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HOUSE BILL 111
56
TH LEGISLATURE
-
STATE
OF
NEW
MEXICO
-
FIRST SESSION
,
2023
INTRODUCED BY
Pamelya Herndon
AN ACT
RELATING TO PUBLIC EDUCATION; ENACTING THE HOLOCAUST AND
GENOCIDE STUDIES ACT; PROVIDING HOLOCAUST AND GENOCIDE STUDIES
AS ELECTIVES IN CERTAIN GRADES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
SECTION 1. A new section of the Public School Code is
enacted to read:
"[NEW MATERIAL] SHORT TITLE.--Sections 1 through 6 of this
act may be cited as the "Holocaust and Genocide Studies Act"."
SECTION 2. A new section of the Public School Code is
enacted to read:
"[NEW MATERIAL] DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Holocaust and
Genocide Studies Act:
A. "council" means the Holocaust and genocide
studies council;
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B. "genocide" means crimes committed with the
intent to destroy a national, ethnic, racial or religious group
in whole or in part;
C. "Holocaust" means the systematic, bureaucratic,
state-sponsored persecution and murder of approximately six
million Jewish people and five million other persons by the
Nazi regime and its collaborators; and
D. "Holocaust and genocide studies" means courses
covering the Holocaust, genocide, other acts of mass violence
and human rights and the modern international codification of
human rights."
SECTION 3. A new section of the Public School Code is
enacted to read:
"[NEW MATERIAL] HOLOCAUST AND GENOCIDE STUDIES.--School
districts and charter schools shall provide age- and grade-
appropriate instruction about the Holocaust, genocide and human
rights for students in seventh through twelfth grade."
SECTION 4. A new section of the Public School Code is
enacted to read:
"[NEW MATERIAL] HOLOCAUST AND GENOCIDE STUDIES COUNCIL
CREATED--DUTIES.--
A. The "Holocaust and genocide studies council" is
created to advise the department, school districts and charter
schools about Holocaust and genocide studies. The council is
composed of nine members appointed by the governor who have
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expertise or interest in the Holocaust and genocide studies.
The council shall elect a chair and vice chair. The department
shall assist the council as assigned by the secretary. The
council shall meet as necessary but at least three times each
year. Members of the council who are not paid with public
money are entitled to receive per diem and mileage but shall
receive no other compensation, perquisite or allowance for
their service on the council.
B. The council shall:
(1) identify sources of instructional content
and materials that meet state academic content and performance
standards to provide and enhance Holocaust and genocide studies
for middle and high school students;
(2) identify professional development programs
and resources for teachers;
(3) promote Holocaust and genocide studies in
venues outside of public schools;
(4) make recommendations to the department on
improvements to the academic content and performance standards
for Holocaust and genocide studies;
(5) monitor public school, community and state
data on bullying, incidences of violence involving racial or
sexual animus and human rights violations and make
recommendations to the secretary, the governor and the
legislature on strategies and methods for improvements; and
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(6) submit an annual report to the governor
and legislature on the status of Holocaust and genocide studies
in the state."
