45th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2001

RELATING TO SCHOOL VOUCHERS FOR ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION; AUTHORIZING REDEMPTION OF VOUCHERS AT PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SCHOOLS; AMENDING AND ENACTING SECTIONS OF THE PUBLIC SCHOOL CODE.

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] SHORT TITLE.--Sections 1 through 8 of this act may be cited as the "Parental Empowerment Act"."

Section 2. A new section of the Public School Code is enacted to read:

"[NEW MATERIAL] LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.--

A. The legislature finds that:

(1) every family in New Mexico should have the option to take advantage of the best educational opportunities available to their school-age children;

(2) providing families in New Mexico a choice between schools leads to competition that benefits students and improves the quality of public schools;

(3) students should be allowed to improve their learning potential through educational opportunities that are best suited to their individual needs and interests; and

(4) low-income families should not be denied educational choices for their school-age children.

B. The purpose of the Parental Empowerment Act is to establish a voucher program that provides New Mexico's students the opportunity to attend their choice of public or private schools in order to best suit their individual needs and interests."

Section 3. A new section of the Public School Code is enacted to read:

"[NEW MATERIAL] DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Parental Empowerment Act:

A. "family income" means the income of a student's parent or legal guardian who resides with the student at the student's principal residence;

B. "federal poverty guidelines" means the level of income defining poverty by family size published annually in the federal register by the United States department of health and human services;

C. "local school district" means the school district where a student resides;

D. "program" means the parental empowerment program; and

E. "voucher" means a note that will be issued to a qualifying parent through the department of education that can be used to educate his child at a public or eligible private school as defined in the Public School Code."

Section 4. A new section of the Public School Code is enacted to read:

"[NEW MATERIAL] ADMINISTRATION OF THE PROGRAM--ADOPTING RULES.--

A. The department of education shall establish and bear the cost of administering the program.

B. The state board shall establish guidelines for the implementation and operation of the program.

C. A private school shall not be required to participate in the program.

D. The department of education, in cooperation with the school districts, shall embark on a public awareness campaign to inform the public about the program using the schools, other government agencies and the media."

Section 5. A new section of the Public School Code is enacted to read:

"[NEW MATERIAL] ELIGIBLE STUDENTS.--

A. A student who is a resident of a class A or B county in New Mexico and is at least five years of age prior to 12:01 a.m. September 1 of the school year or is a developmentally disabled three- or four-year-old child is eligible to participate in the program if his family income is at or below one hundred eighty-five percent of the federal poverty guidelines.

B. A student who receives a voucher pursuant to the Parental Empowerment Act shall participate in the testing required by Subsection B of Section 22-1-6 NMSA 1978. The testing shall be administered by the school district in which the student who receives the voucher resides."

Section 6. A new section of the Public School Code is enacted to read:

"[NEW MATERIAL] ELIGIBLE PRIVATE SCHOOLS.--

A. To be eligible to participate in the program, a private school shall:

(1) register with the superintendent of a local school district as an eligible private school;

(2) maintain or develop antidiscrimination policies to prevent discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin or ancestry; and

(3) develop policies that do not discriminate against students who are recipients of vouchers.

B. A private school that accepts students that are participants in the program shall not be required to comply with rules that apply to public schools promulgated by either the state board or the local school board."

Section 7. A new section of the Public School Code is enacted to read:

"[NEW MATERIAL] PROCEDURES FOR USING VOUCHERS.--

A. A parent may use a voucher to enroll his child in a public school outside of the school district in which the child resides.

B. A school district shall adopt specific, written standards for acceptance and rejection of vouchers provided for in the Parental Empowerment Act based on the capacity of a program, class size, grade level or school buildings.

C. Not earlier than March 1 and not later than July 1 prior to the beginning of a school year, a student's parent or legal guardian may apply to the local school district superintendent to participate in the program. The local school district superintendent may waive the application deadline. The application shall contain the following information:

(1) the student's name and address;

(2) the student's date of birth;

(3) the student's social security number;

(4) the student's school attendance zone;

(5) the student's grade level;

(6) the name and address of the student's parent or legal guardian who is residing with the child;

(7) for a parent or legal guardian who resides with the student at the student's principal residence, when required by the local school district superintendent, proof of income eligibility through copies of:

(a) the student's, parent's or legal guardian's three most recent paycheck receipts for all employment;

(b) a signed statement by the parent's or legal guardian's employer indicating his weekly, biweekly or annual net earnings; or

(c) a signed statement by the parent or legal guardian that he is self-employed and that indicates his annual net earnings and a copy of his most recent income tax return;

(8) whether the student was enrolled in a class A, B, C or D special education program in the prior school year or, for a child entering school for the first time, whether the child has a diagnosed developmental disability or learning disorder;

(9) whether the student speaks a language other than English as his principal language; and

(10) the name, tuition, fees and address of the public or private school to which the student intends to apply.

D. No later than forty-five days after the application is received, the local school district superintendent shall act on the application, notify the parent or legal guardian of the value of the voucher and issue the voucher if the application is approved.

