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F I S C A L   I M P A C T   R E P O R T

 

 

 

SPONSOR:

Lopez

 

DATE TYPED:

03/06/03

 

HB

 

 

SHORT TITLE:

New Mexico Virtual School

 

SB

563

 

 

ANALYST:

Segura

 

APPROPRIATION

 

Appropriation Contained

Estimated Additional Impact

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY03

FY04

FY03

FY04

 

 

 

$1,000.0

 

 

Recurring

GF

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

 

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

 

State Department of Education (SDE)

 

SUMMARY

 

     Synopsis of Bill

 

Senate Bill 563 appropriates $1,000.0 to the State Department of Education to develop the New Mexico Virtual School (NMVS) to provide distance learning opportunities for New Mexico students.

 

    Significant Issues

 

The NMVS is designed to assist districts in meeting the growing and changing needs of students in the 21st Century, and to assist students by providing courses that might not be available in their local schools.

 

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

 

Senate Bill 563 appropriates $1,000.0 to continue the implementation of the NMVS.

 

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

 

The State Department of Education will continue to administer the program.

 

OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

 

According to SDE, the districts response to the NMVS clearly indicates that this is an essential addition to current curricular offerings. For example, during the first semester of the NMVS, 90 high school students (out of approximately 215 students) from Dulce Independent Schools enrolled in on-line courses, approximately 40 % of all Dulce high school students. In other districts, such as Mosquero, which has a small teaching staff due to low student population, all high school students enrolled or participated in some form of on-line instruction through the NMVS. Larger districts also responded positively to the program. In Albuquerque, the Rio Grande Collaborative used virtual learning opportunities to attract student dropouts back to school.

 

RMS/prr