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NATTVE AMERICAN BILINGUAL EDUCATION CHETHICATION REQUTREMENTS The Native American Bilingual Education Steering Committee was charged with defining course requirements in February, 1977. The core committee was composed of members approved by tribal councils, tribal chairmen, or education agencies. Mescalero, Jicarilla, Navajo, and Pueblo representatives agreed upon eight necessary content areas courses on August 29, 1980.? According to the minutes, the committee would then develop course descriptions for approval by tribal councils. The New Mexico Educational Standards Commission reviewed final recommendations on January 25 , I982, and tabled its decision on the matter. In an interview on October 5, 2018, former chair Donna Pino stated that early involvement by the tribes in the I970s served as a powerful catalyst for future actions in certifying Native language teachers. 8 In those days, there was no one who could teach the courses at the universities, and the only way to certify proficiency was through the tribes. Later, memoranda of agreement between each pueblo and the state set up tribal processes and procedures that lead to the 520 alternative certificate approved for Native language teachers in the schools (see Sims, chapter 3 this volume). The SBAC and the Bilingual Education Unit at the SDE built a healthy and trusting partnership that consistently linked actual practice with policy. Comprised of Hispanic and Native American practitioners from bilingual education programs across New Mexico, committee members spoke the language being used in their respective program as well as English. In the early years of the committee's history, members served multiple terms, and as their local expertise grew over time, so did their aptitude to pinpoint needed statewide policy adjustments. In many cases, committee members actually did the work necessary to create crucial statewide actions for students and teachers in bilingua education programs. The SBAC also helped raise awareness and resolve general policy decisions th would be harmful to the education of Hispanic and Native American studeents in the state. One early example stands out. In a November 29, i982, letter to the state superintendent of public instruction Leonard J. De Layo, SBAC chairper. son Mela Leger wrote about the new SBE policy that would change a teacher's certification to "nonstandard" for any teacher on waiver, and this would threaten their tenure status. Many bilingual education teachers across New Mexico were on waiver while they completed coursework for the endorsement. She wrote: It appears to us that it would be grossly unfair for teachers to lose or postpone their tenure because of the lack of the additional endorsement required for bilingual education. ... Many teachers who are eligible for waivers will not want the district to request a waiver if it will endanger their tenure status. We can appreciate your desire to have fully qualified teachers for bilingual education as well as in every area of instruction. However, we are very concerned that districts will either eliminate bilingual programs or that teachers will be penalized for implementing programs that are sorely needed for proper instruction of Hispanic and Indian children. 9 Leger asked that the SBAC be placed on the agenda of the next SBE meeting to discuss the issue. Superintendent De Layo responded on December I5, I982: "I am conducting a series of internal discussions within the State Department of Education relative to the questions you have raised as well as the broader questions regarding substandard certificates and tenure issues," indicating that the SBE might need to review the policy as well. 10 The SDE recognized the SBAC's commitment and expertise under Leger. A February 7, i984, letter from then assistant superintendent Alan Morgan to Mela Leger states: "As you may be aware, the State Department of Education has a number of many advisory committees. Few committees conduct their activities with such thoroughness and energy as the Bilingual Education Advisory Committee." II Moreover, the SBAC collaborated directly with other SDE offices, such as special education, assessment and evaluation, instructional materials, and teacher licensure, when necessary. In some cases, the SBAC's findings and conclusions actually helped create new legislation, such as the development of the Prueba exam (see Hannum and Salazar, chapter io this volume). This hapter attempts to tell the story of some of the SBAC's significant actions ince its inception in 1972