Albuquerque Public Schools
2018 APS Board of Education Resolution for Bilingual Education
Board of Education
Albuquerque Public Schools – Albuquerque, New Mexico
Resolution
Providing that the Albuquerque Public Schools Board of Education enter its appearance and indicate its support of a motion in support of current bilingual education models and programs implemented in New Mexico school districts.
Whereas, Albuquerque Public Schools supports five bilingual education models: dual language, enrichment, heritage language, maintenance and transitional; and
Whereas, the five bilingual education models provide the ability for a local school to determine the best educational program for each individual student who may be an English Language Learner and/or a student exploring language acquisition in a language other than English; and
Whereas, instituting a draconian approach to terminate bilingual program funding based on standardized assessment scores may lead to missed opportunities for the Public Education Department and local school districts to address strengths and weaknesses of bilingual programs that are necessary to serve local student needs; and
Whereas, the integration of Indigenous languages in school bilingual programs is critical to the overall success of Native American students; and
Whereas, meaningful consultation and collaboration with tribes, community, and other education stakeholders is the foundation for local school districts and the Public Education Department to enact bilingual education programs that preserve the culture of our local communities and cultivates the skills students need;
Therefore, be it resolved that the Albuquerque Public Schools respectfully request that any future amendments to regulations related to bilingual education programs only be adopted after robust collaboration with and agreement from tribes, school districts and other education stakeholders; and
Be it further resolved that the legislature and the executive recognize the importance of bilingual education programs in our local schools; and
Be it further resolved that copies of this resolution be transmitted to the New Mexico School Boards Association.