Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham recently announced that the Family Income Index will increase funding for schools and children in high-poverty areas of the state in an effort to counteract the negative impacts of poverty on academic performance.
The new state program will provide funding to 17 public schools across New Mexico that have the highest percentage of students from low-income households, according to a report by the Albuquerque Journal.
"With the innovative Family Income Index, we're delivering additional funds to schools across the state to support students with need, investing in New Mexico children and providing targeted resources to address the impacts of childhood poverty," Grisham said on her Twitter page earlier this month.
The Index was established through Senate Bill 17, which permits the Public Education Department to utilize census data and other sources to determine the household income of every New Mexico public school student.
According to a press release, Grisham stated the additional money will be used to fight the impacts of poverty, which is a known contributor to low academic performance, based on this data.
“The Family Income Index is rooted in our desire to give every New Mexico student, no matter their family’s income status, an equal opportunity to the resources essential for a quality education,” Gov. Lujan Grisham said in the press release “We know that when a school has many students in need, extra resources are needed for all. With this measure, we can meet that need with pinpoint accuracy.”
Senate Pro Tem Mimi Stewart of Albuquerque endorsed the idea of a Family Income Index and sponsored Senate Bill 17 after the New Mexico Public Education Department proposed the program in collaboration with the departments of Taxation and Revenue and Human Services.
“Getting additional funding directly to schools serving low-income populations will help boost reading, math and other important educational programs, and I look forward to seeing the results of this pilot program," Stewart said. "I was proud to sponsor this bill and thank the governor for signing it into law today.”
The legislature allocated $15 million for each of the following two years for the Family Income Index, which will be distributed to qualifying schools.
The additional funding will also be utilized for student services including employing school counselors and social workers; establishing family information and resource centers and using culturally and linguistically diverse textbooks in the classroom.
