eNewMexican

Bill would decrease graduation necessities

HB 126 would help address Yazzie/Martinez, advocates say; some contend it dilutes state high schools’ education

By Robert Nott rnott@sfnewmexican.com

With New Mexico’s graduation rates lagging behind other states, some lawmakers say they’ve devised a bill that will keep students in school and better prepare them for life after the 12th grade.

But opponents say some components of House Bill 126 — including lowering the number of credits needed to graduate from 24 to 22 and switching Algebra II and a language class requirement into electives — will dilute the curriculum and leave students underprepared to move on after graduation day.

HB 126 is likely to grab the attention of educators, students and parents as it proposes to make what some call the first comprehensive update to the requirements in some 25 years.

“I think it’s something we should all watch out for,” Santa Fe Public Schools Superintendent Hilario “Larry” Chavez

said in an interview after members of the House Commerce and Economic Development Committee voted 8-2 to move the bill forward Monday.

A supporter of the bill, Chavez said he does not see it as a watering down of the graduation requirements. Rather, he said, “I think it provides more opportunity and options for students to engage in learning.” Not everyone agrees.

“I think we’re dumbing down our students,” said Rep. Patty Lundstrom, D-Gallup.

Lundstrom said the state is still struggling to meet the mandates of the historic

2018 Yazzie/Martinez court ruling that said New Mexico is not doing enough to provide resources for its at-risk students — those from impoverished families, special-needs children and English language learners, among others.

HB 126, Lundstrom said, won’t help address the ruling.

Lundstrom and Rep. Marian Matthews, D-Albuquerque, voted against the bill. But Matthews first tried without success to introduce an amendment that would require students to take a financial literacy course. She said too many students leave high school without an understanding of how to handle money.

Such a requirement would take decision-making away from local school boards in determining what classes best fit the needs of students in their local communities, said Rep. Andrés Romero, D-Albuquerque, one of the bill’s sponsors.

Romero, chairman of the House Education Committee, and some district superintendents said the new requirements offer more leeway for both students and local school

boards to determine what classes best fit the graduates for their future.

HB 126 would “create more opportunities for students pursuing career opportunities,” Gene Strickland, superintendent of the Hobbs school district, told the committee members while testifying in support of the bill.

Whitney Holland, president of the American Federation of Teachers New Mexico, told the committee the proposed changes “will keep more students in school.”

The legislation, if passed, would affect students entering the ninth grade in the 2024-25 school year. It also gives school districts the option to add more unit requirements if they like. Strickland said his district requires 26 units to graduate.

The bill requires districts and charter schools develop a graduate profile and nextstep plans for each student to better align their needs with the curriculum options.

The proposed changes also include offering four state-chosen elective units plus two electives chosen by local districts — a drop in electives from the current 7.5 to 6 credits.

Students still would be required to complete four units in math, social sciences and English, plus three units in science, to graduate.

The bill’s fiscal impact report says removing Algebra II as a requirement could result in more students graduating from high school but notes students wanting to pursue college pathways where calculus is necessary would have to take college-level algebra and pre-calculus. The report says this could “adversely affect” students who pursue STEM-related courses in college and could lead to remediation classes.

Some who testified against the bill said if schools no longer have to teach Algebra II, they will drop it from their curriculum, denying students the chance to take the course.

Romero, who teaches at an Albuquerque high school, said in an interview after the hearing he did not think that will be the case. He said he does not agree with Lundstrom’s contention that the bill weakens graduation requirements.

The legislation, he said, “will better prepare students to make decisions for themselves” as they plan for a post-high school

life — be it college, the military or a job.

Chavez said he did not foresee his district dropping Algebra II courses.

“It will be a choice, and maybe students will go into a profession where they can use that option,” he said. “The more flexibility, the better.”

There may be other concerns against the backdrop of New Mexico’s struggles in K-12 education.

“Reducing the number of high school graduation credits … has raised concerns at a time when New Mexico ranks at the bottom of student proficiency nationally,” the fiscal impact report states, quoting the Public Education Department. “At least one recent study found that increased high school graduation requirements can improve access to college by increasing enrollment in advanced courses, particularly for math and science.”

New Mexico’s graduation rate for 2021 was 76.8%. While that is an improvement over past years, it’s still pretty close to the bottom when it comes to national graduation rates.

Holland wrote in an email she has no concerns about the legislation diminishing the graduation requirements.

“I think that a less prescriptive set of high school graduation requirements would free up time for the student to pursue individualized interests that may be expressed through capstone projects or other hands-on learning that can now exist outside of the classroom,” she wrote.

Mandi Torrez, education reform director for Think New Mexico, took a contrary view.

“Lowering the standards for graduation, as HB 126 proposes to do, takes our state in the opposite direction of what the Yazzie/ Martinez court said that the state is constitutionally mandated to do,” she wrote in an email after the vote. “If courses like financial literacy, world language and career technical education are not required, how do we know that districts with high populations of at risk children will even offer those courses?”

Chavez said he thinks it would be a “good practice” for the state to revisit and review the graduation requirements every 10 years.

HB 126 next goes to the House Education Committee for consideration.

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2023-01-31T08:00:00.0000000Z

2023-01-31T08:00:00.0000000Z

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Santa Fe New Mexican