SECTION 5. A new section of the Public School Code is
enacted to read:
"[NEW MATERIAL] HOLOCAUST AND GENOCIDE STUDIES ACADEMIC
CONTENT AND PERFORMANCE STANDARDS.--The department, in
consultation with the council, shall develop academic content
and performance standards for Holocaust and genocide studies
to:
A. prepare students to confront the immorality of
the Holocaust, genocide, other acts of mass violence and human
rights violations and to reflect on the causes of related
historical events;
B. teach the breadth of the history of the
Holocaust, including the Third Reich dictatorship and its
concentration camp system, the attempt to exterminate every
Jewish person in occupied Europe and the persecution of Jewish
people and non-Jewish people, Jewish and non-Jewish resistance
and post-World War II trials;
C. promote students' understanding of the term
"genocide", coined to describe the intent behind the Holocaust;
the United Nations' 1948 Convention on the Prevention and
Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, the treaty that was
intended to prevent future genocides; and the genocides that
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have continued since that landmark international law;
D. develop students' respect for cultural diversity
and help students gain insight into the importance of the
protection of international human rights for all people;
E. communicate the impact of personal
responsibility, civic engagement and societal responses;
F. stimulate students' reflection on the roles and
responsibilities of citizens in democratic societies to combat
misinformation, indifference and discrimination through
development of critical thinking skills and through tools of
resistance such as protest, reform and celebration;
G. provide students with opportunities to
contextualize and analyze patterns of human behavior by
individuals and groups that belong in one or more categories,
including perpetrator, collaborator, bystander, victim and
rescuer;
H. enable students to understand the ramifications
of prejudice, racism and stereotyping;
I. preserve the memories of survivors of genocide
and provide opportunities for students to discuss and honor
survivors' cultural legacies;
J. provide students with a foundation for examining
the history of discrimination and atrocities in New Mexico; and
K. explore the various mechanisms of transitional
and restorative justice that help humanity move forward in the
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aftermath of genocide."
SECTION 6. A new section of the Public School Code is
enacted to read:
"[NEW MATERIAL] PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT--REPORTING.--
A. Each school district and charter school shall
provide professional development opportunities for teachers in
seventh through twelfth grades that provide Holocaust and
genocide studies.
B. The department shall report annually to the
council:
(1) the number of public schools offering age-
and grade-appropriate elective Holocaust and genocide studies;
and
(2) the number of elective courses offered,
the grade levels at which age- and grade-appropriate courses
are offered and the number and grades of students who take the
courses."
SECTION 7. Section 22-13-1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2003,
Chapter 153, Section 57, as amended by Laws 2016, Chapter 17,
Section 1 and by Laws 2016, Chapter 18, Section 1) is amended
to read:
"22-13-1. SUBJECT AREAS--MINIMUM INSTRUCTIONAL AREAS
REQUIRED--ACCREDITATION.--
A. The department shall require public schools to
address department-approved academic content and performance
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standards when instructing in specific department-required
subject areas as provided in this section. A public school or
school district failing to meet these minimum requirements
shall not be accredited by the department.
B. All kindergarten through third grade classes
shall provide daily instruction in reading and language arts
skills, including phonemic awareness, phonics and
comprehension, and in mathematics. Students in kindergarten
and first grades shall be screened and monitored for progress
in reading and language arts skills, and students in second
grade shall take diagnostic tests on reading and language arts
skills.
C. All first, second and third grade classes shall
provide instruction in art, music and a language other than
English, and instruction that meets content and performance
standards shall be provided in science, social studies,
physical education and health education.
D. In fourth through eighth grades, instruction
that meets academic content and performance standards shall be
provided in the following subject areas:
(1) reading and language arts skills, with an
emphasis on writing and editing for at least one year and an
emphasis on grammar and writing for at least one year;
(2) mathematics;
(3) language other than English;
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(4) communication skills;
(5) science;
(6) art;
(7) music;
(8) social studies;
(9) New Mexico history;
(10) United States history;
(11) geography;
(12) physical education; and
(13) health education.
E. Beginning with the 2008-2009 school year, in
eighth grade, algebra 1 shall be offered in regular classroom
settings or through online courses or agreements with high
schools.
F. In fourth through eighth grades, school
districts shall offer electives that contribute to academic
growth and skill development and provide career and technical
education. In sixth through eighth grades, media literacy may
be offered as an elective. Beginning with the 2024-2025 school
year, in seventh and eighth grades, Holocaust and genocide
studies may be offered as an elective.
G. In ninth through twelfth grades, instruction
that meets academic content and performance standards shall be
provided in health education.
