PURPOSE OF 2008 EDUCATION REFORM.--
A. The legislature finds that education reform in New Mexico has been a multiyear process that began in 1999 with the creation of the education initiatives and accountability task force. That task force reported the results of its work to the 2001 legislative session, and the legislature passed a bill that was subsequently vetoed by the governor. In 2003, the legislature again passed the bill, commonly referred to as "House Bill 212", and the governor signed it. That bill enacted the first part of education reform, which was based on the need to attract and retain highly qualified teachers to teach New Mexico's multicultural student population and to hold teachers and administrators accountable for student success. That educational reform recognized the importance of integrating the cultural strengths of New Mexico into the curriculum with high expectations for all students. In 2007, the legislature and governor addressed the need for a rigorous and relevant high school curriculum, as expressed in House Bill 212, by enacting what is popularly known as "high school redesign". The goal of that legislation is to prepare students for success in college and the workplace.
B. The legislature finds that the next step toward true educational reform was taken in 2005, when the legislature passed, and the governor signed, legislation to appoint a task force of legislators and educators to direct an independent study of the state's funding formula.
C. The purpose of this 2008 act is to establish a new, simplified funding formula for public schools that is based on student need, grade composition and scale of operations for school districts and charter schools. The formula, and the attendant accountability that is provided, strengthen the goals of the overall education reform begun in House Bill 212 and specified in Section 22-1-1.2 NMSA 1978.