A. To be eligible for state financial support, each bilingual multicultural education program shall:

(1) provide for the educational needs of linguistically and culturally different students, including Native American children and other students who may wish to participate, in grades kindergarten through twelve, with priority to be given to programs in grades kindergarten through three, in a district;

(2) fund programs for culturally and linguistically different students in the state in grades kindergarten through three for which there is an identifiable need to improve the language capabilities of both English and the home language of these students before funding programs at higher grade levels;

(3) use two languages as mediums of instruction for any part or all of the curriculum of the grade levels within the program;

(4) use teachers who have specialized in elementary or secondary education and who have received specialized training in bilingual education conducted through the use of two languages. These teachers or other trained personnel shall administer language proficiency assessments in both English and in the home language until proficiency in each language is achieved;

(5) emphasize the history and cultures associated with the students' home or heritage language;

(6) establish a parent advisory committee, representative of the language and culture of the students, to assist and advise in the development, implementation and evaluation of the bilingual multicultural education program; and

(7) provide procedures to ensure that parental notification is given annually prior to bilingual multicultural education program placement.

B. Each bilingual multicultural education program shall meet each requirement of Subsection A of this section and be approved by the department to be eligible for state financial support.

History: 1953 Comp., § 77-23-6, enacted by Laws 1973, ch. 285, § 6; 1987, ch. 211, § 1; 2004, ch. 32, § 6.

The 2004 amendment, effective May 19, 2004, inserted "bilingual multicultural education" in Subsections A and B, added "both English and the home language" to Paragraph (2) of Subsection A, added to Subsection A the last sentence of Paragraph (4), "home or heritage language" to Paragraph (5) and added new Subparagraphs (6) and (7) and made other minor amendments.

School district would not be justified in failing to take affirmative steps to rectify language deficiencies because the state did not provide additional funding for bilingual multicultural programs at each grade level. Neither Lau v. Nichols, 414 U.S. 563, 94 S. Ct. 786, 39 L. Ed. 2d 1 (1974), nor Serna v. Portales Mun. Schs., 499 F.2d 1147 (10th Cir. 1974) even suggests that the state is responsible for providing any such additional funds. 1976 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 76-03.

Law reviews. — For note, "Bilingual Education: Serna v. Portales Municipal Schools," see 5 N.M.L. Rev. 321 (1975).