H. All health education courses shall include:
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(1) age-appropriate sexual abuse and assault
awareness and prevention training that meets department
standards developed in consultation with the federal centers
for disease control and prevention that are based on evidence-
based methods that have proven to be effective; and
(2) lifesaving skills training that follows
nationally recognized guidelines for hands-on psychomotor
skills cardiopulmonary resuscitation training. Students shall
be trained to recognize the signs of a heart attack, use an
automated external defibrillator and perform the Heimlich
maneuver for choking victims. The secretary shall promulgate
rules to provide for the:
(a) use of the following instructors for
the training provided pursuant to this paragraph: 1) school
nurses, health teachers and athletic department personnel as
instructors; and 2) any qualified persons volunteering to
provide training at no cost to the school district that the
school district determines to be eligible to offer instruction
pursuant to this paragraph; and
(b) approval of training and
instructional materials related to the training established
pursuant to this paragraph in both English and Spanish."
SECTION 8. Section 22-13-1.1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1986,
Chapter 33, Section 5, as amended) is amended to read:
"22-13-1.1. GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS.--
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A. At the end of grades eight through eleven, each
student shall prepare an interim next-step plan that sets forth
the coursework for the grades remaining until high school
graduation. Each year's plan shall explain any differences
from previous interim next-step plans, shall be filed with the
principal of the student's high school and shall be signed by
the student, the student's parent and the student's guidance
counselor or other school official charged with coursework
planning for the student.
B. Each student must complete a final next-step
plan during the senior year and prior to graduation. The plan
shall be filed with the principal of the student's high school
and shall be signed by the student, the student's parent and
the student's guidance counselor or other school official
charged with coursework planning for the student.
C. An individualized education program that meets
the requirements of Subsections A and B of this section and
that meets all applicable transition and procedural
requirements of the federal Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act for a student with a disability shall satisfy the
next-step plan requirements of this section for that student.
D. A local school board shall ensure that each high
school student has the opportunity to develop a next-step plan
based on reports of college and workplace readiness
assessments, as available, and other factors and is reasonably
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informed about:
(1) curricular and course options, including
honors or advanced placement courses, dual-credit courses,
distance learning courses, career clusters and career pathways,
pre-apprenticeship programs or remediation programs that the
college and workplace readiness assessments indicate to be
appropriate;
(2) opportunities available that lead to
different post-high-school options; and
(3) alternative opportunities available if the
student does not finish a planned curriculum.
E. The secretary shall:
(1) establish specific accountability
standards for administrators, counselors, teachers and school
district staff to ensure that every student has the opportunity
to develop a next-step plan;
(2) promulgate rules for accredited private
schools in order to ensure substantial compliance with the
provisions of this section;
(3) monitor compliance with the requirements
of this section; and
(4) compile such information as is necessary
to evaluate the success of next-step plans and report annually,
by December 15, to the legislative education study committee
and the governor.
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F. Once a student has entered ninth grade, the
graduation requirements shall not be changed for that student
from the requirements specified in the law at the time the
student entered ninth grade.
G. Successful completion of a minimum of twenty-
three units aligned to the state academic content and
performance standards shall be required for graduation. These
units shall be as follows:
(1) four units in English, with major emphasis
on grammar and literature;
(2) three units in mathematics, at least one
of which is equivalent to the algebra 1 level or higher;
(3) two units in science, one of which shall
have a laboratory component; provided, however, that with
students entering the ninth grade beginning in the 2005-2006
school year, three units in science shall be required, one of
which shall have a laboratory component;
(4) three units in social science, which shall
include United States history and geography, world history and
geography and government and economics;
(5) one unit in physical education;
(6) one unit in communication skills or
business education, with a major emphasis on writing and
speaking and that may include a language other than English;
(7) one-half unit in New Mexico history for
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students entering the ninth grade beginning in the 2005-2006
school year; and
(8) nine elective units and seven and one-half
elective units for students entering the ninth grade in the
2005-2006 school year that meet department content and
performance standards. Student service learning shall be
offered as an elective. Financial literacy shall be offered as
an elective. Pre-apprenticeship programs may be offered as
electives. Media literacy may be offered as an elective.