E. The voucher shall be issued to the student in the care of the student's parent or legal guardian. The voucher shall not be issued to the private school or school district containing the public school that the student chooses to attend.

F. The student and his parent or legal guardian shall solely select the public or private school the student chooses to attend. The state shall not decide which school a student may attend. The state shall not advise or influence the student's selection of a school.

G. Not later than August 15 of each year, the local school district superintendent shall report to the department of education the ages, school attendance zones and voucher values of students participating in the program."

Section 8. A new section of the Public School Code is enacted to read:

"[NEW MATERIAL] VOUCHERS--REDEMPTION.--

A. The value of the voucher shall be equal to the amount of money generated by the student through the state equalization guarantee distribution provided in the Public School Finance Act and a proportionate per student amount for transportation expenses if the student had attended a public school in his school attendance zone. The value of the voucher shall also include a proportionate allocation for the local school district's at-risk funding. The department of education shall calculate the value of a student's voucher using the state equalization guarantee distribution formula.

B. Subject to the value of the voucher set forth in Subsection A of this section, the voucher redemption value shall not exceed the tuition and fees charged by a private school for students not participating in the program unless the cost of educating the student presenting the voucher is greater than the tuition and fees charged, in which case the value of the voucher shall not exceed those costs.

C. Within fifteen days after receiving a voucher, a private school shall, in writing, certify the enrollment of the student named on the voucher and shall, in writing, certify the amount of tuition and fees charged by the private school to the department of education.

D. A private school or public school district located outside of the student's attendance zone shall redeem the value of the voucher from the local school district in the following installments: twenty-five percent of the value determined in Subsection A of this section in September, twenty-five percent of the value determined in Subsection A of this section in November, twenty-five percent of the value determined in Subsection A of this section in February and twenty-five percent of the value determined in Subsection A of this section in May. The installments shall be paid on the first day of the applicable month.

E. If a private school disenrolls a student during the school year or if the student is absent for ten consecutive days without explanation from his parent or legal guardian, the private school shall, in writing, notify the local school district, and the voucher redemption shall cease.

F. If a parent or legal guardian disenrolls a student from a private school and enrolls the student in another private school or in a public school during the school year, the parent or legal guardian shall, in writing, notify the local school district. Upon receipt of proof of enrollment in another private school and certification of tuition and fees charged by the new private school, the remaining scholarship redemption installments shall be made to the new private school. Upon proof of enrollment in a public school, the remaining redemption installments shall be made to the school district in which the public school is located."

Section 9. Section 22-8-2 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1978, Chapter 128, Section 3, as amended) is amended to read:

"22-8-2. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Public School Finance Act:

A. "ADM" or "MEM" means membership;

B. "membership" means the total enrollment of qualified students on the current roll of a class or school on a specified day and all students who have qualified for receipt of vouchers pursuant to the Parental Empowerment Act. The current roll is established by the addition of original entries and reentries minus withdrawals. Withdrawals of students, in addition to students formally withdrawn from the public school, include students absent from the public school for as many as ten consecutive school days;

C. "basic program ADM" or "basic program MEM" means the MEM of qualified students but excludes the full-time-equivalent MEM in early childhood education and three- and four-year-old students receiving special education services;

D. "cost differential factor" is the numerical expression of the ratio of the cost of a particular segment of the school program to the cost of the basic program in grades four through six;

E. "department" or "division" means the state

department of public education;

F. "early childhood education ADM" or "early childhood education MEM" means the full-time-equivalent MEM of students attending approved early childhood education programs;

G. "full-time-equivalent ADM" or "full-time- equivalent MEM" is that membership calculated by applying to the MEM in an approved public school program the ratio of the number of hours per school day devoted to the program to six hours or the number of hours per school week devoted to the program to thirty hours;

H. "operating budget" means the annual financial plan required to be submitted by a local school board;

I. "program cost" is the product of the total number of program units to which a school district is entitled multiplied by the dollar value per program unit established by the legislature;

J. "program element" is that component of a public school system to which a cost differential factor is applied to determine the number of program units to which a school district is entitled, including but not limited to MEM, full-time-equivalent MEM, teacher, classroom or public school;

K. "program unit" is the product of the program element multiplied by the applicable cost differential factor;

L. "public money" or "public funds" means all money from public or private sources received by a local school board or officer or employee of a local school board for public use;

M. "qualified student" means a public school student who:

(1) has not graduated from high school;

(2) is regularly enrolled in one-half or more of the minimum course requirements approved by the state board for public school students; and

(3) is at least five years of age prior to 12:01 a.m. on September 1 of the school year; or

(4) is at least three years of age at any time during the school year and is receiving special education services pursuant to [regulation] rule of the state board; or

(5) has not reached his twenty-second birthday on the first day of the school year and is receiving special education services pursuant to [regulation] rule of the state board; and

N. "state superintendent" means the superintendent of public instruction or his designee."