A public school budget expert told New Mexico lawmakers on Thursday that the federal government is likely to take away money meant for students who are learning English, but said a new state law will help compensate for the loss.
Legislative Education Study Committee Senior Fiscal Analyst Daniel Estupiñan said the federal funding for K-12 public education most at risk of being cut is meant for students who are English language learners and their teachers, called Title III, because the Trump administration has “mostly hollowed out” the Office of English Language Acquisition, which ensured states and schools properly spent Title III money, and has recommended terminating its funding source. The office had just one staffer remaining as of March 21, Chalkbeat reported.
“So many nonprofits, so many other states, are basically going into a panic,” Estupiñan told the committee. “They’re panicking about their public school funding formulas not being responsive enough to potentially support English learners, to potentially support low-income students and support professional development in basic programs.”
Overall, New Mexico will receive more than $633 million from the U.S. Department of Education for K-12 public education this year, according to estimates included in Estupiñan’s presentation to the committee.
The Trump administration’s preliminary budget proposal proposed keeping the same level of funding for low-income students and students with disabilities, while also cutting $4.5 billion in the various “formula awards” that go to public schools, according to Estupiñan’s presentation.
Estupiñan said the proposal calls for redesigning the federal funding scheme for K-12 schools, and changing to a block grant system in which states would receive one large pot of money without as many rules governing how to spend it.
How much money the federal government actually provides to schools will depend on the final budget passed by Congress.
If left untouched, New Mexico may receive $4.7 million in English language learning funds that can pay for teacher training, family engagement and instructional materials, Estupiñan said.
Estupiñan said the state could, however, navigate losing federal funding as a result of House Bill 63, which reduces the state’s reliance on federal data.
Instead, starting on July 1, New Mexico’s funding formula for English learners will use state income tax data, public benefits data and U.S. Census Bureau data.
“So we’re not completely independent from federal data, but we’re moving in the direction of basically data autonomy,” Estupiñan said.
That change will result in about $125 million flowing to districts and charter schools, and that money can be used to backfill a potential cut, he said.
HB63 also created the first guidance New Mexico has ever had for how money should be used to specifically support English learners, he said.
“So if we see the elimination of Title III funding, or we see some revocation of federal protections through rule or statute for English learners, we now have a good foundation in state statute to build on,” Estupiñan said.
This story originally published online at sourcenm.com and was reprinted with permission
