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Committee advances high-impact tutoring bill after amendments; funding reduced in discussion
Summary
A Senate Finance Committee cleared a bill to fund high-impact tutoring programs after adopting a substitute and an amendment that narrowed eligibility. Committee and witnesses discussed program design, vendor approval, volunteer inclusion and estimated annual costs between $5 million and $7 million under the substitute language.
The Senate Finance Committee voted to advance legislation authorizing high-impact tutoring for students in the state’s lowest-performing quartile, adopting a substitute and a technical amendment before recommending the bill for passage.
Amanda Adegone, executive director of New Mexico Kids Can, told the committee the substitute language was drafted to preserve flexibility for districts: "If a district would like to use their own staff to provide high impact tutoring, they may do so. And if they don't have that capacity and they'd like to contract with a high quality vendor, they may do so." JD Bullington, speaking for the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, cited national studies linking high-impact tutoring to large test-score gains.
Committee members pressed on eligibility, provider definitions and cost. Senator Padilla asked whether the committee's file showed a do-pass or earlier recommendation; senators clarified there had been a substitute in the education committee. Senator Trujillo and others raised concerns about the definition of "high-quality tutor" and whether volunteer groups such as Santa Fe’s Math Amigos would be eligible.
Senators and sponsors revised the bill in committee to remove the word "licensed" from the requirement for tutors and to rely on Public Education Department (PED) approval of providers, with the stated intent to allow non-licensed but approved tutors. The sponsor said PED already maintains lists of vendors from prior pilots and contracts.
Fiscal discussion shifted from an initial $35 million-per-year estimate tied to earlier language to a smaller estimate under the substitute. The sponsor told the committee the earlier $35,000,000 figure came from broader eligibility in the original bill, but with the substitute identifying the bottom quartile only, "we are pretty confident that where the budget is now, there's enough money to start tutoring for these students." Committee discussion cited an estimated range of $5 million to $7 million annually under the current substitute depending on contracting choices.
Senators asked for floor amendment language to ensure volunteer or nonprofit providers could participate; sponsors indicated willingness to draft clarifying language. The committee approved the substitute and a related amendment and voted to move the bill forward. The final committee roll call recorded 7 in favor and 0 opposed.
The committee discussion included references to prior PED pilot contracting (approximately $5 million) and an intent to start with a smaller eligible cohort and expand based on results. Implementation details — including contracting rules, vendor approval processes, and ongoing funding plans — were discussed but not finalized in committee. The bill will move forward to the next legislative stage.
