A. The "Indian education division" is created within the department. The secretary shall appoint an assistant secretary for Indian education, who shall direct the activities of the division and advise the secretary on development of policy regarding the education of tribal students. The assistant secretary shall also coordinate transition efforts for tribal students in public schools with the higher education department and work to expand appropriate Indian education for tribal students in preschool through grade twenty.

B. The assistant secretary shall coordinate with appropriate administrators and divisions to ensure that department administrators make implementation of the Indian Education Act a priority.

C. The secretary and the assistant secretary, in cooperation with the Indian education advisory council, shall collaborate with state and federal departments and agencies and tribal governments to identify ways such entities can assist the department in the implementation of the Indian Education Act.

D. The secretary and assistant secretary shall convene semiannual government-to-government meetings for the express purpose of receiving input on education of tribal students.

E. In accordance with the rules of the department and after consulting with the Indian education advisory council and determining the resources available within the department, the assistant secretary shall:

(1) provide assistance, including advice on allocation of resources, to school districts and tribes to improve services to meet the educational needs of tribal students based on current published indigenous best practices in education;

(2) provide assistance to school districts and New Mexico tribes in the planning, development, implementation and evaluation of curricula in native languages, culture and history designed for tribal and nontribal students as approved by New Mexico tribes;

(3) develop or select for implementation a challenging, sequential, culturally relevant curriculum to provide instruction to tribal students in pre-kindergarten through sixth grade to prepare them for pre-advanced placement and advanced placement coursework in grades seven through twelve;

(4) provide assistance to school districts, public post-secondary schools and New Mexico tribes to develop curricula and instructional materials in native languages, culture and history in conjunction and by contract with native language practitioners and tribal elders, unless the use of written language is expressly prohibited by the tribe;

(5) conduct indigenous research and evaluation for effective curricula for tribal students;

(6) collaborate with the department to provide distance learning for tribal students in public schools to the maximum limits of the department's abilities;

(7) establish, support and maintain an Indian education advisory council;

(8) enter into agreements with each New Mexico tribe or its authorized educational entity to share programmatic information and to coordinate technical assistance for public schools that serve tribal students;

(9) seek funds to establish and maintain an Indian education office in the northwest corner of the state or other geographical location to implement agreements with each New Mexico tribe or its authorized educational entity, monitor the progress of tribal students and coordinate technical assistance at the public pre-kindergarten to post-secondary schools that serve tribal students;

(10) require school districts to obtain a signature of approval by the New Mexico tribal governments or their government designees residing within school district boundaries, verifying that the New Mexico tribes agree to Indian education policies and procedures pursuant to federal requirements;

(11) seek funds to establish, develop and implement culturally relevant support services for the purposes of increasing the number of tribal teachers, administrators and principals and providing continued professional development for educational assistants, teachers and principals serving tribal students, in conjunction with the Indian education advisory council:

(a) recruitment and retention of highly qualified teachers and administrators;

(b) academic transition programs;

(c) academic financial support;

(d) teacher preparation;

(e) teacher induction; and

(f) professional development;

(12) develop curricula to provide instruction in tribal history and government and develop plans to implement these subjects into history and government courses in school districts throughout the state;

(13) ensure that native language bilingual programs are part of a school district's professional development plan, as provided in Section 22-10A-19.1 NMSA 1978; and

(14) develop a plan to establish a post-secondary investment system for tribal students to which parents, tribes and the state may contribute.

History: Laws 2003, ch. 151, § 5; 2005, ch. 299, § 2; 2007, ch. 295, § 4; 2007, ch. 296, § 4.

The 2007 amendment, effective June 15, 2007, required the assistant secretary to advise the secretary on policy regarding education of tribal students and to coordinate transition efforts for tribal students in public schools with the higher education department and to work to expand Indian education for tribal students in preschool through grade twenty; and added Subsections B through D and Paragraphs (5) and (6) of Subsection E. Laws 2007, ch. 295, § 4 enacted identical amendments to this section. The section was set out as amended by Laws 2007, ch. 296, § 4. See 12-1-8 NMSA 1978.