The Hispanic Education Act’s next move in the House is a floor vote, after the House version of the bill, HB 150, cleared the House Education Committee this morning on a seven to three vote.  On the Senate side, the final committee for SB 132 is Senate Finance.  The Hispanic Education Act has gained momentum as a way to focus attention and resources on closing the “achievement gap” between Anglo and Hispanic students.While the bill is on the Senate Finance schedule, the Chair of that committee, Sen. John Arthur Smith, has informed the public that they won’t be taking up other bills until they’ve dealt with HB 2, which is the budget sent to them by the House.

The Act would create an office within the Public Education Department to specifically focus on “measuring the gap, analyzing it, and closing it, systematically,” according to its sponsor in the Senate, Sen. Bernadette Sanchez, D-Albuquerque. A Hispanic Education Advisory Council made up of “citizen-stakeholders” would also be created, she said, to support the efforts of the office.

UPDATE: The Senate Finance Committee decided to not make the Hispanic Education Act wait–it  passed that committee late this afternoon on a vote of 7 to 2.  The HEA now waits on floor votes in both houses.