Panel approves statewide study of CTE instructor pipeline after amendment removes funding and deadline

The Senate Education Committee recommended a do-pass on amended House Bill 433, which tasks state agencies and partners with a statewide study of career and technical education (CTE) instructor supply, compensation and alignment with employer needs.

Representative Gonzalez, presenting HB 433 as amended, said the study will bring together the Higher Education Department (HED), the Public Education Department (PED), the Department of Workforce Solutions (DWS), and the Legislative Education Study Committee (LESC) to identify bottlenecks in the instructor pipeline — particularly at the community college level — and to examine compensation dynamics that impede recruitment.

Supporters included Scott Grabinski, deputy secretary of the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions, who said the study could help align CTE curricula with employer needs, and Alvin Warren of the Llano Foundation, who urged intentional outreach and inclusion of tribal representatives, students, educators and local workforce partners. A higher-education representative told the committee HED already collaborates with PED and community colleges on dual-credit and CTE programs but said the proposed study would “pull things together” and focus specifically on adjunct and CTE instructor salaries.

Committee members pressed on scope and implementation. Senators raised concerns that the House Finance Committee removed an appropriation and a report deadline from earlier drafts. Representative Gonzalez confirmed that an appropriation included in earlier versions was removed as a trade-off and that the amendment also removed the report deadline; she said the study will proceed without a statutory due date and that partners will produce findings “as promptly as possible.” Senator Thornton expressed concerns that removing the appropriation and deadline could hinder the ability to produce timely work suitable for budget planning.

Members also discussed federal Perkins funding and state maintenance-of-effort requirements. Witnesses told the committee Perkins funds flow to secondary and postsecondary recipients and that the state must maintain funding to continue receiving federal allocations. The bill’s supporters said the study could help the state streamline funding and better target available federal and state resources to address instructor shortages.

On the motion to recommend a do-pass for HB 433 as amended, Senator Ezell moved and Senator Nava seconded. The committee recorded a do-pass recommendation; the clerk announced six yes, three excused.

What happens next: The bill advances with committee support; committee members flagged the removal of a specific appropriation and a report deadline as issues that may require follow-up or future budget requests.