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Committee gives due pass to bill enabling tribal compact schools for language immersion
Summary
Senate Bill 13, the State Tribal Education Compact School Act substitute, cleared the Senate Education Committee with broad tribal support. The measure would allow tribes to run compact schools prioritizing tribal language, culture and tribally defined standards; proponents tied the bill to language preservation and educational sovereignty.
Senate Bill 13, a substitute measure to create State Tribal Education Compact Schools, received a due‑pass recommendation from the Senate Education Committee after lengthy testimony from tribal officials, supporters and education advocates.
Sponsor Senator Benny Shindo framed the bill as a response to historic federal boarding‑school policies that decimated indigenous languages and as a vehicle to restore tribal control over education in tribal communities. Governor George Hammis of the Pueblo of Jemez and Kevin Shendo, Jemez’s education director, described the tribe’s ongoing immersion work: the Jemez Pueblo transitioned its Head Start program to full immersion beginning in 2012 (realized in 2016), pursued a teacher‑licensure pilot with the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo, and opened a dedicated early‑childhood immersion center in 2022. “We are here in 2025 once again promoting and supporting the passage of Senate Bill 13 … as a means of prioritizing our native language and further strengthening true tribal ownership over the education of our Children,” Governor Hammis said.
Multiple tribal governments and tribal organizations testified in favor. James Mountain, chairman of the All Pueblo Council of Governors, and a string of Pueblo representatives and advocates — including Alicia Carrice (Santo Domingo Pueblo), Conroy Sheena (Taos and Acoma Pueblos, and the Center on Law and Poverty), and representatives from other pueblos and tribal education groups — urged committee members to pass the substitute to preserve language and culture and to exercise tribal education sovereignty. Transform Education New Mexico and other advocates linked the bill to the state’s obligations in the Yazzie‑Martinez litigation and to culturally sustaining learning environments.
Concerns and clarifications: The New Mexico School Board Association said it had no formal position but warned the measure could affect the State Equalization Guarantee (SEG) funding pool; that issue and others (including definitions of “capacity” and rules around sectarian practices) were discussed and flagged for technical fixes. Committee members asked whether compact schools would comply with federal nondiscrimination and special education law; tribal representatives and an education director answered the committee that the intent is to provide services to all students and to incorporate federal requirements and supports in compact operations.
Why it matters: The substitute creates a pathway for tribes to operate public schools on tribal lands under a state compact model (similar to compacts in Washington and Alaska), with authority over standards, curriculum and assessments defined by the tribe. Proponents said compact schools are a tool for language preservation and for meeting educational needs identified in state court rulings.
Vote and next steps: The committee voted to report the substitute with a due‑pass recommendation; the motion passed on a roll call. Sponsors and tribal leaders noted the bill has been through prior vetting (an earlier SB482 in 2023) and that technical amendments may follow on definitions and implementing details.
Ending: The bill advances in the session with strong tribal support and outstanding technical questions about funding flows, capacity definitions and nondiscrimination language for resolution in subsequent drafting stages.
