LESC previews 11 endorsed education proposals including STEM center, CTE credential incentives and teacher pay increases

SANTA FE — Staff for the Legislative Education Study Committee briefed the Senate Education Committee Monday on an "education budgets 101" primer and a set of 11 bipartisan bills LESC endorsed for the 2025 legislative session.

Jessica Hathaway, deputy director of LESC, opened the committee briefing and said the packet included an overview of funding terminology — "above the line" (the State Equalization Guarantee), categorical or "middle of the line" appropriations, and "below the line" nonrecurring items — and links to data dashboards and district profiles.

LESC staff summarized 11 endorsed measures. Several have bill numbers and sponsors; others were still being drafted at the time of the meeting. Summaries provided to the committee include:

- House Bill 63 — Public school funding formula changes (sponsors: Rep. Andres Romero, Sen. President Pro Tem Stewart). Replaces the Title I/mobility/EL at‑risk index with a family income index, adds a standalone English‑learner factor, and raises the secondary student weight (see separate article on HB63).

- House Memorial 2 — Study of artificial intelligence use and data governance (sponsors: Rep. Garrett Baca and Rep. Gorilla). Asks LESC to study education‑related data governance and report by Oct. 31, 2025.

- Senate Bill 64 — School career development success project (sponsor: Sen. Brandt; co‑sponsor Rep. Gorilla). Creates incentives for districts and charter schools when students earn industry‑recognized credentials and tasks PED with establishing a tiered funding system. The bill defines industry‑recognized credentials by employer recognition.

- Senate Bill 82 — Public school capital outlay changes (sponsor: Chairman Bill Soles). Extends and modifies recent local match relief to accelerate capital projects and sunsets the relief after several years.

- Senate Bill 102 — Study of a universal basic income (sponsor: Chairman Soles). Directs study of cash supports tied to early childhood interventions and the feasibility of prenatal‑to‑age‑1 cash transfers to reduce early childhood trauma.

- Senate Bill 107 — NMSU STEM center of excellence (sponsor: Sen. Harold Pope Jr.). Establishes a three‑year pilot to coordinate STEM resources statewide, create regional and tribal hubs and provide an appropriation; LESC staff listed a $6,000,000 appropriation in the budget recommendation (about $2,000,000 per year during the pilot).

- Administrator preparation and licensure changes (no bill number at time of meeting). Would create separate licensure pathways for principals and superintendents and strengthen preparation; current principals and superintendents would be grandfathered.

- Restraint and seclusion changes (no bill number at time of meeting). Would clarify and expand statutory definitions (restraint, seclusion, time‑out, physical escort) and strengthen protections for students disproportionately affected.

- Teacher minimum salary increase (no bill number at time of meeting). Would raise tiered minimum teacher salaries by $5,000 across existing levels (for example, from $50,000 to $55,000 for entry tiers), with mechanics involving flat increases plus additional funds to meet new minimums.

- Minimum annual salary for all public school personnel (no bill number at time of meeting). Proposes a $30,000 minimum annual salary for all public school employees, including educational assistants, custodians and cafeteria staff.

- Expand LESC remit to early childhood and higher education (no bill number at time of meeting). Would expand the committee’s statutory scope beyond K‑12 (excluding educator prep programs, which already have LESC oversight) to include early childhood and higher education; LESC noted similar bills were vetoed in prior sessions.

Hathaway emphasized staff availability for technical briefings and pointed senators to the packet's QR codes linking to LESC reports and a district data dashboard. “If there's a topic you've got a question on, we probably have a document on it,” she said.

Senators asked procedural and policy questions during the organizational meeting: Senator Ant Thornton requested a technical meeting on HB63 spreadsheets; Senator Nellie Ezell asked about tracking formerly incarcerated students and subsequent enrollment, and staff noted juvenile education programs and adult‑education pathways operate under different funding and program authorities.

No formal votes took place on any bills during the organizational meeting. LESC staff said many of the endorsed measures would be the subject of committee hearings, fiscal analyses and bill drafts in the coming days and weeks.