Fiscal impact reports (FIRs) are prepared by the Legislative Finance Committee (LFC) for standing finance
committees of the Legislature. LFC does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of these reports if they
are used for other purposes.
F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR Pettigrew
/Cullen
LAST UPDATED
ORIGINAL DATE 3/3/25
SHORT TITLE Study Means of Teacher Advancement
BILL
NUMBER
House Memorial
32
ANALYST Mabe
ESTIMATED ADDITIONAL OPERATING BUDGET IMPACT*
(dollars in thousands)
Agency/Program
FY25 FY26 FY27
3 Year
Total Cost
Recurring or
Nonrecurring
Fund
Affected
No fiscal impact
Parentheses ( ) indicate expenditure decreases.
*Amounts reflect most recent analysis of this legislation.
Relates to House Bill 156, House Memorial 47, Senate Bill 345
Sources of Information
LFC Files
Legislative Education Study Committee (LESC) Files
Agency Analysis was Solicited but Not Received From
Public Education Department (PED) Higher Education Department (HED)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of House Memorial 32
House Memorial 32 (HM32) requests the Public Education Department (PED) to examine the
feasibility of awarding master’s degree credits to teachers for completing microcredentials to
advance from level 1 to level 2 licensure and from level 2 to level 3-A licensure. The memorial
requires PED to report findings to the Legislative Education Study Committee (LESC) by
December 1, 2025.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
Memorials do not contain an appropriation nor are enforceable as state law. The costs are
connected to the time of working group members and could be considered a normal part of doing
business.
House Memorial 32 – Page 2
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
The current process of advancing from the 5-year nonrenewable level 1 license to the level 2
license can either be done by completing the National Board Certification (NBCT) or
Advancement Program Level (APL) Microcredentials.
Requirements for advancing via NBCT Requirements for advancing via microcredentials
Approval from the school district or charter school.
Teaching for a full three years on a level 1 license
with successful annual evaluations.
Continuing teacher recommendation form
National Board Certification in focus area.
Completing the required mentorship program.
Teaching for a full three years on a level 1 license
with successful annual evaluations.
Successful completion of the following five
microcredential courses with a minimum score of
85 percent.
Moving from a level 2 license to a level 3-A license can also be done via NBCT or APL
microcredentials.
Requirements for advancing with NBCT Requirements for advancing via microcredentials
Approval from the school district or charter school.
Teaching for a full three years on a level 2 license
with successful annual evaluations.
Continuing teacher recommendation form.
National Board Certification in focus area.
Successful completion of the following four
microcredential courses with a minimum score of
85 percent.
Teaching for a full three years on a level 2 license
with successful annual evaluations.
A master’s degree.
Although microcredentials and national board certification take considerable time, rigor, and
financial resources, they do not currently count toward master’s degree credits in higher
education. The memorial asks PED to work with teacher preparation programs at state
universities to explore the possibility of giving master’s degree credit to level 1 teachers for the
professional work required to move to level 2 and likewise for advancement to level 3.
PED transitioned to the microcredential program starting in 2022 and stopped accepting the
professional development dossier for licensure advancement in 2024. According to a 2013 paper
“Teachers’ Perceptions of New Mexico’s Three-Tiered Licensure System,” the dossier, modeled
after the National Board Certification Portfolio, was a collection of materials including study
groups, workshops, lesson plans, observations, coaching, etc. that demonstrated a teacher’s
knowledge. Despite a pass rate of about 90 percent, teachers had mixed feelings about the
process.
According to PED, a microcredential is a competency-based process made up of several small
courses. Microcredentials are often used for professional development in other states. LESC
analysis notes New Mexico and Kentucky may be the only states using them for licensure
advancement. The passing rate increased from 75 percent in early 2024 to 92 percent in late
2024. LESC analysis notes PED expects each microcredential to take 10 to 15 hours of work, but
some educators report greater time commitments.
Some universities allow students to stack microcredentials toward certificates or degrees. These
include Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Illinois, Georgia Institute of
Technology, State University of New York, Arizona State University, Standford University, and
the University of Washington.
House Memorial 32 – Page 3
The credit hour, often referred to as the Carnegie Unit, has been a measure of time in education
since 1906. It suggests that for every college credit, a student should spend about one hour in
class per week and two to three hours of work outside of class for a total of three to four hours a
week. With the average semester lasting 15-16 weeks, each credit could be calculated to be 45-
64 hours of work. So based on time alone, with the PED estimate of a microcredential of 10-15
hours, each one would be a fraction of a credit.
ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS
PED would need to partner with state universities.
CONFLICT, DUPLICATION, COMPANIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP
HM32 relates to House Bill 156, which raises minimum teacher salary by $5,000 a license tier;
House Memorial 47, which asks LESC to study public school employee compensation; and
Senate Bill 345, which allows for the completion of a teacher portfolio for level 1 licensure.
RM/hg/sgs