DATA ON PARENTING STUDENTS IN HIGHER ED.

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A MEMORIAL
REQUESTING THE HIGHER EDUCATION DEPARTMENT TO CONVENE A TASK
FORCE TO STUDY, DEVELOP RECOMMENDATIONS FOR AND DRAFT
LEGISLATION FOR COLLECTING DATA ON PARENTING STUDENTS IN THE
NEW MEXICO HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM.
WHEREAS, in 2023, New Mexico had the third highest
poverty rate in the nation, and an estimated forty-six
percent of households were below the asset limited, income
constrained, employed threshold; and
WHEREAS, New Mexico's labor force participation rate is
lower than the United States average; and
WHEREAS, labor force participation rates increase as
educational attainment increases; and
WHEREAS, in 2024, one in three New Mexico college
students were parents or were expecting to be parents
according to a survey conducted by Santa Fe community
college's early childhood center of excellence; and
WHEREAS, in 2023, New Mexico's child poverty rate was
nearly twenty-three percent; and
WHEREAS, on average, the children of mothers who
complete a degree are more likely to graduate high school and
get a college degree themselves; and
WHEREAS, the opportunity scholarship and government
results and opportunity program fund funding have opened new
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pathways to educational attainment for adult learners in
New Mexico; and
WHEREAS, through the programs, the New Mexico
legislature has demonstrated a commitment to providing
necessary supports and resources for adult learners to
succeed; and
WHEREAS, even with these measures, parenting students
have unique barriers to college completion and struggle to
find resources to overcome those barriers; and
WHEREAS, there are currently no standardized methods of
identifying parenting students and their barriers to success
or developing targeted strategies for improving their
educational outcomes in New Mexico higher education
institutions;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE
STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the higher education department be
requested to convene a task force to study, develop
recommendations for and draft legislation for collecting data
on parenting students; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force include the
following members:
A. staff from at least two four-year public higher
education institutions, including institutional research and
student services staff;
B. staff from at least two two-year community
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colleges, including institutional research and student
services staff;
C. staff from a tribal college or university;
D. parenting students from at least two public
colleges or universities;
E. a member of the children's cabinet;
F. a representative from the data advisory group
of the higher education department; and
G. a representative from the New Mexico student
parent alliance; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force prepare a
report containing a definition of "parenting student",
meaning a student who is the parent or legal guardian of a
dependent child or children, including biological, step,
foster, adopted or other children for whom the student has
primary caregiving responsibilities, that can be used by
higher education institutions in the state; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the report contain an
assessment of the current status of parenting student data
collection and recommendations for implementing statewide
data collection for higher education institutions, including
suggested consistent question phrasing and modes of data
collection that routinely assess parenting status over the
length of students' enrollment, such as collecting parenting
status data each academic term as part of the higher
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education department's end of semester and degree reporting
submissions, or through other regular data-collection
mechanisms that allow higher education institutions to assess
parenting status throughout the span of students' enrollment;
and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force present its
report and recommendations to the legislative health and
human services committee and other appropriate legislative
interim committees by November 1, 2026; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be
transmitted to the governor and the secretary of higher
education.