H. For students entering the ninth grade beginning
in the 2009-2010 school year, at least one of the units
required for graduation shall be earned as an advanced
placement or honors course, a dual-credit course offered in
cooperation with an institution of higher education or a
distance learning course.
I. The department shall establish a procedure for
students to be awarded credit through completion of specified
career technical education courses for certain graduation
requirements, and districts may choose to allow students who
successfully complete an industry-recognized credential,
certificate or degree to receive additional weight in the
calculation of the student's grade point average.
J. Successful completion of the requirements of the
New Mexico diploma of excellence shall be required for
graduation for students entering the ninth grade beginning in
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the 2009-2010 school year. Successful completion of a minimum
of twenty-four units aligned to the state academic content and
performance standards shall be required to earn a New Mexico
diploma of excellence. These units shall be as follows:
(1) four units in English, with major emphasis
on grammar, nonfiction writing and literature; provided that
department-approved work-based training or career and technical
education courses that meet state English academic content and
performance standards shall qualify as one of the four required
English units;
(2) four units in mathematics, of which one
shall be the equivalent to or higher than the level of algebra
2, unless the parent submitted written, signed permission for
the student to complete a lesser mathematics unit; and provided
that a financial literacy course or department-approved work-
based training or career and technical education course that
meets state mathematics academic content and performance
standards shall qualify as one of the four required mathematics
units;
(3) three units in science, two of which shall
have a laboratory component; provided that department-approved
work-based training or career and technical education courses
that meet state science academic content and performance
standards shall qualify as one of the three required science
units;
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(4) three and one-half units in social
science, which shall include United States history and
geography, world history and geography, government and
economics and one-half unit of New Mexico history;
(5) one unit in physical education, as
determined by each school district, which may include a
physical education program that meets state content and
performance standards or participation in marching band, junior
reserve officers' training corps or interscholastic sports
sanctioned by the New Mexico activities association or any
other co-curricular physical activity;
(6) one unit in one of the following: a
career cluster course, workplace readiness or a language other
than English; and
(7) seven and one-half elective units that
meet department content and performance standards. Career and
technical education courses shall be offered as an elective.
Student service learning shall be offered as an elective.
Financial literacy shall be offered as an elective. Pre-
apprenticeship programs may be offered as electives. Media
literacy may be offered as an elective.
K. For students entering the eighth grade in the
2012-2013 school year, a course in health education is required
prior to graduation. Health education may be required in
either middle school or high school, as determined by the
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school district. Each school district shall submit to the
department by the beginning of the 2011-2012 school year a
health education implementation plan for the 2012-2013 and
subsequent school years, including in which grade health
education will be required and how the course aligns with
department content and performance standards. Health education
courses shall include:
(1) age-appropriate sexual abuse and assault
awareness and prevention training that meets department
standards developed in consultation with the federal centers
for disease control and prevention that are based on evidence-
based methods that have proven to be effective; and
(2) lifesaving skills training that follows
nationally recognized guidelines for hands-on psychomotor
skills cardiopulmonary resuscitation training. Students shall
be trained to recognize the signs of a heart attack, use an
automated external defibrillator and perform the Heimlich
maneuver for choking victims. The secretary shall promulgate
rules to provide for the:
(a) use of the following instructors for
the training provided pursuant to this paragraph: 1) school
nurses, health teachers and athletic department personnel as
instructors; and 2) any qualified persons volunteering to
provide training at no cost to the school district that the
school district determines to be eligible to offer instruction
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pursuant to this paragraph; and
(b) approval of training and
instructional materials related to the training established
pursuant to this paragraph in both English and Spanish.
L. For students entering the ninth grade in the
2017-2018 school year and subsequent school years:
(1) one of the units in mathematics required
by Paragraph (2) of Subsection J of this section may comprise a
computer science course if taken after the student demonstrates
competence in mathematics and if the course is not used to
satisfy any part of the requirement set forth in Paragraph (3)
of that subsection; and
(2) one of the units in science required by
Paragraph (3) of Subsection J of this section may comprise a
computer science course if taken after the student demonstrates
competence in science and if the course is not used to satisfy
any part of the requirement set forth in Paragraph (2) of that
subsection.
