PED MICRO-CREDENTIALING PILOT PROJECT

SB0158

SENATE BILL 158

57th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2026

INTRODUCED BY

Harold Pope

AN ACT

RELATING TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS; CREATING THE MICRO-CREDENTIAL PILOT
PROJECT IN THE PUBLIC EDUCATION DEPARTMENT; PROVIDING
REQUIREMENTS FOR DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING THE PROJECT;
ASSIGNING DUTIES; MAKING AN APPROPRIATION.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

SECTION 1.
A new section of the Public School Code is
enacted to read:

"[
NEW MATERIAL
] MICRO-CREDENTIAL PILOT PROJECT--ELIGIBILITY--APPLICATION--REPORTING AND EVALUATION.--

A. As used in this section:

(1) "equity-centered instruction" means
instruction aligned with the Martinez-Yazzie decision and
includes culturally and linguistically responsive practices,
equity literacy and strengths-based approaches in serving
bilingual students, English language learners, Native American
students and other historically underserved student groups;

(2) "equity-centered leadership" means school
leadership that aligns with the Martinez-Yazzie decision and
includes culturally and linguistically responsive practices,
bilingual and multicultural program implementation, family and
tribal engagement, data-informed and equitable decision making
and supporting equity-centered instruction;

(3) "Martinez-Yazzie decision" means the final
judgment issued in the
Martinez and Yazzie, et al., v. the
State of New Mexico
consolidated lawsuit;

(4) "micro-credential" means a certification
that recognizes a person's competency in a particular topic
based on the person's completion of short performance-based
professional development courses; and

(5) "project" means the micro-credential pilot
project.

B. The "micro-credential pilot project" is created
as a five-year pilot project in the department to demonstrate
that expanding the issuance of micro-credentials aligned with
the Martinez-Yazzie decision to site administrators and
teachers through targeted professional development will improve
administrator and teacher retention and student outcomes by
advancing culturally and linguistically responsive education
and by strengthening equity-centered leadership and
instruction.

C. The project shall be implemented in the
following three phases:

(1) phase one of the project is the
department's development of micro-credential pathways for site
administrators and teachers; provided that:

(a) each pathway shall require
competency of each micro-credential in an appropriate sequence;

(b) the site administrator pathway shall
focus on equity-centered leadership and be delivered through a
cohort model that supports collaborative learning and practice;
and

(c) the teacher pathway shall focus on
equity-centered instruction;

(2) phase two of the project is the
department's validation of the developed pathways, which shall
include testing the micro-credential pathways with and
gathering feedback from representative cohorts of at least
fifty site administrators and at least fifty teachers; and

(3) phase three of the project shall be
statewide implementation of the project.

D. Statewide implementation of the project shall
begin in the 2028-2029 school year. During the first year of
statewide implementation, up to eighty site administrators may
enroll in the site administrator pathway and up to four hundred
licensed teachers may enroll in the teacher pathway. During
the second year of statewide implementation, up to eighty site
administrators may enroll in the site administrator pathway and
up to seven hundred licensed teachers may enroll in the teacher
pathway. During the third year of statewide implementation, up
to eighty site administrators may enroll in the site
administrator pathway and up to one thousand one hundred
teachers may enroll in the teacher pathway.

E. A site administrator or teacher shall
demonstrate competency in each micro-credential before
progressing to the next micro-credential in the sequence for a
pathway. Competency shall be determined by successful
completion of performance tasks and evidence of practical
application and demonstrated growth in a pathway's focus area.
Completion of performance tasks shall be measured on a pass-fail basis.

F. The department shall:

(1) adopt the curriculum and performance tasks
for each micro-credential in the site administrator and teacher
pathways that are aligned with the Martinez-Yazzie decision;

(2) determine the criteria for enrollment in
the site administrator and teacher pathways and a time line for
the completion of each pathway;

(3) determine reporting and evaluation
procedures;

(4) give interim reports on the progress of
the project to the legislative education study committee and a
final report with recommendations to the governor and the
legislature that shall include an analysis of the project's
effect on equity-centered leadership and instruction and on
outcomes for historically underserved student groups, the
challenges with implementing the project, the experiences of
participants and the department's recommendations for
expansion; and

(5) collaborate in the development and
validation phases of the project with New Mexico-based
nonprofit organizations with expertise in providing
professional development in equity-centered leadership and
instruction, providing culturally and linguistically responsive
education and serving historically underserved student groups."

SECTION 2.
APPROPRIATION.--Three million dollars
($3,000,000) is appropriated from the general fund to the
public education department for expenditure in fiscal years
2027 through 2031 to implement and administer the micro-credential pilot project. Any unexpended balance remaining at
the end of fiscal year 2031 shall revert to the general fund.

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