State Profiles

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2004		In April, Lt. Gov. Denish and Think New Mexico begin the pre-k campaign by conducting preliminary research on pre-k policy and funding issues. During the summer, Lt. Gov. Denish and her staff work within Gov. Richardson's administration to gain consensus on policy issues related to pre-k. They begin several outreach efforts to draw on expertise from the private provider community and early childhood education advocates. A coalition is formed in support of pre-k, including Think New Mexico, business groups, and stakeholders. The pre-k initiative is endorsed by the lieutenant governor, governor, and New Mexico Children's Cabinet. The Legislative Education Study Committee and the Children's Cabinet charge the New Mexico Child Development Board with establishing an Early Learning Plan for New Mexico. Early learning experts from throughout the state develop the plan based on many years of work, dialogue, and research. In August, Lt. Gov. Denish meets one-on-one with key legislators, education officials, and children's advocates to address the initial policy and political questions, preparing the draft policy proposal for pre-k and winning bipartisan support for the launch of the campaign. The governor, lieutenant governor, and the Children's Cabinet formally announce in September the initiative to make high-quality, voluntary pre-k accessible to all of New Mexico's four year olds. A week later, Think New Mexico releases a report outlining a strategy to fund high-quality, voluntary pre-k for all four year olds without raising taxes. The report advocates for re-allocating funds from support services and administration to pre-k classrooms. The lieutenant governor and the Children's Cabinet continue to travel the state throughout October and meet with children's advocacy groups such as New Mexico Voices for Children, Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, the Catholic Conference of New Mexico, the Human Needs Coordinating Council, teachers' unions, and local governments, including Indian nations. In November, interim legislative committees meet and discuss pre-k, tentatively earmarking $4 million to fund the first year of the program. Coalition-building and grassroots organizing across the state continues. In December, legislation is drafted and vetted by coalition members. Coalition partner Fight Crime: Invest in Kids releases its report on how pre-k will reduce crime in New Mexico, and New Mexico law enforcement joins the coalition.
2005		Legislation is introduced in the state house by Representative Rick Miera and in the state senate by Senator Cynthia Nava. On March 18, after passing through several committees in both chambers, the New Mexico Pre-Kindergarten Act passes the House by a vote of 37-29 and the Senate by a vote of 22-18. The new legislation appropriates $5 million for a pilot pre-k program for New Mexico's at-risk children and lays the framework for expansion toward pre-k for all. The legislature also calls for a rigorous evaluation of the new pilot to be conducted after the first year of the program.
2006		During a brief 30-day session, the legislature votes in March to expand the New Mexico Pre-K pilot program, adding $8 million in recurring funds for the pre-k program; $1.5 million for one-time start-up costs for developmentally appropriate equipment and classroom safety improvements; $4 million to plan, design, construct, equip and furnish pre-k classrooms statewide; and, a request to study the feasibility of creating an office of school readiness.
2007		Governor Richardson proposes to add $8 million to New Mexico Pre-K, plus an additional $7.5 million for start-up grants and $5 million in capital funds. The legislature adds only $6 million in pre-k funding and $3 million for capital. The National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) releases the findings of the New Mexico Pre-K program evaluation, indicating that children showed gains in vocabulary, math skills and print concepts far greater than the gains of children without the program. Children who attended New Mexico Pre-K before entering kindergarten knew more letters, more letter-sound associations and were more familiar with words and book concepts.
2008		Governor Richardson again proposes to expand New Mexico Pre-K, adding an additional $9 million in new funding. New Mexico is recognized by NIEER as having one of the highest quality pre-k programs in the country, meeting 9 out of 10 qualty benchmarks in the 2007 State of Preschool Yearbook.

Governor Bill Richardson has made it a priority for his administration to make high-quality, voluntary pre-k accessible to all of New Mexico's four-year-olds.

Lt. Governor Diane Denish chairs the Children's Cabinet, which led the charge to create the pre-k legislation that passed in the 2005 session. Due to the over-arching approach of the Children's Cabinet, it has received national attention.

New Mexico Association for the Education of Young Children joined with the New Mexico Child Care Association (NMCCA), The New Mexico Head Start Association (NMHSA), and Parents Reaching Out (PRO) to form the New Mexico Early Childhood Alliance (ECA). The ECA will focus on increasing the quality and funding of the New Mexico Pre-K Program.

New Mexico Business Roundtable for Educational Excellence adds pre-k to their legislative agenda and engages business leaders from across the state in pre-k advocacy.

• Administration officials and coalition members will monitor the implementation to ensure that the pre-k classes are high-quality and that they meet standards for facilities and teacher training.
• The New Mexico Business Roundtable and the Early Childhood Alliance will advocate for recurring pre-k funding to make pre-k available for all, and for more funding to upgrade teacher training and college degree requirements.