The bill amends existing laws related to public school finance in New Mexico by establishing program units specifically for licensed school employees who hold bilingual endorsements and endorsements for teaching English to speakers of other languages (ESOL). It modifies Section 22-8-18 NMSA 1978 to include new program units for these endorsements, specifically adding "bilingual endorsement" and "teaching English to speakers of other languages endorsement" to the list of program units used for calculating program costs. The bill also removes the previous limit on the number of program units, increasing the maximum from 15 to 17.

Additionally, the bill amends Section 22-8-23.4 NMSA 1978 to outline how program units for licensed school employees with these endorsements will be calculated. It specifies that the number of program units for employees with bilingual endorsements will be determined by the number of such employees in department-approved programs, while those with ESOL endorsements will receive half the number of program units based on their employment status. The approval of these units is contingent upon verification by the school district or charter school that the employees hold the necessary endorsements and are receiving a corresponding salary differential.

Statutes affected:
introduced version: 22-8-18, 22-8-23.4