HB 167 — HIGHER ED. PAYMENT FOR CERTAIN TESTS

HOUSEAN BILLACT 167RELATING 57THTO LEGISLATUREEDUCATION; - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - FIRST SESSION, 2025 INTRODUCED BY Joy Garratt and E.

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hSECTION AN1. ACT g o RELATING TO EDUCATION;

PROVIDINGA THATnew THEsection HIGHERof EDUCATIONChapter t21, hrArticle g1 eNMSA i1978 kis DEPARTMENTenacted SHALLto PAYread: THE COST OF HIGH SCHOOL EQUIVALENCY h r i s CREDENTIAL TESTS AND ASSOCIATED TEST PREPARATION COSTS FOR NEW h , t, MEXICO RESIDENTS HAFCº ;

MAKING"HIGH ANSCHOOL APPROPRIATION»HAFCEQUIVALENCY SFCº;CREDENTIAL TESTS--FREE FOR NEW MEXICO RESIDENTS.--The higher education department shall provide free high school equivalency credential tests to New Mexico residents who:

e u g e b l e e h REQUIRING PUBLIC POST-SECONDARY TEACHER PREPARATION PROGRAMS TO n d d i = = o h TEACH THE SCIENCE OF READING»SFC .

l ] b ,d i a º e r i = r t e w d m a n o BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

d m :

b e d s º o t n = .229555.2SAAIC March 18, 2025 (4:04pm) s k m e e a n e d r e l u [ A d SECTION 1.

A new section of Chapter 21, Article 1 NMSA is enacted to read:

"[NEW MATERIAL] HIGH SCHOOL EQUIVALENCY CREDENTIAL TESTS-- FREE FOR NEW MEXICO RESIDENTS.--The higher education department shall provide free high school equivalency credential tests to New Mexico residents who:

have passed an official practice test with scores indicating test readiness." SFCºSECTIONHB 2.167/a Page 1 25

A new section of Chapter 21 NMSA 1978 is enacted to read:

"[NEW MATERIAL] TEACHER PREPARATION PROGRAMS--TEACHING h STUDENTS HOW TO TEACH READING.-- g o A.

As used in this section:

t hr g e i k (1) "high-quality instructional materials" h r i s means instructional materials that are a comprehensive full h , t, course of study that is research-based, culturally and e u g e b l e e h linguistically relevant and designed to support equitable n d d i = = o h learning for all students;

l ] b ,d i a º e (2) "science of reading" means an r i = r t e w d m a n o interdisciplinary body of scientifically based research about d m :

b e d s º o t n = .229555.2SAAIC March 18, 2025 (4:04pm) s k m e - 2 - e a n e d r e l u [ A d reading and issues related to reading and writing;

(3) "scientifically based reading instruction" means instruction grounded in empirical research, including explicit and systematic instruction in phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension and the science of reading;

and (4) "structured literacy" means an evidence- based approach to teaching oral and written language aligned with the science of reading that is based on the science of how children learn to read and is characterized by explicit, systematic, sequential, cumulative and diagnostic instruction in phonology, sound-symbol association, syllable instruction, morphology, syntax and semantics.

B.

Structured literacy is the primary approach to teaching foundational literacy skills for all learners.

Literacy instruction for English learners shall include h evidence-based practices for bi-literacy, differentiation and u » r culturally and linguistically responsive instruction.

Public t h g e l i school students shall be taught to read using the science of h r i s reading, structured literacy and scientifically based reading h , e h t u g instruction.

e b l e e , gh C.

Each teacher preparation program shall offer n d d i = = o h courses and student teaching sufficient for level one licensure l ] b ,d i a º r e r = that:

t e w d m a n o (1) include the science of reading, structured d m :

b r e t º o t n = .229555.2SAAIC March 18, 2025 (4:04pm) s k m e - 3 - e a n e d r e l u [ A d literacy and scientifically based reading instruction;

(2) for elementary teacher candidates, provide a minimum of one hundred hours of supervised field experience in public school classrooms implementing the science of reading, structured literacy and scientifically based reading instruction, including:

(a) planning and teaching reading lessons focused on phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension;

and (b) observing and applying scientifically based reading instruction techniques under the supervision of a teacher trained in the science of reading;

and (3) include training and teaching teacher candidates to identify when students are not reading at grade level.

D.

In collaboration with public post-secondary h teacher preparation programs, the public education department u » r shall develop specific teacher preparation standards related to t h g e l i the five components of the science of reading, including the h r i s knowledge and skills teachers need to support struggling h , e h t u g readers and those with dyslexia as well as the knowledge and e b l e e , gh skills teachers need to support English language learners.

n d d i = = o h E.

As part of the public education department's l ] b ,d i a º r e r = review process, the department shall monitor all teacher t e w d m a n o preparation programs, and programs that fail to adhere to the d m :

b r e t º o t n = .229555.2SAAIC March 18, 2025 (4:04pm) s k m e - 4 - e a n e d r e l u [ A d science of reading shall be required to submit corrective action plans and may face the loss of state approval.

F.

As part of the state approval review process for teacher preparation programs, each program shall provide evidence of alignment with New Mexico's statutory and regulatory requirements for structured and systematic science of reading instruction.