(e) identify professional development best suited and appropriate for the languages being taught to support teachers, educational assistants and other licensed employees to work effectively with bilingual multicultural education program students, including bilingual learners and English language learners;

(f) promote professional development opportunities to build the capacity of public education administrators to effectively lead bilingual multicultural education programs and become knowledgeable regarding second language acquisition research, theory and pedagogy, including culturally and linguistically responsive teaching practices, biliteracy and assessments in English and the home or heritage language;

(g) develop solutions for streamlining and strengthening program management, implementation and monitoring of bilingual multicultural education programs at the state, district and school site levels;

(h) develop family and community partnerships representative of the languages and cultures of all students in the bilingual multicultural education program, to assist and advise in the development, implementation and evaluation of the program; and

(i) support bilingual learners and English language learners to achieve programmatic goals, including academic achievement in two languages and bilingual biliteracy growth as demonstrated and measured by language and literacy assessments in English and the home or heritage language, and with regard to tribal languages, language-appropriate programmatic goals with progress determined in accordance with tribal priorities and sovereignty.

G. Members of the council may receive per diem and mileage as provided for nonsalaried public officers in the Per Diem and Mileage Act.