M. For students entering the ninth grade in the
2024-2025 school year, Holocaust and genocide studies shall be
offered as an elective.
[M.] N. Final examinations shall be administered to
all students in all classes offered for credit.
[N.] O. Until July 1, 2010, a student who has not
passed a state graduation examination in the subject areas of
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reading, English, mathematics, writing, science and social
science shall not receive a high school diploma. The state
graduation examination on social science shall include a
section on the constitution of the United States and the
constitution of New Mexico. If a student exits from the school
system at the end of grade twelve without having passed a state
graduation examination, the student shall receive an
appropriate state certificate indicating the number of credits
earned and the grade completed. If within five years after a
student exits from the school system the student takes and
passes the state graduation examination, the student may
receive a high school diploma. Any student passing the state
graduation examination and completing all other requirements
within five years of entering ninth grade, including a final
summer session if completed by August 1, may be counted by the
school system in which the student is enrolled as a high school
graduate for the year in which completion and examination
occur.
[O.] P. Beginning with the 2010-2011 school year, a
student shall not receive a New Mexico diploma of excellence if
the student has not demonstrated competence in the subject
areas of mathematics, reading and language arts, writing,
social studies and science, including a section on the
constitution of the United States and the constitution of New
Mexico, based on a standards-based assessment or assessments or
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a portfolio of standards-based indicators established by the
department by rule. The standards-based assessments required
in Section 22-2C-4 NMSA 1978 may also serve as the assessment
required for high school graduation. If a student exits from
the school system at the end of grade twelve without having
satisfied the requirements of this subsection, the student
shall receive an appropriate state certificate indicating the
number of credits earned and the grade completed. If within
five years after a student exits from the school system the
student satisfies the requirements of this subsection, the
student may receive a New Mexico diploma of excellence. Any
student satisfying the requirements of this subsection and
completing all other requirements within five years of entering
ninth grade, including a final summer session if completed by
August 1, may be counted by the school system in which the
student is enrolled as a high school graduate for the year in
which all requirements are satisfied.
[P.] Q. As used in this section:
(1) "career and technical education",
sometimes referred to as "vocational education", means
organized programs offering a sequence of courses, including
technical education and applied technology education, that are
directly related to the preparation of individuals for paid or
unpaid employment in current or emerging occupations requiring
an industry-recognized credential, certificate or degree;
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(2) "career and technical education course"
means a course with content that provides technical knowledge,
skills and competency-based applied learning and that aligns
with educational standards and expectations as defined in rule;
(3) "career cluster" means a grouping of
occupations in industry sectors based on recognized
commonalities that provide an organizing tool for developing
instruction within the educational system;
(4) "career pathways" means a sub-grouping
used as an organizing tool for curriculum design and
instruction of occupations and career specialities that share a
set of common knowledge and skills for career success;
(5) "final next-step plan" means a next-step
plan that shows that the student has committed or intends to
commit in the near future to a four-year college or university,
a two-year college, a trade or vocational program, an
internship or apprenticeship, military service or a job;
(6) "interim next-step plan" means an annual
next-step plan in which the student specifies post-high-school
goals and sets forth the coursework that will allow the student
to achieve those goals; and
(7) "next-step plan" means an annual personal
written plan of studies developed by a student in a public
school or other state-supported school or institution in
consultation with the student's parent and school counselor or
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other school official charged with coursework planning for the
student that includes one or more of the following:
(a) advanced placement or honors
courses;
(b) dual-credit courses offered in
cooperation with an institution of higher education;
(c) distance learning courses;
(d) career-technical courses; and
(e) pre-apprenticeship programs.
[Q.] R. The secretary may establish a policy to
provide for administrative interpretations to clarify
curricular and testing provisions of the Public School Code."
SECTION 9. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the
provisions of this act is July 1, 2023.
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